Digitizing the Holy
3D Documentation and analysis of the
architectural history of the “Room of the Last
Supper” – the Cenacle in Jerusalem
Sorin Hermon, Marina Faka, Giancarlo Iannone
Amit Reem, Gideon Avni, Hamudi Khalaily
Guy Ourisson Building,
echnical Institute ‐ HTI, grounds)

Presentation outline
1. Aims of the project
2. Historical background
3. Methodological approach
4. First results
5. Evaluation of digital methodology
6. Implementation of methodology
7. Conclusions

Aims of the project
Linksceem – EU funded research infrastructure project aiming
at enabling the use of High Performance Computing facilities at
the Cyprus Institute at a regional scale
2. ArcLand – EU funded (Culture program) on enhancing the use
of remote sensing and documentation techniques for
Archaeology
3. 3D ICONS – making online accessible 3D data on iconic
heritage
4. Scientific collaboration between:
1. The Cyprus Institute – Science and Technology for
Archaeological Research Center
2. Israel Antiquities Authority – excavations and surveys,
preservation and conservation of heritage, dissemination
and educational programs related to archaeology
3. Aims of research
1. adoption (at a large scale) and implementation of 3D
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman
documentation by IAA
2. optimization of workflow
3. Training IAA researchers
e, Guy Ourisson Building,
Technical Institute ‐ HTI, grounds)
ct
)
on)
anning
plicantions)
ab
rammetry
licantions)
and exercises with objects
1.

2nd Century
C.E.
Historical
6
Background
th
Century
C.E.
Madaba map
ocumentation and analysis
of the “Room of the Last
acle in Jerusalem
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
Figure 2. floor added (6th Century)
Second Madaba map fragment with the Cenacle building (Agia Zion).
Destroy site was subject to several historical and – 9th
The and re-built and destroyed (6 related
researches [4,5, 6],
Centuries)(except but very limited systematic archaeological
excavations
a few test pits dug at the beginning of the
20th century) or architectonic analyses were ever performed.
The site’s history is briefly presented in the following chapter.
Enough is to say now that while its origin go back to probably
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman century AD, the current state of the building dates
to the 4th
back to roughly the Crusader period (ca. 12th to 14th centuries
AD) and minor (and largely un-documented systematically)
alterations during the Ottoman period in the 16th century AD.
Due to its importance, the Israel Antiquities Authority, the
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].
Figure 3. Detail of the cenotaph room.
Following the Crusaders’ expulsion,
by orders of the Ayubic sultans of D
brought by the Franciscan order in t
repaired its roof with a gothic rib vaultin
place was transformed into a mosque (a
the upper floor, and the lower structu
pilgrimage place – the tomb of proph
today may see the place how it looked l

10th Century – Crusaders re-build the complex with available
“recycled” construction material and own adds
14th Century – Franciscans repair the roof
and add vaulting
ocumentation and analysis
of the “Room of the Last
acle in Jerusalem
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman
King
David
cenotaph

16th Century – A Muslim holy place
Historical
Background
Mihrab
Holy
inscription
Mamluk
decoration
Decorated
window
ocumentation and analysis
of the “Room of the Last
acle in Jerusalem
Recent history – site becomes public (free entrance) for all,
under the Cabinet of the Prime Minister (Franciscans, through
the Vatican, claim the place)
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman

Methodological Approach
1. Aims
1. 3D documentation of the lower and upper rooms
2. Material suitable for architectural / history of architecture
analysis
3. 3D models made available for Europeana
4. Training of IAA staff
5. Testing suitability of methodology for IAA needs
2. Constraints
1. Limited available time for scanning
2. Continuous flow of visitors / pilgrims / religious services
3. Poor lighting conditions
ocumentation and analysis
of the “Room of the Last
acle in Jerusalem
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman

complicated to perform within the Meshlab environme
which allows only measurements of straight lines between tw
given points. All curved planes, arcs or irregular shapes we
measured with JRC Reconstructor or in AutoCAd.
First Results
Lower room
Figure 7. Stone by stone drawing extracted from the 3D point cloud.
ocumentation and analysis
of the “Room of the Last
acle in Jerusalem
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
The visualization analysis can reveal emerging patter
otherwise obscured, new aspects of data or can virtually crea
views impossible in the real world. For example, aligning t
upper and lower parts of the complex, it is possible
immediately identify the symmetric alignment between t
lower hall pillars and the upper rooms columns (Figure 8).
Stone-bystone CAD
drawing
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman
Upper room

