CIMRM 1901 - Mithraeum. Jajce, Bosnia

Mithraeum in Jajce, in central Bosnia. Probably 4th century.

According to this blog (07/2012) "the Mithras Temple, the most ancient jewel in Jajce's sightseeing crown, was discovered by accident during construction. ... Now, it is in pieces, above ground, in a green tinted glass box by a condominium behind a Maxi supermarket. It's obviously in the process of being fixed up, completely moved from its original home to help stop the effects of moisture damage. A sign gives the estimated date of restoration completion as April of last year."

According to Unesco the monument was completed in December 2012; the Mithraeum was discovered in 1930 and required conservation after 80 years of neglect.

A detailed description is found here, from which the description is added below.

CIMRM entry

1901. Mithraeum discovered at Jajce in Central Bosnia at a distance of about 200 mtrs from the medieval castle on the l. bank of the Pliva and on the territory of H. Mustajberg Kapetanovic. It probably dates from the fourth cent. A.D. Sergejevsky in Glasnik Zem. Mus. BH XLIX 1937, 11ff and plan (See fig. 492). The Mithraeum slopes down to the river and it lies near a well. Only the cultroom proper is preserved at 2.80 mtrs below actual floor level. This room is an irregular quadrangle (L. 7.00) and has its entrance on the east side because a threshold was found here. Remnants of stone steps, probably for the exit, were found in the S-W corner. On the west side is a rocky wall and a niche in which the Mithraic relief is walled in. Before the niche are two steps, the lower divided into two other smaller steps. There is only one bench (Br. 1.08) and it is not certain whether there was another yet. The floor of the aisle consists of stamped earth. The outer walls are in marl without cement. Fragments of roof tiles are scarce.

