When Jesus and his disciples gathered for the Last Supper, how was the meal laid out? Did the group emulate the Roman dining practice of the triclinium, reclining at low tables arranged in a U shape and eating from individual place settings? Or did they sit around an arrangement of communal dishes from which all individuals partook? In the Spring 2026 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, in his feature article titled “What Did the Last Supper Really Look Like?,” Matthew J. Grey considers these questions, shedding valuable light on the workings of this famous feast.The article is behind the subscription wall, but this BHD essay summarizes it. Grey thinks that they were sitting in the domestic common room, not reclining in the triclinium.[...]
Be that as it may, you can get a glimpse of a reconstructed Roman triclinium at Cartagena here. For a clearer reconstruction of one, see the Haaretz article linked to here.
Some other PaleoJudaica posts on the Last Supper are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
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