Hidden Inscriptions Left by Medieval Pilgrims Uncovered by Archaeologists in the Likely Room of Jesus’s Last Supper
Inscriptions are important links to the past for historians. Figuring them out and their various features provides many crucial insights. Recently, a study published in the journal Studium Biblicum Franciscanum provided an analysis of some inscriptions present in the Cenacle. These inscriptions give valuable information on people who have visited the place over the centuries, according to Popular Mechanics.
The Cenacle is popularly known as the place where the Last Supper took place. The Last Supper is an important event in Jesus Christ's life that has been described in the Bible. During this episode, Jesus Christ had a meal with his followers and revealed his foreknowledge of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal. Though no account gives a precise location of The Last Supper, it is popularly believed that the event occurred in the Cenacle. This belief came into being due to an inscription at the site which read, "His is the house of Mary, mother of John, also called Mark. It is the place of the Last Supper of Our Lord Jesus Christ with His disciples," stated Daily Mail.
The site, located on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, is a kind of hall constructed by the Crusaders in the 12th century. The place had been venerated by pilgrims as early as the 4th century. Examinations at the site revealed around 40 graffiti, which included five coats of arms. Most of these images were inscriptions in different languages.
The illustrations dated back from 1300 to 1500, as per the study. The graffiti was a bit obscured, possibly due to the wall plastering done by Muslims in 1523. Researchers took pictures of the illustrations and then uploaded them to computers for processing. The exercise revealed 30 inscriptions in total, along with nine images.
The study claims that many of these inscriptions were essentially messages, which were left by pilgrims who visited the site over several centuries, stated New York Post. Investigation revealed that the inscriptions had been written by pilgrims from places like Syria, Armenia, Serbia, the modern-day Czech Republic, and Germany. These individuals left messages in their native languages. The findings indicated that a lot of international pilgrimages to Jerusalem happened during the Middle Ages.
Some of the markings validated certain historical speculations. One of them was an inscription which read "Christmas 1300," written in a style that was used by Armenian royalty. This finding backs the belief that Armenian King Het’um II and his forces came to Jerusalem in 1299. Scientists also spotted a coat of arms belonging to Tristram von Teuffenbach amongst the markings. Tristram von Teuffenbach was a Styrian nobleman who supposedly came to Jerusalem for pilgrimage in 1436, as per his accounts.
| Photo by Shai Halevi )
Experts also found markings left by Muslims in the Cenacle. They spotted a fragment of an inscription which read "...ya al-Ḥalabīya." The use of ya indicates that the inscription was made by a female pilgrim from the Syrian city of Aleppo. The inscription stood out from others, as it was carved into the wall rather than drawn with coal.
The diversity of the graffiti shocked experts, stated New York Post. Many countries were represented in the inscriptions. "When put together, the inscriptions provide a unique insight into the geographical origins of the pilgrims," historian Ilya Berkovich shared. "This was far more diverse than the current Western-dominated research perspective led us to believe."