Origin Built c. 250 CE; excavated 1954
The London Mithraeum was built around 250 CE on the bank of the now buried River Walbrook in Roman Londinium, partly underground in the customary cave-like form of a Mithraic temple. It was uncovered by chance in September 1954 during postwar redevelopment, drawing crowds reported as high as 30,000 people a day, and was dismantled and later reassembled nearby for public display, remaining one of the most widely known individual Mithraic sites in the former Roman Empire.
Facts
Site
Type of SiteRock-cut or underground sanctuary 1 Type of Site DetailExcavation recovered a marble head of Mithras and a relief of the tauroctony, the bull slaying scene central to the cult's iconography, both now held by the Museum of London. The temple was moved a second time in the 2010s: rather than remaining at its 1962 display site, it was reinstalled beneath Bloomberg's new London headquarters at its original depth and orientation, closer to how it stood on the buried Walbrook's bank in Roman times. 2 Geography
LatitudeApproximate reference point, rounded to one decimal place; this marks the site's general location for a map, not a survey-grade or precise boundary measurement. LongitudeApproximate reference point, rounded to one decimal place; this marks the site's general location for a map, not a survey-grade or precise boundary measurement. Origins
Origin PeriodBuilt c. 250 CE; excavated 1954 1 Status
Status TodayStanding, but maintained as a museum or heritage monument 1 UNESCO World Heritage Location
Connections
Associated With
Source The Origins of the Mithraic MysteriesDavid Ulansey
Belongs to Tradition
Source The Origins of the Mithraic MysteriesDavid Ulansey
Contained In
Source The Origins of the Mithraic MysteriesDavid Ulansey
Related To
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Located In
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Sources
1. The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries
David Ulansey, Oxford University Press, 1989on the London Mithraeum and its 1954 excavationView the Source 2. Encyclopaedia Britannica (online academic reference)
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2024View the Source 3. UNESCO World Heritage List
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage CentreView the Source The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire
Roger Beck, Oxford University Press, 2006on the layout and cult practice of a Mithraic templeView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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