Mithraeum of Cirta

TNMM 615 ↔ CIMRM 129

Speleum cum [sig]/nis et omamen[tis] / Publilius Ceion[ius] / Caecina Albinu[s v(ir) c(larissimus)].

The sanctuary has not been found.

Publilius Ceionius was a praeses consularis of Numidia under Valentinianus and Valens (364-367).

Referring to this inscription, E. Levi in Rec. Const. XLV, 1911, 265ff observes that there are a great many of caves in the neighbourhood. The inscription was discovered à la Kasbah and he therefore thinks it acceptable, that a possible Mithraeum should have been in the immediate surroundings. There is a supposition, that it might have been a cave, called des Pigeons, grotte située sous l’arsenal dans Ie versant nord du rocher, qui sert de base à la ville. M. J. Bosco a remarqué dans cette grotte de nombreuses intailles romaines et, d’autre part, a établi avec certitude qu’une ouverture Ie faisait communiquer avec la Kasbah.

This supposition, however, has not yet been confirmed by finds as far as we know.

In the city [of Cirta, today Constantina] there are remains of thermal buildings, cisterns of a triumphal arch and walls, both Roman and Byzantine.

There are numerous caves in the area around the city: in one of them, near the village of Mila, there must have been an underground mithraeum, which is mentioned in a document from the late 19th century.

A small mosque was built over one of these caves, with an interior supported by six pillars, some of them Roman, and ending in a niche. There was a kind of ’post’ for offerings, consisting of a bowl embedded in a hole in the wall and a counter occupying the northern wall of the building. Below this was a staircase leading down to a low-ceilinged room with irregularly shaped white stone walls on which the worshippers could stand.

Beyond this room, the first cave opened up: it had a very irregular shape and a burial chamber, behind which a gully opened up at ground level for the deposition of the elements for worship. The very low ceiling allowed people to stand only at the highest points of the room.

After this room, a cavity 6-7 m long and 2.5-3.5 m wide, with an E-W orientation, opened up, which in all probability was the actual sanctuary.

The ceiling of this type of cave was slightly rounded and had numerous stalactites, large enough to reduce the height of the room to 80 cm from a maximum of 2 m, if they were present. The west side of the chamber was empty.

On the east side, however, there was a counter, carved out of the rock, on which two pillars, also carved out of the rock, rested. At the northern end of this tripartite element, a hole 50 cm deep and of the same diameter was found at ground level.

Parallel to the counter, on the eastern side of the cave, was a kind of north-south oriented tomb: it was actually a 2.20 m long burial.

In front of the tomb, there was a 2.5 metre square bordered by four painted vertical elements, which was also used by Muslim worshippers.

The upper grotto must have been at the level of the central part of the upper mosque, while the lower grotto must have coincided with the southern part of the Islamic place of worship.

According to Jacquot, this cave must have been a Mithraic cave in ancient times, with a series of rooms carved directly into the rock, such as those found in the crypts of the oldest churches. This place was later used as a place of worship by the Muslims, who built a real mosque above it. The ancient cult would have mixed with an old Islamic tradition linked to the figure of Saint Optat, known for his fights against the Donatists.

Jacquot also recounts a legend that circulated around the same cave described above: a man called Ben Tebal, who was very pious, was frightened by a lion of gigantic proportions. But before the man could fire a shot from his rifle, the lion miraculously turned into a grown man who warned him not to kill a creature of God. This strange figure had led him to a cave, later revealed to be the one described and associated with the Mithraic cult, which claimed to be the lord of the place and to have the lion as its guardian.

In addition to this fantastic event, this legend is interesting because it is associated with a lion-man figure reminiscent of the Mithraic cult, in the leontocephalous figure that appeared in statues found in Mithraea (for example, that of Rusicade), which contributes to giving an aura of mystery to this underground place, about which we only have the information provided by Jacquot.

The author also recounts another legend to support his claim that the local cave was an ancient mithraeum: the story of two newlyweds, Mallou and Mariussa, of Italic origin, who fled here because of conflicts with the Romans and found asylum in a temple called "The Garden of Cadi". Their simple way of life and honesty had won them the respect of the local community, so much so that they were consulted on all matters. This had led to the establishment of a kind of large meeting place in the temple, which attracted many outsiders, to whom they taught good deeds. After Mallou’s death, war had come here, and Mariussa had tried to fight, preferring death to servitude. For her heroism, a statue was dedicated to her in the temple, and a college of virgins was formed to watch over her. Her shadow would roam the garden until the arrival of the French.

On the basis of what he saw in the two underground rooms and on the basis of these legends, the French author believed that he was in front of an ancient place of worship, probably a mithraeum due to its underground and obscure nature, an interpretation that he believed would be confirmed by the presence of other caves in the area of Cirta with traces of rituals of a pagan nature. Another element that would link the local cave to the cult of Mithras would be the bull festival held at the beginning of the 20th century, which would recall the tauroctonia associated with the Iranian god.

From the city, however, there are certain inscriptions that attest to the presence of a Mithraeum in the area: an hourglass stone with a dedication to Sol Invictus, which could refer to the Iranian god, and a slab found near the military camp that attests to the donation of statues and furnishings for a Mithraic speleum in the city by Publius Ceonius Caecina Albinus.

Therefore, even in the absence of the actual Mithraeum, the epigraphic data confirm the presence of a place of worship of the Iranian god in this centre.