About
The London Mithraeum preserves the excavated remains of a third-century Roman temple dedicated to the god Mithras, one of the most significant Roman archaeological discoveries ever made in the City of London, now displayed in situ at their original depth beneath the headquarters of the financial data company Bloomberg on Walbrook, close to the site of the vanished River Walbrook that once ran through Roman Londinium.
First uncovered in 1954 during post-war redevelopment of a bombed City site, the temple's discovery caused a sensation, with queues of the public lining up for a chance to see the ruins before they were controversially relocated and displayed above ground, disconnected from their original archaeological context, for several decades.
When Bloomberg redeveloped the site for its new European headquarters in the 2010s, the company committed to returning the temple to its original location and depth, undertaking a major archaeological and engineering project that reconstructed the ruins as closely as possible to their original form and context, informed by extensive new excavation across the wider site that recovered thousands of Roman artefacts, including a remarkable collection of wooden writing tablets providing rare direct textual evidence of everyday life, commerce and administration in Roman London.
The temple, dedicated to the mystery cult of Mithras that was popular particularly among Roman soldiers and merchants, is presented today within a carefully designed underground visitor experience incorporating light, sound and atmospheric effects intended to evoke something of the temple's original ritual atmosphere, while an accompanying gallery, Bloomberg SPACE, displays a rotating selection of the finest artefacts recovered during the excavation alongside changing contemporary art exhibitions.
Free to visit but requiring a timed-entry booking due to the site's location within a working corporate office building, the London Mithraeum represents an unusual and largely successful model of a major corporation funding, excavating and permanently preserving a nationally significant archaeological site as a free public attraction integrated within its own headquarters.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Tuesday, Wednesday afternoon
Busiest: Saturday
💡 Book a weekday timed slot well in advance, as popular times fill up quickly.
💡 Visitor Tips
- Book a free timed-entry slot online well in advance - this is a popular attraction with limited capacity every 20 minutes.
- Visit on the first Thursday of the month for extended opening until 8pm.
- The immersive temple presentation uses low lighting and sound - allow your eyes to adjust and take your time within the space.
- Combine your visit with the Bank of England Museum or Guildhall Art Gallery, both a short walk away in the City.
- The site is fully step-free and accessible via lift to the underground temple level.
- Look out for the changing contemporary art displays in Bloomberg SPACE alongside the permanent Roman collection.
- Bank Underground station is directly nearby, making this one of the most easily reached archaeological sites in London.
Highlights
The Temple of Mithras In Situ
The temple's foundations and structural remains are displayed at their original Roman-era depth, seven metres below current street level, within a carefully designed underground space using light, sound and atmospheric effects to suggest something of the temple's original ritual character as a place of worship for the mystery cult of Mithras.
This immersive presentation, developed following extensive research into Mithraic ritual practice, represents a significant departure from conventional static archaeological display, aiming to give visitors an emotional as well as intellectual sense of the space's original religious function.
Roman Writing Tablets
Among the most significant finds recovered during Bloomberg's extensive excavation of the wider site are several hundred wooden writing tablets bearing legible Roman ink and stylus inscriptions, providing an exceptionally rare body of direct textual evidence for everyday commercial, legal and personal life in Roman London, including what is believed to be the earliest datable handwritten document ever found in Britain.
Selected tablets are displayed within the Bloomberg SPACE gallery, offering visitors a uniquely intimate window into the literate, bureaucratic and commercial life of Roman Londinium.
The 1954 Discovery and Public Sensation
Displays and interpretation recount the temple's dramatic 1954 discovery during post-war redevelopment of a bombed City site, an event that caused a genuine public sensation, with long queues forming to see the ruins before their initial, archaeologically controversial relocation and above-ground reconstruction elsewhere on the site for several decades.
This history situates the temple's 2010s return to its original location and depth as a deliberate correction of an earlier, less sensitive approach to heritage preservation.
The Cult of Mithras
Interpretation throughout the site explores the Roman mystery cult of Mithras, an initiatory religion particularly popular among Roman soldiers, merchants and officials that involved secretive rituals whose exact details remain only partially understood by modern scholars due to the deliberately esoteric nature of the cult's practices.
Understanding this religious context helps visitors appreciate why the temple's precise archaeological reconstruction matters so much to interpreting the site correctly.
Collections
The London Mithraeum's core holding is the physical archaeological remains of the Roman Temple of Mithras itself, reconstructed and displayed at its original location and depth following extensive archaeological research into its likely original appearance and ritual use. The accompanying Bloomberg SPACE gallery displays a changing rotation of the several thousand Roman artefacts recovered during the site's excavation, most notably an internationally significant collection of legible wooden writing tablets, alongside pottery, coins and personal items documenting everyday life in Roman London, complemented by a separate programme of contemporary art exhibitions.
The Temple of Mithras
The reconstructed Roman temple displayed in situ at its original depth, with an immersive light and sound presentation.
📍 Underground temple level
Roman London Uncovered
Artefacts from the site excavation, including the Roman writing tablets, illustrating daily life in Roman Londinium.
📍 Bloomberg SPACE gallery
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.
