Mithraeum Reopening to the Public

From the Art Newspaper:



Mithraeums were places of worship for initiates of the religious cult of Mithraism, which was centred around the Persian god Mithra and practiced throughout the Roman empire from around the first to the fourth centuries AD. A Mithraeum would usually exist underground, either in a cavern or beneath existing buildings, and was traditionally dark and windowless.

The conservation problems began when skylights were installed. The presence of sunlight coupled with the circulation of air altered the underground microclimate and caused algae to grow on the walls as well as water gathering in the 25 metre-long central hall. During the works the skylights were sealed shut, a collapsed vault was restored and the walls and flooring were cleaned. A lighting system was also been installed to compensate for the closure of the skylights.

The Mithraeum was discovered a century ago and was almost entirely devoid of decoration. Only a small and poorly conserved fresco of Mithra remained, although the site had other significant features including the fossa sanguinis, a two-and-a half-metres-deep square pit in which new initiates would be lowered to receive the blood of a specially sacrificed bull.

The Mithraeum is due to be connected with the other branches of the underground network to form a single visitors route, although two further adjacent spaces have still to be restored before this can happen. Restoration work is expected to take around two more years.

One thing I’ve been meaning to look into is to try to get a handle on how many “Mithraeums” there were in Rome … just a stone’s throw away from this one (I think) is one near the Circus Maximus.

2 thoughts on “Mithraeum Reopening to the Public

  1. The Baths and the Circus Mithraeum are ~1mi apart.

    The Circus Mithraeum was either behind or below the ‘Starting Gates’ at the NW end of the Circus.

    I believe only 6 Mithraeums have been found within Rome, the one with the easiest public access is the Mithraeum of San Clemente

    The Mithraeum of the Circus Maximus must be prebooked so any Rome visit has to coincide with its opening days.

    In ’06 I booked an English tour (the official tour was in Italian only) with which provided some of the photos in your ‘Circus Maximus’ link.

    The other Mithraeums in Rome besides the others already mentioned are at; Santo Stefano Rotondo, Santa Prisca Basilica and the Barberini Mithraeum but they are either open rarely of not at all AFAIK.

    To find the official limited openings of the many closed sites try googling “Monumenti Aperti” Roma.

    There are a few in Ostia Antica the best is at the ‘Baths of Mithra’ which is underground with a reproduction of the ‘Mithra killing the bull’ statue found there which is now in the site museum.

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