CIMRM Supplement - Mithraeum VI. Aquincum / Budapest, Hungary.

A sixth Mithraeum was discovered in 2023, at Aquincum. The following details appear in the Hungarian magazine at Muemlekem.hu.

Since 2018, a large-scale housing development has been taking place in the area. Before starting the foundation work, the specialists of the Budapest History Museum carry out an archaeological excavation of each house foundation. This is how it happened again this year at the site of the next building, which, according to the calculations, already falls within the suburban zone of the military town of Aquincum. In its southern lane, among other things, a detail of a Roman-era street, several building elements, and a slightly recessed room next to the aforementioned 1,700-year-old roadway were identified. Tamás Milbich , a staff member of the Department of Ancient History of the Aquincum Museum of BTM, and the leading archaeologist of the excavation, said that in the latter case it soon became obvious that it was a Mithras sanctuary.

Although only a small part of the sacred space has yet seen the light of day, several Mithraic finds help the identification. In this regard, the four altar stones found so far bearing traces of stucco and paint are particularly valuable, on one of which – thanks to unusual luck – even the painted inscription TRA(n)SITO(!) that can only be linked to the Mithras cult has been preserved. A votive offering made of lead depicting figures with Phrygian hats, a bull's skull with a three-hole lamp placed underneath, and a fragment of a stone bowl deserve further mention. The joining of the fallen pieces of the mural that once decorated the wall of the sanctuary has also begun. During this, a portrait of a man wearing a Phrygian cap begins to emerge. Perhaps Mithras himself begins to reappear after 1700 years.

Announced in December 2023. More excavations are planned for Spring 2024.

See also Csaba Szabó, Mithraeum VI in Aquincum.