When the results of the Carbon 14 dating of the Shroud of Turin were released in 1989, it shocked the world. Three separate, reputable labs yielded dates between 1260 and 1390. Scientists were puzzled and many believers shocked and disappointed.
Fr. Spitzer admits to being in the latter category.
This one negative piece of data should have put an end to interest in and research related to the Shroud, but it did not. Out of the mildest sense of curiosity, we should ask why.
The simplest answer is that this one piece of data just did not fit with other acknowledged historical, archeological, and scientific facts.
In order to apply the tests from last week’s post (“The Truth. How do we know it when we see it?”), we need to know what these other facts are and why they continue to intrigue investigators of diverse religious backgrounds.
The facts and nothing but the facts
The facts relate to the nature of the cloth itself; the visible blood stains and the “invisible” plasma stains around them; the anatomical correctness of stains to the anatomy of the image both front and back; and multiple peculiar facts about the image itself.
- Composition of the threads consistent with known first century plants
- 3:1 herringbone weave documented in other 1st century textiles
- “Faults” found in the weave consistent with 1st century techniques (for an extensive analysis, go here)
- Dimensions of the cloth match the cubit measurement used by Jewish law and custom for a burial cloth (mentioned in the BBC documentary on the Shroud)
The blood stains are real:
- Rare AB type (same type as found on the Sudarium—see below)
- Blood plasma around the blood stains is revealed under UV light (how can that be faked by a medieval forger?)
- The blood stains match the wounds of Christ described in the Gospels
- The wounds match documented methods of Roman crucifixion
- Blood particles obtained from the Shroud reveal a high bilirubin content, which is significant for two reasons:
- Consistent with bodily response to extreme trauma (which also negates the theory that a medieval forger tortured and crucified a dead body to create the image! But more on that below.)
- Blood with high bilirubin content stays red over time and does not turn dark brown (consistent with stains on the Shroud)
There is additional external evidence that needs to be accounted for:
- Pollen grains collected from the Shroud include grains specific to Palestine, Edessa, Turkey, and the region around Constantinople. These locations can be corroborated by historical documents referring to a relic known as the Mandylion.
- Coins over the eyes in the image reveal a correspondence with a unique and rare coin minted by Pontius Pilate in 29 A.D.
- Correspondence with features of another relic with a provenance at least from the 6th century—the Sudarium of Oviedo or Face Cloth of Jesus:
- Both have the same, somewhat rare, AB blood type found on the Shroud
- There’s a correspondence of 124 blood stains on both cloths (see Section IV)
What the image shows
In a very moving account written in 1534, the Poor Clare nuns described what they saw while repairing the Shroud after the fire of Chambery in 1532:
In that image we saw suffering so great that it would be impossible even to imagine. A beaten and tortured face, the head punctured by great thorns, trickles of blood running down the forehead, the cheeks swollen and disfigured, cruelly beaten. The left hand marked and crossed over the right covering the wound there. The nape of the neck pierced by the long thick thorns of the crown made for the head. Thick blood clots on the hair. The shoulders torn to pieces by the lashes of a whip.
(For an interactive look at the Shroud, click here.)
The Basic Facts
The peculiar and unique qualities of the image have been at the heart of many scientific investigations, but these are the basic facts:
- The 1898 photographs revealed the image is actually a photographic negative.
- After intense examination, STURP researchers concluded in 1978 that it was not a painted forgery—no inks dyes or brush marks were found.
- The front and back images are perfectly congruent, verifying that a 3-dimensional body was wrapped in the cloth, but this fact alone cannot explain the 3D qualities of the image.
- The image penetrates only the most superficial fibrils of the cloth (note that fibrils make up fibers, making this fact even more startling).
- The image was formed after the blood stains and is not found under the blood stains.
- Images of teeth and bones can be discerned in the face, as well as indications of finger bones and a hidden thumb.
- Many hypotheses have been tested to explain its formation but none satisfactorily reproduce the clarity and quality of the image, especially its 3D characteristics (for more on this, see this post). The only tested possibility is the output of vacuum UV light equivalent to 14,000 excimer lasers.
Time to weigh the evidence
Even supposing the Carbon 14 dates are accurate, Dr. Robert Schneider, who has studied the Shroud extensively, examines the requirements of a medieval “super forger:”
- Against all Christian art tradition, the super forger created an image with a helmet of thorns as opposed to a circlet, nails through the wrists, and a myriad of scourge marks matching a Roman instrument unused for almost a thousand years.
- The super forger put serum rings around the blood stains using real blood.
- The super forger added rare limestone from Jerusalem on the nose, knee, and heel.
- The super forger stitched a side strip onto the cloth with a sewing technique from the 1st century.
- The super forger added discolorations to the cloth, representing a device used to display the shroud over a hundred years before in Constantinople (as described by a chronicler of the 4th crusade just before the sack of Constantinople).
In addition, this super forger developed a technique for creating an image that cannot be reproduced using all the technology available in the 21st century.
The conclusion? The existence of such a superforger is highly unlikely.
Knowing the facts and the updated research concerning the age of the Shroud make it very likely that it is in fact the burial cloth of Jesus. It is, as Russ Breault puts it, a proof of purchase, a receipt of the price Jesus paid for our salvation. It is also a message: Jesus is truly risen!
Read Also:
Facts About the Shroud of Turin (Age, Dimensions, Blood Stains)
What is the Shroud of Turin? Here's What Science Says.
How Old is the Shroud of Turin? 1,970 years. (Give or take 200.)