Fragments of a decorated vessel discovered at the Roman villa of Collet in northeastern Spain may provide early evidence that the cult of Sabazios reached rural communities in this part of the Roman Empire. The pieces include part of the rim and a 160-millimeter-long handle shaped as a two-headed serpent.
The find was reported in a study published in Antiquity by a research team led by scientists from the University of Girona. Archaeologists recovered the fragments from layers containing associated pottery, including wine jars and cups. Based on that context, they concluded that the vessel was broken and buried during the reign of Emperor Augustus, between 27 BCE and 14 CE, meaning it was made during that period or shortly beforehand.
Mineral analysis of the clay did not establish where the vessel was manufactured. Some characteristics, however, may point to a North African origin. The researchers described it as an early rural example of what they call Iberian serpent-ware.
Serpent imagery appeared in several religious traditions in the Roman world, including the private worship of Sabazios, a deity associated with Thrace and Phrygia. It was also used in other cults, such as that of Mithras, so the handle alone does not establish the vessel’s religious affiliation.
The study’s authors connect the Collet object to Sabazios partly because of evidence from nearby Empúries, ancient Emporiae. Archaeologists previously found a portable bronze triptych in an Augustan-era or early first-century tomb there. Two plaques survive, including a central panel depicting Sabazios with symbols associated with his cult.
The combination of the vessel and the earlier Emporiae discovery leads the researchers to suggest that Sabazios worship may have circulated through networks extending beyond major urban centers. They propose that a traveling priest, possibly arriving from the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, could have introduced or reinforced the cult at Emporiae. From there, its influence may have reached the Collet villa, where the practices could have become part of private domestic worship.
The authors emphasize that the evidence indicates a possible connection rather than proving exactly how the vessel was used or how the cult reached the villa. They argue, however, that the discovery is consistent with the presence of small religious communities across wider Roman territories, including working rural settlements.
