{{Refimprove, date=November 2017 Savaria Mithraeum was the shrine of

Mithras Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman Empire, Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian peoples, Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mit ...

in 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 ...

town of Savaria (now

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

) which was discovered in 2008.

History

The cult of Mithras was popular in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

. Archeological evidences proved its presence in

Aquincum Aquincum (, ) was an ancient city, situated on the northeastern borders of the province of Pannonia within the Roman Empire. The ruins of the city can be found in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. It is believed that Marcus Aurelius wrote ...

, Fertőrákos and

Sárkeszi Sárkeszi is a village in Fejér county, Hungary. External links Street map
Populated places in Fejér County {{Fejer-geo-stub ...

but its popularity in Savaria, the capital of

Pannonia Prima Pannonia Prima was an ancient Roman province. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Previously, it was a part of the province of Pannonia Superior, which, along with Pannonia Inferior, was gradually divided into ...

was only proved in 2008 when a

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 ...

was unearthed in the vicinity of the most important surviving Roman monument of the town, the shrine of

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

. The Savaria Mithraeum was used until the 4th century when it was burned down and collapsed. The mithraeum was discovered during the building works of a new

shopping center A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

in 2008. The remains were excavated by local archeologists who claimed that the discovery is of European importance. The ruins will be preserved in the basement of the new plaza. Many other finds were unearthed in the area like an intact Roman cellar and a 3 m wide, stone waterdrain that was repaired in the 19th century.

Remains

Two stone altars were uncovered which were decorated with scenes from the life of Mithras in reliefs and had dedicative inscriptions. The inner room and the narthex of the shrine was decorated with wall paintings. The frescoes are being restored by experts from the collected fragments. Their design were geometric with some figurative scenes. The ceiling was coffered. The ancient painters used expensive pigments like

Egyptian Blue Egyptian blue, also known as calcium copper silicate (CaCuSi4O10 or CaOCuO(SiO2)4 (calcium copper tetrasilicate)) or cuprorivaite, is a pigment that was used in ancient Egypt for thousands of years. It is considered to be the first synthetic pig ...

and

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...

. There were stone benches along the walls in the inner room.

References

*Pictures from the excavatio

Mithraea Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Hungary Religious buildings and structures in Hungary Buildings and structures in Vas County

History

Remains

See also

References