Figure 8. Superposition of the lower hall and the upper room.
Figure 9. 3D alignment of the façade with the interior.
The possibility to investigate the upper
A 3D view of the complex (Figure 9) shows how the 3D model from various
points, under different zooming and renderings (Figure 10)
room columns are directly positioned our understanding on the building’s history (in the
enhances above the pillars of the
example shown, we can refer to the It
lower hall. The symmetry of the two rooms is Alignment also between the
apparent. relationship
cenotaph room below – bottom left corner and the Upper Room
shows how the cenotaph room (in particular the access to the “Room of the Holy Spirit”).
niche (lower right), in front of
upper and
which the cenotaph is positioned, is de-centralized from the
front wall. It is also evident that the Muslims lower rooms the
who modified
upper room into a mosque also changed the interior lightening:
the mihrab is covering the central window, still visible from the
Figure 8. Superposition of the lower hallclear upper room.
exterior. This is 3D and the the alignment of the façade’s 3D
also
A 3D with the complex (Figure 9) shows how the upper
modelview ofvisualization space (Figure 9). The façade was
the interior
architecturalby stone drawing extracted from the 3D point cloud.
Figure 7. Stone
room columns using a positioned above the pillars ofdigital images and
recorded are directlyofsimple rooms is apparent. It also
sequence of the
analysis
separate and lower hall. The symmetry the patterns
The visualization analysis can reveal emerging two
converted intoor canroom niche with the 123D software.
a 3D model
front of
of
hases otherwise obscured, new real world. data example, aligningisthe
of impossible in the aspectsthe cenotaph virtually create
the shows howcenotaph is positioned, (lower right), infrom the
views
For
which the
de-centralized
mpleupper how front wall.the iscomplex, it isthat the Muslims who modified the
on and lower parts of It also evident possible to
immediately
ocumentation and analysis identify the symmetric alignment between the the interior lightening:
the “Room ofpoint and the upper roomsacolumns (Figurechanged
3D hall pillars upper room into mosque also 8).
of the lower the Last
the central window, Figure Virtual superposition
visible from the
acle Jerusalem
ay infor further the mihrab is covering clear the alignment stillthe10.façade’s 3D of the complex.
exterior. This is also
of
mpleted with model with the interior space (Figure 9). The façade was
f the architectural
Over
g any desired recorded using a simple sequence of digital images and
ntify, separate and
converted into a 3D model with the 123D software.
position of
sare relatively
phases of the
nenvironment,
example on how
external and
rom the 3D point
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman
internal
between two
4
ve way for further
completed with
ry shapes were
spaces
.along any desired
First Results
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].
ments are relatively
hlab environment,

Evaluation of digital
methodology
1. Field workflow
1. Laser scanner for interior spaces – easy to use
2. Structure-from-motion exterior façade– easy to use
2. Software
1. Surphaser – data capture – easy to use
2. Menci system – easy to use, expensive software
3. 123D – 3D from images – easy to use, free, but
uncontrolled working environment
ocumentation and analysis
4. JRC Reconstructor – alignment, cross-sections, analysis –
of the “Room of the Last
acle in Jerusalem
expensive but extremely versatile
5. Meshlab – simplification, mesh – open source, suitable
for a few operations related to the research
6. AutoCad – measurements, plans, drawings – expensive,
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman not very user friendly, but efficient
7. Blender – renderings – open source, not very versatile
8. XRDOM – online publication – efficient, needs
improvements
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].

Implementation of
methodology
ocumentation and analysis
of the “Room of the Last
acle in Jerusalem
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].
1. IAA structure
1. More than 300 excavations at various scales per year
2. Thousands of complex buildings to document, restore,
conserve.
3. Ca. 500 archaeologists – hand drawings
4. Surveyors unit – Autocad - JPG
5. Publications unit - JPG
2. Needs
1. A a huge data storage system
2. Extensive training
3. Shift of work methodology and roles of departments
4. Need for an easy-to-use software adapted for the use of
archaeologists / architecture historians / conservators
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman

Conclusions
1. Need for an easy-to-use software adapted for the use of
archaeologists / architecture historians / conservators
2.
Laser scanners are still preferred over structure-from-motion
for large-scale CH assets, for any work related to scientific
analysis
3. Existing open-source software does not provide optimal
solutions for an in-depth CH analysis
4. Metadata based on CRM is extremely useful and helpful for
documenting the scientific process and make it transparent
ocumentation and analysis
of the “Room of the Last
acle in Jerusalem
5. XRDOM – a good start for publishing on-line 3D data.
Affiliation (Author)
. name of organization
n, acronyms acceptable
Country
ress if desired
Middle Bronze or Iron Ages. Others are intercalated with its
religious dimension and are iconic of the monotheistic religions
of today. Such a building is the “Cenacle”, a complex structure
that hosts on the ground floor the presumed “King David’s
tomb” and on the upper level the “Room of the last Supper”
(open to visitors) and the adjacent Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit (closed to the public) (Figure 1) [2].
6. Musealization – 3D visualization enhances visitors’
perception, interaction with the digital asset and facilitates
transmission of knowledge from researchers to visitors.
Susan Hazan and Sorin Herman
We still have a long way to go …