Images: Murals of Crusaders in a Jerusalem Hospital

Rediscovered Paintings

Redisocvered plaintings in a storeroom — (Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

Late-1800s wall murals portraying Crusader knights and symbols of medieval military orders have been rediscovered in a Jerusalem hospital thanks to a burst water pipe and a storeroom reorganization. The paintings were rediscovered in a storeroom in Saint-Louis Hospice, a Jerusalem hospital built by a prominent Christian. [Read full story on the Crusader murals]

Heraldry on the Walls

medieval wall heraldry — (Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

Medieval heradlry on the walls of Saint-Louis Hospice in Jerusalem. The designs were painted in about 1896 by a Christian count from France. [Read full story on the Crusader murals]

Crusade Walls

crusader heraldry on hospital walls — (Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

French Count Marie Paul Amedee de Piellat painted these designs to commemorate the Crusades. They were painted over by Turks who controlled the buliding during World War I. [Read full story on the Crusader murals]

Hospital Chapel

paintings on jerusalem hospital — (Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

The paintings of Comte de Piellat adorn the walls of the Saint-Louis Hospice chapel. [Read full story on the Crusader murals]

Hospital Altar

A view of the Saint-Louis Hospice chapel in Jerusalem, built between 1879 and 1896, and named after St. Louis IX, a king of France and leader of the Seventh Crusade between A.D. 1248 and 1254. [Read full story on the Crusader murals]

Working Hospital

saint louis hospice in jerusalem — (Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

There are no plans to turn the paintings into a tourist attraction, however, as the Saint-Louis Hospice is still in use for chronic and terminally ill patients. Sisters of the order of St. Joseph of the Apparition run the facility. [Read full story on the Crusader murals]

Water Damage

Water damage from a burst pipe revealed forgotten paintings on the Saint-Louis Hospice walls. [Read full story on the Crusader murals]

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Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.