The area of the Muristan (persian „Hospital“) in the heart of Jerusalem, named after a hosipital of the Order of Saint John of the 12^th century, is a central part of the city with an inconsistent history. Originally used as a stone quarry and necropolis, it became the central forum after the new foundation of the city by Hadrian. The localization of the story of the passion of Christ underneath the temple of the northern side of the forum in the early Christian tradition led to the consolidation of the area in the central part of the city by the construction of the complex of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Constantine the Great. The forum thus became the vestibule of the church. The area, which was left mostly unused, became the site of the foundation of the Order of Saint John with its famous hospital and several monasteries during the Crusades. The Muristan thus not only played a vital part in the development of the city and its architecture, but is also important for the history of the Order of Saint John and the development of the institution of hospitals. Although the area was only partially used from the Middles Ages to the 19^th century, when Archaeology slowly became interested in the area, the knowledge on the ancient and medieval structures remains fragmentary. The main focus of the project is to gain a more concrete understanding of the structural development of the area from Antiquity to today. A special focus lays on the medieval complex of the Order of Saint John, which needs to be understood in its spatial and functional diversity. In order to get a comprehensive picture, all available sources, such as excavation reports, archive materials and plans are used and supplemented by structural surveys on site. For the visualization and documentation of the results, a digital multimedia tool is developed, which shows the structures in different periods as a 3D model and at the same times links it with a database that allows objects, excavation results, photos, and drawings to be precisely located within the model itself.

Responsible:

• Prof. Dr. Michael Heinzelmann, Dr. Dorothee Heinzelmann, Jürgen Krüger, Markus Wacker

Cooperation:

• Chair for Computer Graphics HTW Dresden
• Palestine Exploration Fund London

Funding:

• Johanniter

Publications:

• M. Heinzelmann, J. Bruschke, J. Camin, 3D-Rekonstruktion des mittelalterlichen Johanniterhospizes in Jerusalem, Kölner und Bonner Archaeologica 2, 2012, 281-287
• D. Heinzelmann, M. Heinzelmann, J. Krüger, M. Wacker, Der Muristan in Jerusalem: Vom hadrianischen Forum zum Hospital des Johanniterordens, Kölner und Bonner Archaeologica 4, 2014, 157-177
• D. Heinzelmann, M. Heinzelmann, J. Krüger, M. Wacker, The Hospital of St. John in Jerusalem ― from the Architectural Remains to a 3D Reconstruction, in: D. Vieweger - Sh. Gibson (Hrsg.), The Archaeology and History of the Church of the Redeemer and the Muristan in Jerusalem (Oxford 2016) 307-321 (zusammen mit D. Heinzelmann, J. Krüger und M. Wacker)
• J. Krüger, The Archaeology and History of the Church of the Redeemer and the Muristan in Jerusalem, in: D. Vieweger - Sh. Gibson (Hrsg.), The Archaeology and History of the Church of the Redeemer and the Muristan in Jerusalem (Oxford 2016) 255-279

Qualification Papers:

• J. Bruschke, J. Camin, Modellierung des Muristan in Jerusalem nach Plänen von Conrad Schick (Bachelor)