Gran mitreo de Mérida

TNMM 585

Although a temple dedicated to Mithras has not yet been found in this area, Javier Alvar believes that the great Mithraeum of Mérida could have been located here, given the large number of Mithraic monuments that have been exhumed.

Below is a translation of his remarks from his book Mitra en Hispania:

’I have included in this section, independently, a series of materials found in Mérida during the excavations of 1926 and 1927, because they provide convincing evidence that the mithraeum from which the collection hidden in the Cerro de San Albín was taken could have been located here. In 1926, during the foundation work for a house at the end of the road and about 200 metres from the Cerro de San Albín, carvings from the Roman period were found. Mélida and Macías excavated there that year and the following year. The accidental find revealed a funerary stele with a bust, but without the head, and three fragmentary statues. It seems that no remains of ancient constructions were found, only salvaged materials.’