Rare Mithraic altars found in Scotland go on display for the first time

"Two exceptionally rare and beautifully carved Mithraic altars found in Inveresk, East Lothian, Scotland, are going on display for the first time. They are not just the only Roman altars ever found in Scotland, but are among the finest examples of Roman sculpture in Roman Britain. They are also uniquely early in date, having been made in 140s A.D. during Antoninus Pius' reoccupation of southern Scotland, whereas most other archaeological materials related to the worship of Mithras in Britannia date to the 3rd century."

"Inveresk was the site of a fort on the Antonine Wall and a bustling town grew around the military base. It was also home to the northernmost temple to Mithras in the Roman Empire, and the two altars were the focal points of the temple, which would have been an underground space, dark and windowless, resembling or even built into a natural cave. The altars were found broken in large fragments, and required extensive conservation work."

"The capital is finely carved with leaves and flowers over a turned rope border, and topped with two scrolls on each end. The center top features a raven, which may have been one of a pair but the spot where the other would have been is damaged. Ravens played an important role in Mithraic mythology as the messengers from the sun god Sol Invictus to Mithras."

Two exceptionally rare, finely carved Mithraic altars from Inveresk, East Lothian, Scotland, are entering public display for the first time after conservation. The altars date to the 140s A.D., during Antoninus Pius' reoccupation, making them unusually early compared with mostly 3rd-century Mithraic finds in Britannia. Inveresk hosted a fort on the Antonine Wall and the northernmost Mithraic temple, likely an underground, windowless cave-like space. One altar is dedicated to Mithras with an inscription naming the dedicant, probably centurion Gaius Cassius Flavianus; carvings include leaves, scrolls, a raven, griffin, lyre and jug. The second altar is dedicated to Sol.

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