New Research on Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin is a 14’5″ x 7″ piece of linen cloth that bears the faint image of a crucified man. It came to prominence in the 1350s and by the 16th century had found a permanent home in Turin, Italy. While for centuries faithful Christians believed this was indeed Jesus’ burial cloth, research conducted in the 1980s concluded that the cloth only dated to the Middle Ages.

However, a group of Italian researchers recently used a new technique, Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) to analyze the shroud. They concluded the cloth does indeed date back to the time of Jesus.

Researchers Liberato De Caro, Teresa Sibillano, Rocco Lassandro, Cinzia Giannini, and Giulio Fanti discuss their peer-reviewed findings in the article.

An article in the Daily Mail explains that the linen cloth shows faint images on both front and back. A gaunt man with sunken eyes is depicted. Markings on his body are consistent with those of crucifixion wounds. Additionally, there are thorn marks on his head, lacerations on his back, and bruises on his shoulders.

All of this matches the Biblical descriptions of what occurred.

So does the large blood stain under the left pectoral muscle, which is consistent with the puncture wound Christ would have gotten from the centurion’s spear. Incidentally, it has been verified blood, not paint, was found on the Shroud.

So why did the 1980s research, which used carbon-14 dating, show an origin in the medieval period? Later studies showed that the piece of cloth used was taken from a portion that nuns had used to repair the shroud after it caught fire.

Meanwhile, plant particles on the cloth dated to the first century. Not only that, they were known to have blossomed in the area between late March to early April, which was when Jesus was crucified.

Unverified is the tradition that St. Thomas took the Shroud to the King of Edessa.

However, the Catholic Herald recently published evidence that shows the linen used was from flax grown in what used to be called the western Levant. This is an area shared by modern day Israel, Lebanon, and parts of Jordan and Syria. This verifies that the Shroud was created in the Middle East, not Europe.

Prior research by other Italian agencies had showed a bizarre result — the blood marks that had stuck to the body showed no signs of smearing when the body was removed. This was verified by the researchers who conducted the WAXS study.

Engineering researchers Dr. Daniel Murra, Dr. Paola Di Lazzaro, and Dr. Giuseppe Baldacchini used X-ray radiation with a laser on a small piece of cloth similar to that of the Shroud to produce an image that had similar coloration depth and hue, as well as an image even where the cloth was not in direct contact.

John Jackson, another researcher, stated that the energy source had to be UV light because if it had heat energy, it would have vaporized the cloth. Several researchers have suggested different levels of radiation — anywhere from 4 billion watts and up.

Is there a conclusion?

For those who are believers — these findings are exciting and seem to verify our beliefs without changing them. We had faith. For non-believers, there may be no preponderance of evidence that will convince.

So, what’s the point? At least for believers, there is the insight gained. Having material evidence in addition to the Word gives us more insight into His death and also possible insight into our own resurrection when He descends from heaven.

I am fighting stage IV cancer. If you can help with medical bills, I would really appreciate it. Or if you enjoy my writing and would like to buy me a cup of coffee, that’s great too. Maybe someday I can return the favor.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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