The Cenacle, or Room of the Last Supper, is found in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, and the hall at the location was constructed in the 12th century by the Crusaders, although there have been some who have traveled through the site before then, Fox News reported. The reveal comes just in time for Easter weekend.
The discovery was announced on April 16 by the Austrian Academy of Science with the Israel Antiquities Authority. There were around 40 pieces of inscriptions identified, which included five different coats of arms. The engravings date back to the Middle Ages.
Researchers said that the site was a widely visited attraction and that several pilgrims left messages in their own language. In addition to the coats of arms, a drawing of a scorpion was found. The pilgrims were from Serbia, the modern-day Czech Republic, German, Syria, as well as Armenia. However, most of the drawing were left by Arabic-speaking Christian travelers.
One inscription read, "Christmas 1300," and one in Arabic said, "ya al-Ḥalabiya."
"Based on the double use of the feminine suffix ‘ya’, the researchers concluded that this is a graffito of a female Christian pilgrim from the Syrian city of Aleppo, making it a rare material trace of pre-modern female pilgrimage," a statement on the engraving said.
"When put together, the inscriptions provide a unique insight into the geographical origins of the pilgrims," historian Ilya Berkovich said in a release. "This was far more diverse than current Western-dominated research perspective led us to believe."
It is one of the more recent discoveries of the site, which hasa rich history in Christianity.
