The orientation of the Mithraea in Ostia Antica

We conducted an investigation on the orientations and geometrical content of the Mithraea of Ostia Antica. A geometrical CAD study based on the most reliable plans from the Archives of the Sovrintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo, il MNR e l’Area Archeologica di Roma – Ostia Antica, aside with the identification of geometrical and numerical schemes and associated length units, allowed us to identify the axes of the Mithraea. Then the orientations of the axes were measured on field by means of a professional compass with ± 0.5° uncertainty. The distribution of these measured azimuths follows the topography of the city. On the contrary, the Decumanus, the main street of the town, presents an indubitable orientation toward the Winter Solstice Sunset. This was ascertained by measuring the coordinates of four significant points along the street with the help of a palmar Trimble GPS which averages 100 measures per point. The exceptional density of Mithraea in Ostia led us to suppose that a symbolic cosmic-solar value is to be searched in the orientation as a whole of the town itself, founded half a millennium before the first presence of Mithraism in Rome. The Decumanus could be considered the very holder of this symbolic value with its orientation toward the Winter Solstice Sunset, possibly making of Ostia a very special place for Mithraicism.