Mithräum von Groß-Gerau

TNMM 617

The Roman settlement of Groß-Gerau was an important junction on the long-distance route from Mainz, the capital of Upper Germany, to Passau and from Nierstein to the Odenwald. A votive stone for the gods of the road, found in the district of Auf Esch, points to this road.

Around the year 70, shortly after the beginning of the reign of Emperor Titus Flavius Vaspasian, the first sod was turned for a new fort. At first it was a wooden fort, and about 15 years later a stone fort, in the immediate vicinity of which the people who followed the army settled. These included soldiers' families, craftsmen and innkeepers.

Around 115, the soldiers left the fort and a civilian settlement, the vicus, was established. The fine red Terra Silillata pottery dates from this period, as do glass vessels, jewellery, bronze buckets, simple plates, bowls and jugs made of pottery, and a variety of burial objects such as bear claws, glass plates and blue dye.

A mithraeum was also discovered in 1989. The cult building was a replica of a cave where, according to legend, Mithras killed the bull in order to create new life. The Groß-Gerau Museum displays the three stone monuments found during the excavation of the Mithraeum: a votive stone of Mercury, a lion and an altar stone.

The Roman settlement of Groß-Gerau came to an end in the middle of the 3rd century.