Medieval Inscriptions in Jerusalem’s Cenacle Reveal Diversity of Pilgrimage

An international team of researchers has uncovered dozens of previously unknown medieval inscriptions inside the Room of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, shedding new light on the wide geographical range of medieval pilgrims. Among the findings is a rare Styrian coat of arms, linking the site to a 15th-century Austrian noble.

The Room of the Last Supper, also known as the Cenacle, is one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites. Located on Mount Sion, it is traditionally believed to be the place where Jesus shared his final meal with his apostles. Built by the Crusaders and later serving as part of a Franciscan monastery, the hall has attracted Christian pilgrims for centuries.

Now, historians from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have used advanced digital photography techniques to document and decipher inscriptions, coats of arms, and drawings on its walls. Their findings have recently been published in Liber Annuus, the yearbook of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem.

One of the most striking discoveries is the family crest of Tristram von Teuffenbach of Styria, a nobleman who accompanied Archduke Frederick Habsburg—later Holy Roman Emperor—on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1436. The emblem, found on a wall of the Cenacle, was identified using research from the Corpus Vitrearum project, which studies stained glass and heraldry. Scholars confirmed its origins in the Styrian region of Murau, offering rare material evidence of this historic journey.

An Armenian King’s Victory

Another major find is an Armenian inscription reading “Christmas 1300,” positioned high up on the wall in a style typical of Armenian noble epigraphy. Researchers believe it could confirm that Armenian King Het’um II and his army reached Jerusalem following their victory at the Battle of Wādī al-Khaznadār in Syria on December 22, 1299—a subject of scholarly debate for centuries.

The team also identified a fragmentary Arabic inscription ending with “…ya al-Ḥalabīya,” which includes a rare double feminine suffix. This suggests it was left by a female Christian pilgrim from Aleppo, offering rare testimony to women’s participation in medieval pilgrimage.

A Wider Pilgrim Community

Carved Coat of Arms with the inscription “Altbach”. This image is almost identical to the coat of arms of the modern city of the same name in southern Germany. It appears to have been left by an unknown pilgrim from the local knightly family. The cut drawings above the coat of arms show elements connected to the Last Supper: a goblet, a platter, and a round piece of bread. The hole in the bread is reminiscent of the famous Jerusalem bagel, which remains a popular local snack to this day. Shai Halevi / © Israel Antiquities Authority

Other inscriptions and drawings further illustrate the diversity of medieval pilgrims visiting the Cenacle. Among them are the signatures of Johannes Poloner of Regensburg, who chronicled his journey to Jerusalem in 1421–22, and a charcoal drawing of the coat of arms of the Bernese patrician family von Rümlingen.

Evidence points to pilgrims from across Armenia, Syria, Serbia, the Czech lands, and the German-speaking world. However, the majority of graffiti was left by Arabic-speaking Christians from the Eastern Mediterranean.

“When put together, the inscriptions provide a unique insight into the geographical origins of the pilgrims. This was far more diverse than current Western-dominated research perspective led us to believe,” said Ilya Berkovich of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Cutting-Edge Methods Reveal Hidden Marks

 

The graffiti of the Syrian woman from Aleppo. Her inscription [red] cuts over another Arabic inscription [blue] which could not be deciphered. Shai Halevi / © Israel Antiquities Authority

The discoveries were made possible through long-term collaboration between researchers from Austria, Israel, and Armenia. Using multispectral photography and Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), the team was able to document inscriptions invisible to the naked eye. Further analysis took place at the Leon Levy Digital Library of the Dead Sea Scrolls, where images from different techniques were digitally merged to enhance legibility.

In total, researchers identified around 40 graffiti elements, including five distinct coats of arms. On-site documentation and imaging were carried out by senior photographer Shai Halevi and archaeologist Michael Chernin of the IAA. Historical analysis was led by Berkovich and Samvel Grigoryan of the OeAW, alongside Arsen Harutyunyan of the Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute in Yerevan.

The findings offer a remarkable new perspective on medieval pilgrimage and the enduring significance of the Cenacle as a meeting place of diverse cultures and faiths.

Chiselled Inscription and scorpion drawing in honor of Sheikh Aḥmad al-ʿAǧamī. The Sheikh played an important role in the history of the Cenacle. On his insistence, in 1523 Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent expelled the Franciscans and turned the hall into a mosque. Shai Halevi / © Israel Antiquities Authority

The article, “The Holy Compound on Mount Sion – An Epigraphic Heraldic Corpus (Part 1): The Walls of the Cenacle,’ by Shai Halevi, Ilya Berkovich, Michael Chernin, Samvel Grigoryan, Arsen Harutyunyan, is published in Liber Annuus 74 (2024). You can read it on Academia.edu.