Tauroctony gemstone from Ploiești

TNMM 794

In the collection of engraved gemstones at the County Museum of History and Archaeology, Prahova, in Ploiești, there is this gemstone depicting the god Mithras. The iconographic style aligns with the well-known variant, illustrating the Mithraic scene of the bull sacrifice. To our knowledge, this is the only gemstone representation of Mithras from Dacia, though the possibility remains that it may have originated from south of the Danube. In the absence of contextual details regarding its discovery, the gemstone with the Mithras depiction can be dated to between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

[...]

The piece is crafted from a greenish-gray variety of jasper with a matte surface sheen. It has an oval shape, plano-convex in cross-section, with a domed main face. Signs of wear are evident, with deformed edges and a chip at the top. The scene of Mithras slaughtering the bull is deeply engraved on the surface. The composition fits well at the centre of the piece, and the schematic carving style effectively highlights key details associated with the Mithraic cult.

[...]

The Mithraic depiction on the gemstone in the Ploiești museum adheres to the established canon: Mithras, wearing a cap on his head and a cloak over his shoulders, kneels with his left knee on the bull’s neck, holding the bull’s head with his right hand while preparing to stab it with a knife in his left. This type of representation, known as Mithras Tauroktonos, was widespread in Dacia. Unlike other Mithraic cult scenes, which commonly include additional figures (such as a snake, dog, raven, Moon, Sun, Cautes, and Cautopates), this composition is simplified.

No acolytes, animals, or other characters are depicted, likely due to the limited space available, with the piece’s maximum diameter measuring only 1.3 cm.