Official Bosnian description

1. Information on the site Location The antique religious monument of the Mithraeum in Jajce is situated on cadastral plot No. 493, cadastral municipality Jajce I, land registry entry no. 660; and is national property. The temple to Mithras in Jajce is located in a damp site known as Bare, some 200 m to the south-west of the mediaeval town of Jajce, on the left bank of river Pliva. Historical Information ... The followers of Mithraism sought as a rule to locate their places of worship in caves, and in the absence of such sites they built small single-celled temples or spelaea; where the terrain permitted, they would excavate the soil to reinforce the impression of a cave. The Jajce site is one such. The remains of the Mithraeum in Jajce were discovered during the construction of a private building. The site was purchased by the Society for the Preservation of Antiquities in Jajce and provided with protection under the supervision of F. Steiner, engineer. At first a wooden fence was erected, and soon after this a protective stone structure was erected, which survives to this day. The Mithraeum in Jajce almost certainly dates from the early fourth century CE (D. Sergejevski, 1937, 16). ... 2. Description of the monument The spelaeum is hollowed out into the rock, with a floor level some 2.80 m. below ground level. The nature of the soil, moisture and tufa deposits have partly obscured the plan of the Mithraeum. The temple consisted of an irregular square cell about 7 m long. No aparatorium was discovered. The walls of the Mithraeum had no foundations, and were made of marl with no mortar binding and left unplastered. It is assumed that the roof would have been made of brushwood (?) (D. Sergejevski, 1937, p. 13). The action of water and dripstone deposits caused the walls to fall in, as a result of which only the remains of the south and east walls remain recognizable. The west wall, with a carving in the centre, was almost entirely cut from the living rock. The north wall collapsed and the interior is filled with limestone deposits. Part of the threshold was discovered in the north-east corner, not in its original position. It is assumed that the entrance was in the east wall, where a limestone block was found that served as threshold. The remains of stone steps discovered in the south-west corner of the cell indicate that the exit was probably at this point. The floor was a mix of damp soil and sand (D. Sergejevski, 1937, p. 13). The only podium noted in the cell is that to the left, 1.80 metres wide, on which three small altars (4-6) and a headless stone statue of Cautopates 0.55 m. high were found. His partner Cautes, who should normally have been on the right, was not found. This is the only instance in Bosnia and Herzegovina where two free-standing Mithraic sculptures have been found in addition to relief sculptures of the twin torchbearers. All these stone sculptures are now on the surviving left-hand podium. It is not known whether there was a right-hand podium. The rear side of Cautopates' statue is unfinished, and it also appears, from the nature of the break, that his head was broken at a time when the sanctuary was still in active use. In front of the carving, in a pile consisting of the remains of bones, rusty iron items and small pieces of antique roof tiles, three large altars were found (1-3), mingled with black humus-rich soil. Here two steps were discovered with a combined height of about 1 m. On the west wall, which is in fact the living limestone rock with a height of 3.15 m., there is a largely well-preserved carved relief. Mithras' right fist holding a knife, the top of a Phrygian cap and Mithras' face, a serpent's head, and the left-hand border of the relief have been broken off. The right-hand side of the relief has a natural deposit of dark red pigment, perhaps ferric oxide. The workmanship is fairly crude (D. Sergejevski, 1937, p. 14). The relief is set in a shallow niche 1.68 m. high, finished in the shape of a gable roof and decorated with palmettos. The image of the god killing a bull occupies almost the entire height of the niche. This is a representation of the Mithraic tauroctony, simple in type, but including all the necessary iconographic symbols: Mithras in Persian garments, with a fluttering cloak. With one knee he is crushing a bull, while seizing him by the muzzle with his left hand and stabbing him in the heart with his right. He is being assisted by a dog, a serpent and a scorpion. There is also a raven, which has brought an order froom Ahuramazda. To either side are the dadophorae or torchbearers. In the upper section is the sun (shown without rays) and the moon (without sickle). The artist has used pigments: blue for Mithras' tunic, red for his cloak and trousers and for the sun and the moon. The bull was probably black, and the background green. To the right and left of the relief are two small triangular hollows, the left measuring 0.08 x 0.07 x 0.11 m. and the right 0.09 x 0.09 x 0.11, in which lamps probably once stood. The lamps themselves (of the type known as firm oil lamps) were found in the rubble below the relief. In front of the relief to the left a brass lamp (10.1 cm long and 5.8 cm in diameter) was found, with a handle and chain alongside it. The other lamp was of terracotta, 9.2 cm long, as were the shards of a third that were found. All were without signature, which is also typical of the late antique period. Here too a silver fibula was found with a bound foot, 6.6 cm long (late antique) and sixteen coins: 1.medium bronze coin of Trajan (early 2nd c.) 2.Dipondius of Antoninus Pius (138-161) 3.Philipus Augustus (?) 4.a dinar of Septimius Geta (211-212) 5.16 small bronze coins of dynasties from 324 onwards. Altars (arae) Six arae in all were found, of which five were without epigraphics and one had traces of some carved lettering (no. 4) Altar no. 1 was made of limestone and was 0.825 m high, 0.465 m. wide (0.35 at the centre), and 0.37 m. deep (0.255 at the centre). On the upper slab was a square 10 cm. deep hollow measuring 18 x 25 cm. The upper edge is decorated with palmettos. Altar no. 2 was also of limestone, split in the lower region, and measuring 0.72 m. high x 0.39 m. wide (0.27 at the centre), x 0.265 deep (0.21 at the centre). Altar no. 3 was of limestone, measuring 0.45 m. high x 0.27 m wide (0.215 at the centre) x 0.2 m. deep (0.17 at the centre). It has a moulded socle and decorated upper edge. The decoration is composed of a central triangle with a circle inscribed in it, and moulded acroteria. Between the triangle and each acroterium is a four-petalled flower. Altar no. 4 was a smaller limestone altar with a moulded socle and upper edge, measuring 0.18 m. high x 0.117 m. wide (0.092 m. at the centre) x 0.092 m. deep (0.073 at the centre). The letters INV(icto) are carved on the front. Altar no. 5, again of limestone, has a moulded socle and upper edge, and measures 0.33 m. high x 0.235 m. wide (0.19 m. at the centre) x 0.175 m. deep (0.14 m. at the centre). The upper edge has a triangle and acroteria decoration. Altar no. 6, also of limestone, again has a moulded socle and upper edge, and measures 0.425 m. high x 0.27 m. wide (0.215 at the centre) x 0.195 m. deep (0.15 at the centre). Dating the Mithraeum. There is no direct evidence of the date of the Mithraeum. Based on the coins, types of lamp and fibula that were found, it is assumed to date from the early fourth century CE (D. Sergejevski, 1937, p. 17). It is not known when it ceased to be used for worship. There are no signs of violent or deliberate destruction or fire. 3. Research and conservation and restoration works 1931: investigations by D. Sergejevski. 1952: the protective structure of the Mithraeum in Jajce was repaired. 4. Present condition of the site An on-site inspection ascertained as follows: the site is exposed to rapid deterioration as a result of damp the stone monuments remain in situ on the left podium, but the smaller finds were probably handed to the then Society for the Preservation of Antiquities (founded 1930), the precursor of the museum. It is not known where they are now. signs of attempts to "clear" the tauroctony scene of natural deposits can be seen, along with signs of scraping in certain areas. Bibliography Basler, D., Arhitektura kasnoantickog doba u Bosni i Hercegovini (Architecture of the late antique period in BiH). Sarajevo, 1972, 64-65 Sergejevski, D., Das Mithraum von Jajce. Journal of the National Museum XLIX, Sarajevo, 1937, 11-18