The cult of Sabazius in Sorviodurum: the meeting hall, the religious feasts and the equipment

• Applicant: Dr. Constanze Höpken
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2011 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 195992571

Sabazios, an oriental god with pre-Roman roots came to the western provinces of the Roman Empire with the Roman army. Votives and inscriptions show a wide distribution of the religion, however, sanctuaries are rare and the activities of the cult as well as the members of the cult largely unknown.In 1993 in Straubing on the Danube limes remains of a meeting hall of a Sabazios community were excavated. Cult vessels as well as kitchen and table ware were found in a cellar underneath a burnt layer. This complex offers the unprecedented opportunity to analyze a Sabazios-cult community and to compare it with other mystery cults.So far, the pottery is processed but during the recording of the material many graffiti on the vessels were discovered, which provide information to the participants. Especcially two fragments of a dish, which show several lines of hand writing, promise more information about the cult or the members. This data has to be prepared for the publication in both ways: graphically and a scientifically.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants