The Cave of the God Mithra
In Duino Aurisina, the Cave of the God Mithra, also known as the Mithraeum, is situated in a small sinkhole with steep walls on the slopes of Mount Ermada, near San Giovanni di Duino and a short distance from the Timavo springs. The Mithraeum of Duino is a rarity: it is the only one in Europe situated in a natural cavity rather than in an artificial underground chamber.
When it was discovered in 1963 by a group of speleologists from the Alpine Society of the Julian Alps, it was filled with large stones reaching up to the ceiling, and it was during the clearance work that a number of Roman-era artefacts were recovered.
The site is an important example of an underground place of worship dedicated to the god Mithras, a deity of Hinduism and the Persian religion who later entered the Hellenistic and Roman pantheon, and was worshipped from the second half of the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD.
Reconstructions of the original cult structures can still be found within the cave, whilst some artefacts are on display at the Grotta Gigante Speleological Museum and the J.J. Winckelmann Municipal Museum of Antiquities in Trieste.
The Superintendency organises free tours of the cave through the Flondar Speleological Group every Saturday from 10 am to 12 noon, meeting at the Duino Aurisina Forestry Station.
For information: flondar@libero.it; mobile 339-6968950.
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