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Monumentum

Mithréum de Sarrebourg

This rock-cut Mithraeum occupies the north-eastern slope of the Grand-Rebberg at Saarburg, featuring a stepped entrance, a sloping central aisle, lateral benches, and a spring-fed water conduit.
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The New Mithraeum
28 May 2007
Updated on Apr 2026

TNMM 45 ↔ CIMRM 965

During operations for military buildings at Saarburg a Mithraeum was discovered on the N.E. flank of the Grand-Rebberg, lying along the S. bank of the Saar in 1895. The finds are at Metz.

The rectangular sanctuary (L. 6.20 Br. 5.50) opens in a NNE. direction, whereas the back is built two yards deep into the mountain. Before the entrance there probably was an elevated ante-room, because the water of a spring, which rose at a distance of 15 yards from it, was lead in this direction through a conduit. One enters the sanctuary by an entrance (Br. 1.18), of which part of the threshold and a door-post are preserved. Via three steps one descends into the central aisle (Br. 2.50), the floor of which slopes strongly (0.78) at first and then rises again towards the brick base (Br. 0.30) of the cult-niche. At about 1.00 from the entrance, the side-benches begin (H. 0.990 Br. 1.50), sloping towards the walls and running on as far as the back-wall. They are covered with a layer of cement and are supported on the front by brick walls.

An acute-angled block in stone shows, that there was a roof over the entrance, covered with tiles.

References

Wendling in WsdZ (Korr) XIV, 1895, 226ff, No. 108; Michaelis in Jb. d. Ges. Lothr. Gesch. u. Altk. VII, 1895, 157; Box in Mém. Ac. Metz, 1895-96, 169ff; Lehner in AA 1897, 8ff; v. Fisenne in Jb. d. Ges. Lothr. Gesch. u. Alterk. VIII, 1896, 136ff; MMM II 510ff No. 273ter; Keune in WsdZ XV, 1896, 333ff; WsdZ (Korr) 1896, 49ff; AJA 1897, 37If; Jb. d. Ges. Lothr. Gesch. u. Altk. XII, 1900, 380; Esp. Rec. Gaule, VI, 28ff; Colin, Ant. Rhén., 190f; Linckenfeld-Herz, Sarrebourg.

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