7/28/2019 London Mithraeum

1/4

London Mithraeum 1

London Mithraeum

The present-day location of the temple foundations.

The Temple of Mithras, Walbrook is a

Roman temple whose ruins were discovered

in Walbrook, a street in the City of London,

during rebuilding work in 1954. It is perhaps

the most famous of all twentieth-century

Roman discoveries in the City of London.

Excavation and artefacts

The site was excavated by W. F. Grimes,

director of the Museum of London in

1954.[1] The temple, initially hoped to have

been an early Christian church, was built in

the mid-3rd century[2] and dedicated to

Mithras or perhaps jointly to several deities

popular among Roman soldiers. Then it was

rededicated, probably to Bacchus, in the early fourth century. Found within the temple, where they had been

carefully buried at the time of its rededication, were finely detailed third-century white marble likenesses of

Minerva, Mercury the guide of the souls of the dead, and the syncretic gods Mithras and Serapis, imported from

Italy. There were several coarser locally-made clay figurines of Venus, combing her hair. The artefacts recovered

were put on display in the Museum of London.

Head of Serapis found in the 1954

excavations.

Among the sculptures the archaeologists found was a head of Mithras himself,

recognizable from his Phrygian cap. The base of the head is tapered to fit a torso,which was not preserved.

In 1889, artefacts were found in Walbrook; they probably came from the

Mithraeum, though it was not identified at the time (Merrifield 1965, p. 179).

One of these was a marble relief, 0.53 m, of Mithras in the act of killing the astral

bull, the Tauroctony that was as central to Mithraism as the Crucifixion is to

Christianity. On it Mithras is accompanied by the two small figures of the

torch-bearing celestial twins of Light and Darkness, Cautes and Cautopates,

within the cosmic annual wheel of the zodiac. At the top left, outside the wheel,

SolHelios ascends the heavens in his biga; at top right Luna descends in her

chariot. The heads of two wind-gods, Boreas and Zephyros, are in the bottom

corners. It bears the inscription

VLPIVS SILVANVS EMERITVS LEG II AVG VOTVM SOLVIT FACTVS ARAVSIONE

which may be translated "Ulpius Silvanus, veteran soldier of the Second

Augustan Legion, in fulfillment of a vow, makes this altar [as the result of] a

vision" [3] or "Ulpius Silvanus, veteran of the Second Legion Augusta, fulfilled

his vow having become (a Mithraist) at Orange" [University of Edinburgh,

Classics Department, teaching collection] (Collingwood and Wright 1965, No. 3). Nearby were buried heads of the

Roman goddess Minerva and a finely detailed bearded head of Serapis, Jupiter-like in his features but securely

recognizable by the grain-basket, the modius, upon his head, a token of resurrection.

An inscription dateable AD 307310 at the site

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Resurrectionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modius_%28headdress%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serapishttp://www.roman-britain.org/places/londinium.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legio_II_Augustahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legio_II_Augustahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zephyroshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boreas_%28god%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biga_%28chariot%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helioshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zodiachttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cautes_and_Cautopateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tauroctonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrygian_caphttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mithrashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ASerapis_head_london.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Venus_%28mythology%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serapishttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mithrashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Syncretismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psychopomphttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mercury_%28mythology%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Minervahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dionysushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mithrashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Museum_of_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=W._F._Grimeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=City_of_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Britainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=City_of_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walbrookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_templehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ARuins_of_the_Mithras_Temple_in_the_City_of_London%2C_2004.jpg

7/28/2019 London Mithraeum

2/4

London Mithraeum 2

PRO SALVTE D N CCCC ET NOB CAES DEO MITHRAE ET SOLI INVICTO AB ORIENTE AD OCCIDENTEM

may be translated "For the Salvation of our lords the four emperors and the noble Caesar, and to the god Mithras, the

Invincible Sun from the east to the west" (Collingwood and Wright 1965, no. 4). [4]

Location and relocation

The Roman temple, when it was originally built, would have stood on the east bank of the now covered-over River

Walbrook, a key freshwater source in Roman Londinium. Nearby, in its former streambed, a small square hammered

lead sheet was found, on which an enemy of someone named Martia Martina had inscribed her name backwards and

thrown the token into the stream, in a traditional Celtic way of reaching the gods that has preserved metal tokens in

rivers throughout Celtic Europe, from the swords at La Tne to Roman times. (Compare wishing well.)

Due to the necessity of building over the site, the whole site was uprooted and moved down the road to Temple

Court, Queen Victoria Street, London EC4, where the remains of the temple foundations have been reassembled for

display to the public.

Though the present location is at grade, the original Mithraeum was built partly underground, recalling the cave of

Mithras where the Mithraic epiphany took place.The temple foundations are very close to other important sites in the city of London including the historic London

Stone, the Bank of England and London Wall.

An interim report on the excavation included in W.F. Grimes, The Excavation of Roman and Mediaeval London

(1968) was superseded by John Shepherd, The Temple of Mithras, Walbrook (an English Heritage monograph)

(1998).

It was intended that in 2009 the Temple would be relocated to its original location beside the ancient Walbrook

River, as part of the demolition of Bucklersbury House, and the creation of the new Walbrook Square

development,[5] designed by Foster and Partners (See: Legal & General Launches Walbrook Square [6]). However,

redesigns and disputes between freeholders Legal and General and Metrovacesa, who had agreed to buy the project,

resulted in the Walbrook Square project being put on hold in October 2008, when Bovis Lend Lease removed their

project team.[7] Metrovacesa left the project in August 2009.[8] As of May 2010, the Mithraeum remained in situ at

Temple Court,[9] though in the same month there was talk of reviving the Walbrook Square project. [10] The

Walbrook Square project has since been purchased by Bloomberg which has announced intent to restore the

Mithraeum to its original site.

