Burst Water Pipe Reveals Century-Old Murals in Jerusalem Hospital

Nuns at the Saint-Louis Hospice in Jerusalem recently discovered forgotten murals that had been painted in the hospital over one hundred years ago.

The nuns had been reorganizing hospital storage when some of the paintings depicting medieval knights and symbols were revealed. A water pipe also burst which washed away more recent paint and plaster. The murals were then visible underneath.

According to Fox News, the paintings were by French count, Comte Marie Paul Amde de Piellat who had the hospital built between 1879 and 1896.

During War World I, Turkey gained control of the hospital and painted over the murals in black. De Piellat attempted to restore his work afterward but did not finish before his death in 1925.

Conservators from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) are now preserving the paintings, though there are no plans to convert the hospital to a tourist attraction.  

Publication date: May 19, 2014