Mithraic shrines are more easily identified in all areas of the Roman Empire than shrines of other cults because of their distinctive design. In Britain, in the 1950s a temple was excavated along the banks of the Walbrook in the City of London and also three temples to Mithras have been found on Hadrian's Wall at Housesteads, Carrawburgh and Rudchester.
Here is a picture of one of the temples excavated on Hadrian's Wall:
Members of Mithras were largely soldiers which may be due to the cults emphasis on truth, honour and courage. Mithraic groups were highly secretive, meeting in underground shrines called the mithraeum, with a complex hierarchy of 7 grades from ‘raven’ to ‘father’ through which the initiates (all male) had to pass.
These grades may have given a sense of purpose and fulfillment and each man had to wear a costume and headmask to symbolize his grade. Initiation into each grade involved severe tests and training. At Carrawburgh an 'ordeal pit' was found as well as a bench very close to a large fire which may have been used in the ordeals of heat, cold and fasting.
The geographical spread of Mithraism is best explained by the travels of its members who set up new centres in the places where they were sent by their military or commercial occupation. The benefits of initiation into Mithraism may have been the close feeling of community provided by membership of the all-male group. This may have been attractive to soldiers and merchants who were far from home and might have felt they lacked sufficient social support.
