Savaria Mithraeum was the shrine of Mithras in the Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 town of Savaria

Savaria

Savaria may refer to :-* Szombathely - a city in Hungary* Sarvaiya - a Rajput clan of India* Saawariya - a known Bollywood film....

 (now Szombathely

Szombathely

Szombathely 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...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

) which was discovered in 2008.

History

The cult of Mithras was popular in the Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...

 of Pannonia

Pannonia

Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....

. Archeological evidences proved its presence in Aquincum

Aquincum

The ancient city of Aquincum was situated on the North-Eastern borders of the Pannonia province within the Roman Empire. The ruins of the city can be found today in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary...

, Fertőrákos

Fertorákos

Fertőrákos is a village in the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron in Hungary. In 2001 it had a population of 2,182.It is located at , about from Sopron, near Lake Fertő and the Austrian border. In summer, a border checkpoint for pedestrians and cyclists connects it to the Austrian municipality of...

 and Sárkeszi

Sárkeszi

- External links :*...

 but its popularity in Savaria, the capital of Pannonia Prima

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, which was gradually divided into four administrative units: Pannonia Prima, Pannonia Secunda, Valeria, and Savia. This...

 was only proved in 2008 when 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 unearthed in the vicinity of the most important surviving Roman monument of the town, the shrine of Isis

Isis

Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...

.

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 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

Egyptian blue is chemically known as calcium copper silicate . It is a pigment used by Egyptians for thousands of years. It is considered to be the first synthetic pigment. The pigment was known to the Romans by the name caeruleum...

 and vermilion

Vermilion

Vermilion is an opaque orangish red pigment, similar to scarlet. As a naturally occurring mineral pigment, it is known as cinnabar, and was in use around the world before the Common Era began. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, and vermilion is nowadays commonly...

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

See also

• Aquincum Mithraeum (of Victorinus)
  Aquincum Mithraeum (of Victorinus)
  The Aquincum Mithraeum is a temple to the Roman god Mithras near Budapest in Hungary. The temple was built within a townhouse in the Roman city of Aquincum, on the outskirts of the modern city of Budapest, Hungary....
  
  : Mithraeum near Budapest
• Fertorakos Mithraeum
  Fertorakos mithraeum
  The Fertorakos Mithraeum is a temple to the Roman god Mithras at Fertőrákos in Hungary. The temple , follows a typical plan of a narthex followed by the shrine proper that consists of a sunken central nave with podium benches on either side.- Discovery :It was discovered by chance by a stonemason...
  
  : Mithraeu in Fertőrákos, Hungary