The Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin is said to be the death shroud of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Scholars have long debated the authenticity of the artifact. The documented history of the shroud began in 1350. This date also happens to be the age of the shroud as determined by a carbon dating that took place in 1988.

Extensive scientific tests conducted in 1978 does, however, indicate that the shroud is much more than a medieval hoax. The Shroud of Turin Research Project was a group of American scientists who conducted tests on the shroud. Their final report stated the following: "No pigments, paints, dyes or stains have been found on the fibrils. X-ray, fluorescence and microchemistry on the fibrils preclude the possibility of paint being used as a method for creating the image... It is clear that there has been a direct contact of the Shroud with a body, which explains certain features such as scourge marks, as well as the blood. However, while this type of contact might explain some of the features of the torso, it is totally incapable of explaining the image of the face with the high resolution that has been amply demonstrated by photography... For an adequate explanation for the image of the Shroud, one must have an explanation which is scientifically sound, from a physical, chemical, biological and medical viewpoint. At the present, this type of solution does not appear to be obtainable by the best efforts of the members of the Shroud Team... The scientific concensus is that the image was produced by something which resulted in oxidation, dehydration and conjugation of the polysaccharide structure of the microfibrils of the linen itself. Such changes can be duplicated in the laboratory by certain chemical and physical processes... However, there are no chemical or physical methods known which can account for the totality of the image, nor can any combination of physical, chemical, biological or medical circumstances explain the image adequately.

Thus, the answer to the question of how the image was produced or what produced the image remains, now, as it has in the past, a mystery.

We can conclude for now that the Shroud image is that of a real human form of a scourged, crucified man. It is not the product of an artist. The blood stains are composed of hemoglobin and also give a positive test for serum albumin. The image is an ongoing mystery and until further chemical studies are made, perhaps by this group of scientists, or perhaps by some scientists in the future, the problem remains unsolved."

While the validity of the Shroud may never be known, Christians throughout the world still look to the Shroud as a holy artifact, worthy of preservation and study.

The Shroud is not displayed regularly, yet visitors to Turin, Italy may visit the crypt of the Church of the Holy Shroud where the Shroud of Turin Museum is housed.

Additional reading:
Shroud of Turin
Shroud 2000