Free Republic

Ancient inscriptions written in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, have revealed a forgotten chapter of early Christianity's rise across the Roman Empire. Etched into stone, the text mentions both Jesus Christ and Mithras, the deity worshipped by a mysterious all-male religion once popular among Roman soldiers and merchants. The inscriptions were discovered at the entrance to an underground Mithras temple in southeastern Turkey, where researchers say it records the sanctuary's symbolic closure by early Christians around 1,700 years ago. Located at Zerzevan Castle, the remarkably preserved temple still contains four sacrificial hangers, a basin believed to have collected the blood...

Explore subterranean Rome! This ancient site in Rome is a sort of time elevator! Descend with Darius underneath the medieval church of San Clemente to discover the early Christian church and below that the imperial level remains of a domus (house) with a mithraeum and a next door horreum (warehouse), and much more!0:00 Introduction and overview1:55 Imperial house (with Mithraeum) and warehouse5:18 Late Antique house and early Christian church8:21 The 12C church that stands todayExplore Rome's Best Underground Site | 10:38Darius Arya Digs | 26.2K subscribers | 35,050 views | February 26, 2024

A 1,600-year-old flute and bronze ring with a key have been unearthed during excavations in the 3,000-year-old Zerzevan Castle, located in the Çınar district of Diyarbakır and which served as the last garrison of the Roman Empire in the east... The historical castle, which is home to the Mithras Temple, is located on an area of 60,000 square meters. The historical castle has 12-15-meter-high and 1200-meter-long wall ruins, 21-meter-high watchtower and defense tower, church, administration building, residences, grain and weapon warehouses, underground sanctuary, shelters, rock tombs, water channels and 54 water cisterns. Its 1,800-year-old entrance has been unearthed, too... Stating...

It is believed that soldiers and merchants gathered in these secret temples drinking, feasting and performing rituals that may have involved simulating death and rebirth, and even some nakedness... ...They were very effective at keeping their knowledge a secret, so we really don't know a lot about what went on in the Mithraeum ...