The Shroud of Turin is one of the most mysterious relics in history, a 4.37 x 1.11 metre (15 x 3.5 ft) linen sheet with a full-length negative image of a man. It is believed to have been the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, and the image was imprinted on the cloth by a burst of radiation emitted by his body. But like any other relic associated with Jesus Christ, its authenticity has been the subject of heated debate for hundreds of years. Some studies have previously suggested that it cannot be authentic due to age discrepancies. However, scientists may have been wrong – the shroud is actually around 2,000 years old.
The Shroud of Turin is one of the most mysterious and studied relics in history. Photo source: iflscience.com
What is known about the Shroud of Turin
The Turin Shroud looks so convincing that scientists to this day cannot come to a consensus. The negative image of a man on the canvas looks realistic, and traces of crucifixion can be seen on it. But how did this relic come into being, and when did humanity first learn about it? Unfortunately, there is no exact answer to this question yet.
The first documented mention of the shroud dates back to 1354, when it was presented to the dean of the church in Lirey (France), Geoffroy de Charny. However, there is no information about how and under what circumstances de Charny came into possession of the shroud.
It is believed that the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped in the Shroud of Turin after his death. Photo source: dnk-otcovstvo.ru
In 1389, the relic was exhibited in Lirey, and since then it has been the subject of controversy, since a certain Bishop of Troyes, Pierre d'Arcy, identified the painting as a fake, “artfully painted, the authenticity of which is attested by the artist who painted it.” However, many Christians, clergy, and even popes continued to believe that the shroud was genuine. People from all over the world made pilgrimages just to see it.
Nowadays, the relic has been subjected to numerous studies. Scientists have tried to determine its age, as well as to obtain more information about its origin. In particular, in the 1980s, several different groups of researchers subjected the shroud to radiocarbon dating. The results showed that the shroud was created between 1260 and 1390 AD, that is, more than a thousand years after the biblical events with which it is associated.
However, skeptics questioned the results of the study for various reasons. It was too early to call a stop to the centuries-old debate. Now, a group of scientists has concluded that the results obtained earlier may indeed be wrong.
Scientists continue to argue about the age of the Turin Shroud. Photo source: naked-science.ru
What is the real age of the Turin Shroud
The study, conducted by researchers at the Institute of Crystallography in Bari, Italy, was published back in 2022 but has only just now attracted the attention of the press. They used a technique known as wide-angle X-ray scattering for their work.
As a result, scientists discovered that the cellulose of the canvas had been slowly aging since the 14th century, as it was stored in cool rooms. This means that most of the aging occurred before the 1300s. As the authors of the work themselves say, according to the results of X-ray analysis, the age of the cellulose of which the canvas is composed is much older than that shown by radiocarbon dating in 1988.
However, the researchers point out that their results are only valid if the Turin Shroud was stored at an average temperature of about 22 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of about 55%. Therefore, in order to draw final conclusions, additional studies will be needed to establish the conditions in which the cloth was stored.
Perhaps the Shroud of Turin has been slowly aging since the 14th century, as it was kept in cool rooms. Photo source: techno.bigmir.net
Why it is too early to draw conclusions about the Shroud of Turin
The results of the Italian scientists' study are interesting and even sensational. However, there are some reasons not to jump to conclusions. The fact is that the studies of the Shroud of Turin led by Liberato De Caro have already caused controversy in the past. For example, in 2018, an article co-authored by De Caro and his colleagues was retracted by the journal PLOS One, as the quality of the work was questioned.
The authors of the study did not report that the shroud sample was provided by the Association for Education and Research of the Shroud of Turin. This organization is biased, as it claims that the shroud is the authentic burial shroud of Jesus Christ. In addition, the authors of the study claimed that the shroud contains biological evidence that it was wrapped around a person who had suffered severe trauma consistent with torture and crucifixion.
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However, the researchers “did not provide sufficient controls” to confirm their findings. But the problems with the previous study do not mean that the current work is also inaccurate or not conducted properly. In addition, scientists have already been able to confirm some biblical events. For example, this concerns the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which we talked about earlier.