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The Cenacle, a popular site for pilgrims near
Jerusalem's walled Old City, has ancient, worn surfaces and poor
illumination, hampering a study of its history.
So researchers from Israel's Antiquities Authority and European
research institutions used laser technology and advanced
photographic techniques to create richly detailed
three-dimensional models of the hall built in the Crusader era.
The project helped highlight obscure artwork and decipher some
theological aspects of the second-floor room, built above what
Jewish tradition says is the burial site of King David.
"We managed, in one of the ... holiest places in Jerusalem, to
use this technology and this is a breakthrough," Amit Re'em,
Jerusalem district archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities
Authority, told Reuters of the project, which began in 2016.
Re'em pointed to reliefs of what he described as the symbols of
the "Agnus Dei", a lamb that is an emblem of Christ, and the
"Lion of Judah" on keystones in the hall's vaulted ceiling.
"It tells the story of this room," Re'em said.
"It delivers the message of the Last (Supper) Room, Christ as a
Messiah, as victorious, as a victim - and the lion, the lion is
a symbol of the Davidic dynasty. They combine together in this
room."
Some archaeologists have questioned whether the room is the
actual venue of the Last Supper, the final meal which the New
Testament says Jesus shared with disciples before his
crucifixion.
Ilya Berkovich, a historian at the INZ research institute of the
Austrian Academy of Sciences who worked on the project, said the
endeavor opens "incredibly new horizons" with enormous
potential.
(The story was refiled to correct the spelling of Berkovich in
the last paragraph)
(Editing by Dan Williams)
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