Revising an archaeological context through the archival excavation: the Duino Mithraeum as a case study

Archaeology has shown to be of the utmost significance for the contextualization of the Oriental religions in Roman times, especially for the Cult of Mithras, one of their most controversial expressions. Nonetheless, a great deal of work remains to be done with regard to the Archaeology of Mithraism, especially concerning the lesser-known mithraea that existed in Italy outside the major concentrations of Rome and Ostia. This paper aims to restore a comprehensive overview of the finds from the Duino mithraeum, which represents a semi-published Mithraic context from the region of Venetia et Histria (territory of Aquileia, northern Italy). We will consider an array of different sources: from the published materials (preliminary notes and material studies) to the analysis of the unpublished written reports and materials preserved in deposit of the SABAP-FVG. The analysis of these sources enables us to disentangle the Mithraic evidence from the overall history of a site characterized by a millennial frequentation, and to draw a more solid reconstruction of the context.