The Antique Lapidary and the Reconstucted Mithras Shrines II and V
Antique monuments of marble and sandstone are displayed on the ground floor of the former Dominican church, and in the north and east wing of the cloister. Among them are tombstones of legionnaires and civilians, fragments of sepulchral reliefs, sarcophaguses, ash bins, votive altars and relief portraits. Some of the most important reliefs represent the sublime Nutrices – Nutrices avgustae. Individual architectural elements, columns, bases and plinths, capitals, and plates with inscriptions are equally exhibited.
One such inscription plate bears the official name of the town (Colonia Ulpia Traiana Poetovio); again another has a partly preserved inscription about the bridge which used to span the River Drava in antiquity. Besides the stone evidence, the lapidary contains a few examples of ground mosaics, a Celtic pottery kiln and a Roman glass kiln.Poetovio represented one of the most important Mithraic centres in Europe. In Ptuj, where used to be the seat of military administration, central customs and provincial tax-collecting offices, no less than five Mithras Shrines have been discovered. Monuments from three Mithras Shrines are exhibited in the lapidary. The antique lapidary comprises also some stone monuments displayed in the inner park of the monastery and in the park in front of the Museum.