This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The ancient Romans were a deeply religious and superstitious people, worshiping dozens of cults—some official and others secretive. One of these was dedicated to Sabazios, a deity from Thrace and Phrygia (regions spanning parts of the modern-day Balkans and Turkey).
A new study published in the journal Antiquity reports the discovery of fragments of a vessel in a Roman villa at Collet in northeastern Spain. The broken pieces included part of the rim and a handle shaped like a two-headed serpent. The find suggests this obscure cult reached rural areas in this part of the Roman Empire.
The research was carried out by a team led by scientists from the University of Girona in Spain. By examining the layers in which the fragments were found and surrounding pottery, including wine jars and cups, researchers determined that the pot was broken and buried during the reign of Emperor Augustus (between 27 BCE and 14 CE). This means it must date from that period or immediately before.
"The Collet vessel provides an early rural example of Iberian serpent-ware," the scientists wrote in their paper. Mineral analysis of the clay could not determine where the vessel was made, although some characteristics suggest it may have originated in North Africa. To understand more about the pot's imagery, the research team compared the handle with other ritual objects from across the Roman world.
Snakes were a characteristic symbol in the private worship of Sabazios, but they also appeared in other traditions, such as the cult of Mithras. However, the study authors link this find to Sabazios because of discoveries at nearby Empúries (ancient Emporiae). Previously, archaeologists found a portable bronze triptych in an Augustan-era or early first-century tomb.
Two of its three plaques survive, including the central one, which depicts Sabazios surrounded by symbols of his cult. Finding this vessel at a working rural villa suggests that this exotic eastern cult was not confined to urban settings. "Apparently minor cults were not confined to restricted areas but could have constituted extensive cultic networks within the wider Roman Empire," explained the researchers.
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