01-31-2013, 04:15 AM
Quote:Mithras Cult brought to Britain by Roman officers but is it certain exactly when ...?
The earliest mithraeum, I think, is at Carnuntum, dated cAD80. The cult didn't really gain wide popularity until the later Antonine era though - under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus particularly. Interesting that this is also the period when phrygian caps start appearing quite often in Roman art, so maybe there's a connection.
If so, the cap would only be common from the later second century onwards. Before that, the wearer might be mistaken for a Phrygian...
Nathan Ross