The Mithraeum was half-sunk into the bank of the Walbrook by the mysterious Mithras – a secret society of Romans whose candlelit caverns were supposed to represent the cave in which their hero killed a bull. When they packed up and left in 407 AD their temple was lost and forgotten for 1,600 years.
Archaeologists nearly stumbled across it again when they unearthed a marble relief in 1889, but it wasn’t until after World War II when they were digging out the foundations for a 14-storey office block that they came across its rectangle of stumpy stone walls. Unfortunately the architects didn’t find it quite as exciting as the archaeologists, and pushed for the entire site to be relocated so they could carry on with their construction work.
The temple was then dismantled stone-by-stone and shifted 100 metres into Queen Victoria Street where it spent the next sixty years as an open-air exhibit.
In 2010 that 14-storey office block had itself been torn down, and Bloomberg decided that it might be nice to restore the temple to its original position inside the basement of their new European HQ.
Exhibition of Roman archaeological finds
Photo: londondrum.comOnce they’ve scanned your digital ticket you have to spend the first few minutes pretending to admire their modern art (at the time of writing they’ve got a wire spider and a piece of rainbow-coloured carpet). Much better is the large display case containing some of the archaeological finds they dug up in the 1950s and 2010s.
There’s not a huge amount (the best bits went to the London Museum) but they’ve got a wooden door, a leather shoe, a bone comb and brooches, lots of metal nails, knives, keys and coins, and some scratched tablets from 62 AD that make the first known reference to London.
Things start to get a lot more interesting when you descend a set of stairs into a dark room full of misty, wispy projections. It’s like a waiting room for the main show and you pick a seat around the side and listen to Joanna Lumley narrating some of the history out of the speakers. Every ten minutes they let a small group down another set of stairs into the temple itself, by which time your eyes should have become adjusted to the low level of light.
Entering the darkened Temple of Mithras
Photo: londondrum.comIt’s extremely dark inside the temple. In fact, it’s even darker than dark – you can hardly see a thing. You can’t see the walls, the floor, your legs, nothing. And then the chanting starts… soft drums and cymbals start sounding out as the priests recite some lines from their ancient rituals.
Then ever so slowly a moon-coloured light illuminates the gloom and you can begin to pick out a few lines. Spotlights start hitting invisible bricks in mid-air to throw vertical shadows in the shape of columns, and a silvery picture shimmers at the altar end. The temple then rises up to its full height using sheets of white light – it’s almost like looking at a hologram.
Photo: londondrum.comIt’s very well done and they’ve squeezed about as much excitement out of it as they can, given the tiny size of the remains. When the main lights finally switch on at the end you can see that it’s basically just a rectangle of short walls with some steps at the altar end. Then you take a few pictures and go home. The whole thing only took me 45 minutes.
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EmailI also recommend… If you enjoy this then try Billingsgate Roman House and Baths (you can walk it in 7 mins). If you’re interested in Roman London then check out the remains of the London’s amphitheatre in the basement of the Guildhall Art Gallery. There are lots more Roman exhibits at the Museum of London. If you fancy some exercise then try our self-guided walk around Roman London
London Squire guidebook – Check out my Kindle guidebook, available to buy now at Amazon. I’ve spent the last twenty years visiting London’s landmarks, attractions and hotels and collected all of my reviews, example itineraries, advice about using the buses and trains, and handy practical info into an eBook, along with 650 original photographs
How to get to the London Mithraeum
| Fare zone | Cash | Oyster & Contactless | Travelcard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single fare | Single fare | Daily cap | One day | ||||
| Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Anytime | Off-peak | ||
| Bus | n/a | £1.75 | £5.25 | £6 | |||
| Train (zone 1) | £7 | £2.90 | £2.80 | £8.90 | £8.90 | £16.60(zone 1-4) | £16.60(zone 1-6) |
| Train (zone 1-2) | £7 | £3.50 | £2.90 | £8.90 | £8.90 | ||
| Train (zone 1-3) | £7 | £3.80 | £3.10 | £10.50 | £10.50 | ||
| Train (zone 1-4) | £7 | £4.60 | £3.40 | £12.80 | £12.80 | ||
| Train (zone 1-5) | £7 | £5.20 | £3.60 | £15.30 | £15.30 | £23.60(zone 1-6) | |
| Train (zone 1-6) | £7 | £5.80* | £3.80* | £16.30 | £16.30 | ||
| * Journeys between zone 1 and Heathrow are always charged at the peak rate. Prices are correct as of | |||||||
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