Sacralised spaces of Mithras in Roman Dacia

Abstract

The Roman cult of Mithras is one of the most well documented cults in Roman Dacia, having almost 300 archaeological finds (epigraphic and figurative sources) produced in less than 170 years during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Although the rich materiality of the cult attracted European attention already in the 18th century, sacralised spaces of Mithras in Dacia – the mithraea of the province – were rarely analysed. This paper presents a systematic overview of the archaeologically and epigraphically attested sanctuaries. Based on the rich material of the cult it will present a new catalogue of sanctuaries of Mithras in Roman Dacia for the first time contextualising them in a new space taxonomy of Roman religious communication.