Notes

[1] W.F. Grimes, in The Illustrated London News, 2, 9, and 16 October 1954.

[2] It was dated to the mid-second century in Maarten J. Vermaseren, "The New Mithraic Temple in London"Numen2.1/2 (January 1955), pp.

139-145.

[3] http:/ /www.roman-britain. org/places/londinium. htm

[4] Togodumnus (Kevan White). "Londinivm Avgvsta" (http://www.roman-britain. org/places/londinium. htm). Roman-britain.org. .

Retrieved 2012-01-20.

[5] 06:52 PM. "Walbrook Square, London" (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread. php?t=421500). SkyscraperCity. . Retrieved

2012-01-20.

[6] http:/ /www.fosterandpartners. com/News/235/Default.aspx

[7] "Bovis Lend Lease stands down team at 300m Walbrook Square | Magazine News" (http://www.building. co.uk/news/

bovis-lend-lease-stands-down-team-at-300m-walbrook-square/3125240. article). Building. 2008-10-17. . Retrieved 2012-01-20.

[8] Hogg, Simon (2009-08-04). "Walbrook Square: Foster and Nouvel feel the force of the recession | News" (http://www.architectsjournal.co.

uk/news/daily-news/walbrook-square-foster-and-nouvel-feel-the-force-of-the-recession/5206169. article). Architects Journal. . Retrieved

2012-01-20.

[9][9] Site visit, 29 May 2010.

[10] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb331862-5f7a-11df-a670-00144feab49a. html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb331862-5f7a-11df-a670-00144feab49a.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb331862-5f7a-11df-a670-00144feab49a.htmlhttp://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/walbrook-square-foster-and-nouvel-feel-the-force-of-the-recession/5206169.articlehttp://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/walbrook-square-foster-and-nouvel-feel-the-force-of-the-recession/5206169.articlehttp://www.building.co.uk/news/bovis-lend-lease-stands-down-team-at-%C2%A3300m-walbrook-square/3125240.articlehttp://www.building.co.uk/news/bovis-lend-lease-stands-down-team-at-%C2%A3300m-walbrook-square/3125240.articlehttp://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/235/Default.aspxhttp://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=421500http://www.roman-britain.org/places/londinium.htmhttp://www.roman-britain.org/places/londinium.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Illustrated_London_Newshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloomberg_L.P.http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bovis_Lend_Leasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Metrovacesahttp://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/235/Default.aspxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Foster_and_Partnershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bucklersbury_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_Heritagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=London_Wallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bank_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=London_Stonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=London_Stonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mithrashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mithraeumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wishing_wellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_T%C3%A8ne_culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Celthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Londiniumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walbrook%23Underground_riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walbrook%23Underground_riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_templehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sol_Invictus

7/28/2019 London Mithraeum

3/4

London Mithraeum 3

References

Museum of London: Discovering beliefs at Walbrook (http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/MOLsite/

learning/features_facts/digging/beliefs/s1.html)

The Grimes' London Archive (http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/ArchRev/rev95_6/grimes.htm)

Roman Britain: Londinivm Avgvsta (http://www.roman-britain.org/places/londinium.htm)

R.G. Collingwood and R.P. Wright, 1965. The Roman Inscriptions of Britain (Oxford University Press), nos 3, 4. W.F. Grimes, 1968.Excavation of Roman and Mediaeval London (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul).

Ralph Merrifield, 1965. The Roman City of London (London: Benn).

John D. Shepherd, 1998. The Temple of Mithras, London: excavations by W. F. Grimes and A. Williams at the

Walbrook(London: English Heritage).

http://www.roman-britain.org/places/londinium.htmhttp://www.eng-h.gov.uk/ArchRev/rev95_6/grimes.htmhttp://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/MOLsite/learning/features_facts/digging/beliefs/s1.htmlhttp://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/MOLsite/learning/features_facts/digging/beliefs/s1.html

7/28/2019 London Mithraeum

4/4

Article Sources and Contributors 4

Article Sources and ContributorsLondon Mithraeum Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=494252423 Contributors: Adamsan, Andypeg123, Arthena, BD2412, Bill Thayer, Chris the speller, CommonsDelinker,Cynwolfe, D6, DNewhall, Deror avi, Dpaajones, Edgar181, G-Man, Graham87, GreatWhiteNortherner, Haukurth, Hugo999, J04n, Jeremy Bolwell, Kaihsu, Kate, Mcferran, Neddyseagoon,Omnieiunium, Panairjdde, Pburka, QuartierLatin1968, Rich Farmbrough, Solar, Steeev, Tagishsimon, Tchoutoye, Tlroche, Tony Keen2, Tpbradbury, Tris2000, Vegaswikian, Walgamanus,Warofdreams, Wereon, Wetman, Yworo, 13 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Ruins of the Mithras Temple in the City of London, 2004.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ruins_of_the_Mithras_Temple_in_the_City_of_London,_2004.jpgLicense: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: AnRo0002, Bibi Saint-Pol, Billinghurst, Kilom691, Kurpfalzbilder.de, Mmcannis, Singinglemon, Udimu, Voyager, 1 anonymous edits

File:Serapis head london.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Serapis_head_london.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors:Udimu

License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/