The Caernarfon Mithraeum is a Mithraic temple or

Mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion (), is a Roman temple, temple erected in classical antiquity by the Mithraism, worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman ...

. It was located 137 metres north-east of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

Segontium Segontium () is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. Etymology The fort probably takes its name either directly from the Afon Seiont or from a pre-existing British settlement itself named for the river. The name ...

on the outskirts of modern

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The remains were discovered by accident on 2 April 1958 and excavated by the

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in August of the following year under the direction of George Boon. The site was found to be already damaged by a sewer trench which cut across the anteroom and had removed part of the southeast corner, but the majority of the temple could be excavated. The excavators noted the site was quite marshy and this suggested that a stream had once flowed close to the temple at the bottom of the shallow valley. The marshy conditions caused the mechanical excavator to frequently fall into the excavation, causing further damage.

Mithraeum Phase I

The first phase of the temple (and all subsequent temples on the site) was orientated on an alignment 30 degrees east of north at the foot of the western side of a small shallow valley. The building measured 14.6m by 6.55 and is tentatively dated to the third century AD, a period when the fort was occupied by the ''

Cohors A cohort (from the Latin ''cohors'', : ''cohortes''; see wikt:cohors for full inflection table) was a standard tactical military unit of a Roman legion. Although the standard size changed with time and situation, it was generally composed of 4 ...

I Sunicorum''. The shrine consisted of an anteroom (

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

) at the southern end, followed by the temple proper which consisted of a sunken central nave flanked by low benches. This is typical of Mithraic temples and enabled the temple to be clearly identified despite no sculptural or

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

evidence being found. A rectangular alcove stood at the northern end and would have held the

tauroctony ''Tauroctony'' is a neologism, modern name given to the central cult image, cult reliefs of the Mithraic Mysteries in the Roman Empire. The imagery depicts Mithras killing a bull, hence the name ''tauroctony'' after the Greek word (, "bull killi ...

. Untrimmed beach boulders were used for the walls, which must have given the structure a rustic look. No trace of the bonding mortar for the stones survived. Several fragments of purple Cambrian slate tiles were found belonging to the roof. The

, measuring 1.82m x 5.48m, was almost totally destroyed and no trace of any features survived, including the floor covering. The shrine measured 10.6m x 5.48m with a 2.43m wide niche at the northern end, 45 cm deep. The benches were 1.52m deep and 9.1 meters long. Steps must have led down into the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, though this part was destroyed by the sewer trench. The bench tops were at ground level, the same level as the narthex. The only dating evidence came from a worn ''

denarius The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Ancient Rome, Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It cont ...

'' coin of Faustina I (138-9 AD) found on top of one of the benches.

Mithraeum Phase II

For the second phase, timber

colonnades In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

were inserted, presumably to help support the weight of the slate roof. The ten timber columns were supported by small stone bases, each base set on a bed of cobbles. The fact that each base is different (including one circular in shape while the rest are all square) suggested to the excavators that they were salvaged from various other buildings. A v-shaped tile-lined drain was cut into the floor and entered the temple through the exterior wall just north of the end of the south bench and ran diagonally across the nave to terminate at the front of the middle of the north bench. A tank must have existed here to collect the trickle of spring water. No dating evidence existed for this phase, however the excavator surmised by the lack of wear on the Phase I floor that Phase II occurred very soon after.

Mithraeum Phase III

The third and final phase of the temple was preceded by the partial collapse of the roof. Broken slates were used to raise the level of the nave, this could have been to help avoid the waterlogging that may have affected the earlier two phases. This layer was sealed by a new cobbled floor throughout the nave. To compensate for the raising of the nave height, the benches and the area in front of the niche were raised. Small flights of two steps were now erected at the front of the benches near the entrance into the

and steps were provided to lead up to the area in front of the niche. A stone platform 0.9m x 1.52m was built to the right of the niche, possibly to serve as a statue base. The colonnade from Phase II was removed and at least five small pedestals were placed against the bench fronts. A layer of soil was found,Boon 1960 p155 no more than 60 mm thick, between the Phase III floor and the layer of burnt debris that sealed the site. This indicated a period of abandonment prior to the burning of the roof and also explains why no Mithraic sculptures were found in the building, as they had all been removed. This would equate well with the removal of the garrison of

in c290 AD.

References

Bibliography

*{{Cite journal , last=Boon , first=G.C. , date=1960 , title=A Temple of Mithras at Caernarvon-Segontium , url=https://journals.library.wales/view/4718179/4743056/165#?xywh=-1853%2C80%2C6639%2C4378 , journal=Archaeologia Cambrensis , volume=109 , pages=136–178 Mithraea History of Gwynedd Roman sites in Wales

Mithraeum Phase I

Mithraeum Phase II

Mithraeum Phase III

See also

References

Bibliography