Rudchester Mithraeum
Encyclopedia
Rudchester Mithraeum is a Roman Temple
to the Roman god Mithras at Rudchester (Vindobala
), an auxiliary
fort on Hadrian's Wall
, the northern frontier of Roman Britain
. The temple (known as a mithraeum
) was located 137m to the west of the castra
.
The five altars were:
1) DEO /L SENTIUS / CASTUS / (centurio) LEG VI D(ono) P(osuit).
To the god. Lucius Sentius Castus, centurion of the 6th legion gave this.
2) DEO INVICTO / MYTRAE P(ublius) AEL(ius) / TITULLUS PRAE(fectus) / V(otum) S(olvit) L(aetus) L(ibens) M(erito).
To the invincible god Mithras, Publius Aelius Titullus, prefect, gladly, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.
3) DEO SOLI INVIC(to) / TIB(iberius) CL(audius) DECIMUS / CORNEL(ius) ANTO/NIUS PRAEF(ectus) / TEMPLE(um) RESTIT(uit).
To the Invincible Sun. Tiberius Claudius Decimus Cornelius Antonius, Prefect, restored the temple.
4) SOLI / APOLLINI / ANICETO / [Mithrae] APON[I]US ROGAT[I]ANUS [PRAEF(ectus) V(otum) S(olvit) L(ibens) M(erito ?]
5) No inscription.
The location of the discovery was marked on contemporaneous maps, enabling the archaeologist J.P. Gilliam to relocate the shrine and excavate it in 1953.
flanked by low benches. The building was constructed in stone with clay used to bond the blocks. A roughly-built narthex
(or ante-chapel) was later added to the outside of the east wall, 3m in depth and 6m in width. It was placed asymmetrically in line with the south wall so that there was no direct view from the front entrance into the temple. Similar to the shrine at Carrawburgh
this anteroom
contained a low stone bench which may have been used in initiation rites. The east wall, however, was built over a badly filled-in pit and the subsequent subsidence caused the collapse of the structure.
was rebuilt soon after, but without the ante-room. Access was now directly into the shrine from the outside and it is unusual that the community would not have wanted at least some form of ante-chamber especially as they also reduced the free space within the shrine by extending the benches. The interior of the shrine was remodelled to include a stone podium in front of the apse
(presumably for the tauroctony
) and the lengthening of the benches. A new roof system was also put in with wooden posts standing in front of the benches. Five small uninscribed altars were found inside the nave and the remains of a water-basin were recovered about two-thirds of the way along the northern bench.
Gilliam found two heads of Cautes and Cautopates
and speculated that this was the result of a deliberate decapitation of the statues. The lack of any trace of the tauroctony
was also used to argue for a deliberate desecration of the shrine; however, in the absence of any single fragment of it and without knowing what the statue smashed in 1844 was of, it is hard to say for sure. Certainly pottery evidence spread over the temple shows that it was out of use by the mid-fourth century.
All the finds and altars were placed in the Museum of Antiquities
at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
, although they are in the process of being moved to the new Museum of the North.
Gilliam, J.P., MacIvor, I & Birley, E. 1954. 'The Temple of Mithras at Rudchester'. Archaeologia Aeliana (4th series) XXXII, 176-219
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples are among the most visible archaeological remains of Roman culture, and are a significant source for Roman architecture. Their construction and maintenance was a major part of ancient Roman religion. The main room housed the cult image of the deity to whom the temple was...
to the Roman god Mithras at Rudchester (Vindobala
Vindobala
Vindobala was a Roman fort at the modern-day hamlet of Rudchester, Northumberland. It was the fourth fort on Hadrian's Wall, after Segedunum , Pons Aelius and Condercum. It was situated about to the west of Condercum. The name Vindobala means “White Strength”...
), an auxiliary
Auxiliaries (Roman military)
Auxiliaries formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate , alongside the citizen legions...
fort on Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
, the northern frontier of Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
. The temple (known as a mithraeum
Mithraeum
A Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the mystery religion of Mithraism.The Mithraeum was either an adapted natural cave or cavern or an artificial building imitating a cavern. Mithraea were dark and windowless, even if they were not actually in a subterranean space or in a natural...
) was located 137m to the west of the castra
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
.
Discovery
The site of the shrine was first discovered in 1844 when the local farmer uncovered a statue and five altars in his field. The statue was broken up (and subsequently lost); however, the altars were all saved.The five altars were:
1) DEO /L SENTIUS / CASTUS / (centurio) LEG VI D(ono) P(osuit).
To the god. Lucius Sentius Castus, centurion of the 6th legion gave this.
2) DEO INVICTO / MYTRAE P(ublius) AEL(ius) / TITULLUS PRAE(fectus) / V(otum) S(olvit) L(aetus) L(ibens) M(erito).
To the invincible god Mithras, Publius Aelius Titullus, prefect, gladly, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.
3) DEO SOLI INVIC(to) / TIB(iberius) CL(audius) DECIMUS / CORNEL(ius) ANTO/NIUS PRAEF(ectus) / TEMPLE(um) RESTIT(uit).
