8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A sanctuary for Cult God Mithras discovered in Germany

A place of worship for the Roman god of light, Mithras, was discovered during archaeological excavations in Trier, in southwestern Germany.

The first findings from archaeological excavations started in Trier in February of this year at a site where a new central station for the city fire department was to be built was presented. Scientists discovered the remains of the Mithraeum – the sanctuary of the ancient Roman deity Mithra, which was destroyed and abandoned at the end of the 4th century.

So far, the most significant discovery at the excavation site has been a 1.2-meter limestone bas-relief depicting Cautes, one of Mithras’ two torch-bearing companions.

Cautes and Cautopates symbolize sunrise and sunset, summer and winter, and life, and death. Outwardly, they do not differ, but one holds the torch lit and up, the other – extinguished and down.

Photo: SWR

Mithra is a deity of Indo-Iranian origin – the god of friendship, harmony, agreement, and sunlight. As emphasized at a press conference in Trier on Tuesday, April 11, Mithraism spread throughout the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries of our era, particularly among legionnaires who believed Mithra brought victory.

Trier, founded by the Romans on the Moselle in 17 BC, is the oldest city in Germany and was the largest ancient Roman settlement north of the Alps.

For Trier, this is the second evidence of such a place of worship for the god Mithras, interior Minister Michael Ebling (SPD), responsible for cultural heritage said.

The sanctuaries of Mithras –Mithraeums – were usually located in underground rooms or caves. Mithraism adherents were obligated to maintain complete secrecy regarding the rites and sacraments, so modern ideas about this mystical religious cult are based mainly on the interpretation of surviving artifacts.

In the Roman Empire, Mithraism was widespread and for some time competed with Christianity. After Christianity became the official state religion, the cult started to decline. After that, the sanctuaries were destroyed or abandoned. In place of some, Christian churches were erected.

The relief is now in the restoration workshops of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier.

Related Articles

2,700-Year-Old Rare Bronze Knives from the Early Saka Period Unearthed in Kazakhstan

17 July 2025

17 July 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough, researchers and students from Margulan University have unearthed two rare bronze knives dating back over...

Archaeologists discovered large Roman baths under city museum in Croatia

8 December 2023

8 December 2023

Archaeologists who helped with the restoration work of the Split City Museum, one of the most important and visited museums...

10 Ancient Shipwrecks and Finds from Prehistoric to Ottoman Periods Discovered οff Kasos Island in Greece

14 March 2024

14 March 2024

The research team of the National Hellenic Research Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, has identified ten shipwrecks...

5,500-Year-Old Blade Workshop Unearthed Near Biblical Gath Reveals

28 July 2025

28 July 2025

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, Israeli researchers have unearthed a 5,500-year-old flint blade workshop near Kiryat Gat, southern Israel—the first...

Battle of the Egadi Islands: Rome’s deadly weapons discovered off Sicily

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

Underwater archaeologists from the Soprintendenza del Mare Regione Siciliana, RPM Nautical Foundation, and the Society for the Documentation of Submerged...

India’s Ancient ‘Dwarf Chambers’: Hire Benkal’s 2,500-Year-Old Mysterious Megalithic Legacy

26 July 2025

26 July 2025

Tucked away in the rugged granite hills of Karnataka lies Hire Benkal, a vast prehistoric necropolis that silently guards the...

Roman-era marble sundial found for the first time in Turkey’s second Ephesus

26 September 2022

26 September 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman-era marble sundial in the ancient city of Aizanoi in the Çavdarhisar district of Kütahya province...

Ancient ‘Church’ in Spain May Actually Be a Roman-Era Synagogue, Archaeologists Say

2 August 2025

2 August 2025

Archaeologists have found menorah artifacts and Hebrew inscriptions that may prove a 4th-century church was actually a Roman-era synagogue. Archaeologists...

A large stone monument depicting the goddess Ishtar has been unearthed in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud

26 June 2023

26 June 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, working with an Iraqi excavation team, have unearthed a...

Magnificent Discovery: A Major Tomb Filled with Gold and Ceramic Artifacts was Discovered in Panama

3 March 2024

3 March 2024

In an archaeological find in the El Caño Archaeological Park, located in the district of Natá, province of Coclé, in...

A unique tomb decorated with amber was discovered near Petrozavodsk

26 August 2021

26 August 2021

According to a press release from the Petrozavodsk State University a unique tomb was discovered on the western shore of...

Oldest Recorded Gynecological Treatment

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

In their latest research, scientists have come across a treatment practice in a mummy from 4000 years ago, as written...

Roman-era structures unearthed in northwestern Turkiye dam site rescue excavations

18 May 2024

18 May 2024

Rescue excavations at the Reşitköy Dam site in the northwestern Turkiye province of Balıkesir have unearthed Roman structures, including a...

Twin temples linked to Hercules and Alexander the Great discovered in Sumerian city of Girsu

29 January 2024

29 January 2024

Archaeologists discovered two temples, with one buried over the other, during excavations at Girsu, a Sumerian city in southeastern Iraq...

Discoveries on the island of Minorca shed light on the history of Roman conquests in the Balearic Islands

31 July 2021

31 July 2021

The University of Alicante Institute for Archeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH) Researchs discovered a collection of buried Roman antiquities going...