Ancient Roman temple built by the mystery cult of Mithas aligns with the sunrise on the birthday of Jesus

• Researcher analyzed the temple's location using satellite maps and software
• This found that the 'Mithraeum' in northern England aligns with winter solstice
• It also lines up with sunrise on December 25, likely to 'recall the birth' of Mithras

An ancient temple constructed by a mysterious cult in northern England may have been built to align with sunrise on Dec. 25, to ‘recall the birth’ of the light god Mithras.

A new analysis using satellite maps and a software that can plot the direction of sunrise and sunset revealed that the ‘Mithraeum’ beside a Roman fort in Carrawburgh lines up with both the winter solstice and Christmas Day.

Followers of the cult of Mithras often associated these two dates with the god, and were even said to celebrate the New Year on Dec 25th, as it marked his birth.

A new analysis using satellite maps and a software that can plot the direction of sunrise and sunset revealed that the ‘Mithraeum’ beside a Roman fort in Carrawburgh lines up with both the winter solstice and Christmas Day (shown above)

In a new paper published to Philica, Amelia Carolina Sparavigna of Politecnico di Torino argues that the temple at Carrawburgh was likely designed around the birth of Mithras.

Sparavigna used the SunCal.net software to pinpoint the direction of sunrise and sunset at different times of the year for this location.

And, this revealed ‘good alignment’ for the Dec 25 sunrise along with the winter solstice (Dec 21), with a difference of just .2 degrees.

‘As we can see using software giving the sunrise and sunset directions on satellite maps, the orientation of the temple and the direction of the sunrise on winter solstice are in good agreement,’ Sparavigna wrote.

An ancient temple constructed by a mysterious cult in northern England may have been built to align with sunrise on Dec. 25, to ‘recall the birth’ of the light god Mithras. The analysis revealed ‘good alignment’ for the Dec 25 sunrise, along with the winter solstice

In a new paper published to Philica , Amelia Carolina Sparavigna of Politecnico di Torino argues that the temple at Carrawburgh was likely designed around the birth of Mithras

‘It means that, probably, the orientation of the temple was chosen to recall the birth of Mithras on December 25.’

Worship of Mithras spurred the rise of a ‘mystery cult’ during the Roman era, the researcher explains.

It was practiced from roughly the 1st century CE to the 4th century, and is often also linked to the sun god, Sol Invictus.

‘The cult of Mithras, such as that of the Sol Invictus who was the patron of the soldiers, was very popular in the Roman army,’ Sparavigna wrote.

THE MYSTERY CULT OF MITHRAS 

Worship of Mithras spurred the rise of a ‘mystery cult’ during the Roman era.

It was practiced from roughly the 1st century CE to the 4th century, and is often also linked to the sun god, Sol Invictus.

The cult was popular in the Roman army, just like worship of Sol Invictus, according to Sparavigna. 

The two gods were often identified as the same, the researcher explains.

Both had ties to the winter solstice, and were said to have been born on December 25.

On this day, the followers of Mithras celebrated the New Year, in honor of his birth.   

A new analysis of an ancient temple constructed by the mysterious cult in northern England suggests the structure may have been built to align with sunrise on Dec. 25, to ‘recall the birth’ of the light god. 

A statue of Mithras slaying a bull is shown

‘Both Sol Invictus and Mithras, who were often identified in the same god, are linked to winter solstice.

‘Actually, the followers of Mithras worshipped the New Year on December 25, to celebrate the birth of Mithras.’

Still, not all scholars are convinced that worshippers celebrated this day to mark his birth.

According to Sparavigna, two other examples of Roman military camps built in alignment with the sunrise or sunset on solstices have been found in the past. Winter at the Hardknott Roman fort and the Roman fort of Segontium are shown, with the lighter orange indicating sunrise

Roger Beck, an emeritus professor of Classics at the University of Toronto, has argued that there is little evidence to support the idea that worshippers believed Mithras was born on Dec 25, though the texts indicate Sol Invictus was, Live Science reports.

The same day was eventually chosen for the birth of Jesus, though scholars disagree that this was the actual date. 

The latest argument, however, does provide further support about hypotheses on the winter solstice alignment.

According to Sparavigna, two other examples of Roman military camps built in alignment with the sunrise or sunset on solstices have been found in the past.

The ‘Mithraeum’ sites beside a Roman fort in Carrawburgh. Followers of the cult of Mithras often associated the winter solstice and Dec 25 with the god, and the temple built at the site may be aligned with the sun on these dates