Metroic religion in Aenona

Abstract

On the basis of the analysis of formal and content characteristics of a decorated stone part found in the foundations of the medieval church of St. Cross we found the only trace of Metroic shrine (sanctuary) built in Aenona (within its urban core or most likely in the vicinity of the forum) in the period from the end of the first century up to the first decade of the second century. This discovery within the context of the earlier Metroic finds (the head of the stone sculpture of Alys which might have been placed within the mentioned shrine, a group of bronze applications in the shape of Atys’s head - otherwise the most numerous concentration of such finds on the territory of the Roman Empire) enables us Io establish with greater accuracy the time and the development of the Metroic religion in Aenona.