Monumentum
Altar of Inveresk with a griffin
This second altar discovered to date near Inveresk includes several elements unusual in Mithraic worship.
Mithraic altar from Inveresk with griffin.
National Museums of Scotland / Duncan McGlyn
Mithraic altar from Inveresk with griffin.
AOC Archaeology Group
Mithraic altar from Inveresk, left.
National Museums of Scotland / Duncan McGlyn
Mithraic altar from Inveresk, right.
National Museums of Scotland / Duncan McGlyn
The New Mithraeum
29 Jan 2022
Updated on Feb 2026
Local sandstone altar found in 2010 in what must have been a wooden Mithraeum built in the middle of a field, not far from the fort of Inveresk, near the Antonine Wall.
It was carefully laid face down next to another altar of the same construction dedicated to Sol. Both monuments, of very fine workmanship, were dedicated by a Roman citizen, a centurion who had belonged to the XX legion stationed there from the 140s until his departure in 165, a date that must have marked the end of the mithreum’s operation and its abandonment in accordance with the ritual rules of burial.
In addition
It was carefully laid face down next to another altar of the same construction dedicated to Sol. Both monuments, of very fine workmanship, were dedicated by a Roman citizen, a centurion who had belonged to the XX legion stationed there from the 140s until his departure in 165, a date that must have marked the end of the mithreum’s operation and its abandonment in accordance with the ritual rules of burial.
In addition
The full article is reserved for our members.
Log in or create a free account to access the entire site.
