Mitreo de Cabra

TNMM 76

During the third archaeological campaign in the Villa del Mitra, at the end of 2022, the municipal archaeological team of Cabra, led by Antonio Moreno Rosa, found a room suitable for the Mithraic cult.

The discovery was presented in February 2023, coinciding with a Mithraic conference at the Municipal Museum.

Since the discovery of the tauroctony of Cabra in 1951, the hypothesis that there must have been a temple in the domus had been considered. Two areas remained to be excavated, one to the north-west, where the foundations of the baths were found, and the other to the south, where the mithraeum was discovered.

The mithraeum has an average length of 8 metres and an average width of 3 metres. As usual, there are two benches on either side on which the faithful could recline to take part in the worship.

Unlike the rest of the domus, the floor is not paved. In contrast, remains of cooked animal bones have been found in the central aisle, which is related to the usual Mithraic meals that took place in the temple.

The villa was a private residence in the 1st and 2nd centuries, with a series of modifications in the 3rd and 4th centuries, including the baths in the northwest area.

In 2018, the Cabra Town Council acquired the entire site of the domus, of which it only owned the area that had previously been excavated. It is in the new adjacent southern area that the mithraeum was found.

Comments

Dominique PERSOONS

I live in Sarrebourg, where the famous mithraeum was found by the Germans in 1890. In the 3d century, the city was bigger than... today, with 5 massive towers .

Jaime Alvar

New excavations in the Villa del Mitra (Nov 22-February 23) have provided a room with benches and cooked bones. No doubt it is the mithraem where the taurochtony was located. The sculpture was found 10m away from the spelaeum.

2

Olivier-Antoine Reÿnès

Amazing!!!

Steven Geusens

Can't wait for more details