After Christianity was adopted, most pagan monuments were destroyed or abandoned. Garni, however, was preserved at the request of the sister of King Tiridates II and used as a summer residence for Armenian royalty.
The Mithra Temple of Maragheh, also referred to as the Mithra Temple of Verjuy or simply Mehr Temple, is the oldest surviving Mithraic temple in Iran known to date.
The discovery of the Mithraeum of Tarquinia is due to the Department for Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Carabinieri, who noticed some clandestine excavations near the Ara della Regina.