Dieburger Mithräum

The Mithraic cult was an exclusively men-only mystery religion in the Roman Empire. There are references to two places of worship from Dieburg, whereby the Mithraeum, discovered in 1926 with its world-famous Mithras stone and numerous other stone monuments, forms the centerpiece of Museum Schloss Fechenbach.

A Mithraeum found at Dieburg at the corner of the Minnefelderseestrasze (Fr. Eberstrasze) and the Forsthausstrasze in the N-E part of the town in 1926.

The Mithraeum is built of trachyte from Eppertshausen near Dieburg. The sanctuary in East-West orientation (L 11.20 Br. 5.60) has the normal division into a central aisle (Br. 2.40) and two benches (Br. 1.60) which begin at a distance of 1.20 m from the entrance. At the beginning of these benches at 0.30 mtrs a cup had been embedded. The r. bench is connected with the base which served for the cult-relief whereas the l. bench ends at a distance of 1.55 mtrs before the backwall.

Between the backwall and the bench is a pit; another pit (diam. 1.10 D. 1.75) is at a distance of 3 mtrs N. of the sanctuary. Of a pronaos only a few traces remained which point to a wood-construction. The whole building has a 2 : 1 proportion. I feel very much inclined to back Cumont's supposition that the destruction of the sanctuary took place in 260 A.D., the end of the Limes, when the Germans made their invasions.

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