To the Invincible Sun. Tiberius Claudius Decimus Cornelius Antonius, Prefect, restored the temple.
4) SOLI / APOLLINI / ANICETO / [Mithrae] APON[I]US ROGAT[I]ANUS [PRAEF(ectus) V(otum) S(olvit) L(ibens) M(erito ?]
5) No inscription.
The location of the discovery was marked on contemporaneous maps, enabling the archaeologist J.P. Gilliam to relocate the shrine and excavate it in 1953.
The Mithraeum Phase I
Gilliam identified two distinct phases of use consisting of two successive temples on the site. He deduced that the first temple was built in the late second or early third century AD. Oriented east to west, the shrine formed a rectangle 12 x 6.02m in size with a small apse in the west end-wall. The plan was typical of mithraic temples in that it consisted of a central naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
flanked by low benches. The building was constructed in stone with clay used to bond the blocks. A roughly-built narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
(or ante-chapel) was later added to the outside of the east wall, 3m in depth and 6m in width. It was placed asymmetrically in line with the south wall so that there was no direct view from the front entrance into the temple. Similar to the shrine at Carrawburgh
Carrawburgh
Carrawburgh is a settlement in Northumberland. In Roman times, it was the site of a 3½ acre auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall called Brocolitia, Procolita, or Brocolita This name is probably based on the Celtic name for the place, and one possible translation put forward is 'badger holes'...
this anteroom
Antechamber
An antechamber is a smaller room or vestibule serving as an entryway into a larger one. The word is formed of the Latin ante camera, meaning "room before"....
contained a low stone bench which may have been used in initiation rites. The east wall, however, was built over a badly filled-in pit and the subsequent subsidence caused the collapse of the structure.
The Mithraeum Phase II
The mithraeumMithraeum
A Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the mystery religion of Mithraism.The Mithraeum was either an adapted natural cave or cavern or an artificial building imitating a cavern. Mithraea were dark and windowless, even if they were not actually in a subterranean space or in a natural...
was rebuilt soon after, but without the ante-room. Access was now directly into the shrine from the outside and it is unusual that the community would not have wanted at least some form of ante-chamber especially as they also reduced the free space within the shrine by extending the benches. The interior of the shrine was remodelled to include a stone podium in front of the apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
(presumably for the tauroctony
Tauroctony
The tauroctony scene is the cult relief of the Mithraic Mysteries. It depicts Mithras killing a bull, hence the name 'tauroctony', given to the scene in modern times possibly after the Greek ταυροκτόνος "slaughtering bulls", which derives from ταῦρος "bull" + κτόνος "murder", from κτείνω , "I...
) and the lengthening of the benches. A new roof system was also put in with wooden posts standing in front of the benches. Five small uninscribed altars were found inside the nave and the remains of a water-basin were recovered about two-thirds of the way along the northern bench.
Gilliam found two heads of Cautes and Cautopates
Cautes and Cautopates
Cautes and Cautopates are torch-bearers depicted attending the god Mithras in the icons of ancient Roman cult of Mithraism. Cautes holds his torch raised up, and Cautopates holds his torch downward.-Interpretation:...
and speculated that this was the result of a deliberate decapitation of the statues. The lack of any trace of the tauroctony
Tauroctony
The tauroctony scene is the cult relief of the Mithraic Mysteries. It depicts Mithras killing a bull, hence the name 'tauroctony', given to the scene in modern times possibly after the Greek ταυροκτόνος "slaughtering bulls", which derives from ταῦρος "bull" + κτόνος "murder", from κτείνω , "I...
was also used to argue for a deliberate desecration of the shrine; however, in the absence of any single fragment of it and without knowing what the statue smashed in 1844 was of, it is hard to say for sure. Certainly pottery evidence spread over the temple shows that it was out of use by the mid-fourth century.
All the finds and altars were placed in the Museum of Antiquities
Museum of Antiquities
The Museum of Antiquities was an archaeological museum at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1960 and in 2009 its collections were merged into the Great North Museum: Hancock.- History :...
at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, although they are in the process of being moved to the new Museum of the North.
See also
- Caernarfon MithraeumCaernarfon MithraeumThe Caernarfon Mithraeum is a Roman Temple to the Roman god Mithras . The temple was located 137 metres north-east of the Roman castra of Segontium on the outskirts of modern Caernarfon in Gwynedd, Wales....
at SegontiumSegontiumSegontium is a Roman fort for a Roman auxiliary force, located on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, north Wales.It probably takes its name from the nearby River Seiont, and may be related to the Segontiaci, a British tribe mentioned by Julius Caesar. The fort was founded by Agricola in 77 or...
in Roman Wales - London Mithraeum in LondiniumLondiniumThe city of London was established by the Romans around AD 43. It served as a major imperial commercial centre until its abandonment during the 5th century.-Origins and language:...
Further reading
Daniels, C. 1989. Mithras and his Temples on the Wall pp16–19.Gilliam, J.P., MacIvor, I & Birley, E. 1954. 'The Temple of Mithras at Rudchester'. Archaeologia Aeliana (4th series) XXXII, 176-219