Shroud of Turin

From TinWiki.org

Shroud of Turin Face

The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have been physically traumatized, consistent with a crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. Many believe it to be the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth.

The image on the shroud is clearer in black-and-white negative that in its natural, aged sepia color. The negative image was first observed in May of 1898 on the reverse photographic plate of photographer Secondo Pia, who was allowed to photograph it while it was on exhibit in the Turin Cathedral.

Intense debate surrounds the shroud. Scientists, people of faith, historians, and writers argue over where, when and how the shroud and its images were created. In 1958, Pope Pius XII approved the image. Some believe the shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus, his image emblazoned upon it at or near the time of the resurrection. Skeptics call it a medieval forgery and others attribute the image to chemical reactions or other natural processes.

Debate swirls about the shroud’s origins despite the performance of tests on the cloth. In 1988, three independent teams performed radiocarbon dating on the shroud, revealing that the shroud was made during the Middle Ages, about 1300 years after Jesus lived. Claims of bias and error kept the debate alive. Follow up analysis published in 2005 contended that the samples dated by the teams were taken from areas of the shroud that were not original. Fire damage during the late Middle Ages could have added carbon material to the cloth, thus resulting in a higher radiocarbon content and a later calculated date.

1 Cloth Characteristics
2 History of the Shroud of Turin
3 Image Formation
4 Further Reading
5 External Links
6 Relevant discussion threads on AboveTopSecret.com

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Cloth Characteristics

Shroud of Turin (frontal positive image)

The shroud is rectangular, measuring approximately 14.3 x 3.7 feet. The cloth itself is woven in herringbone twill composed of flax fibers. Its most distinctive characteristic is the faint image, front and back, of a nude male, with his hands folded across his groin. The two views are aligned along the midplane of the body and point in opposite directions. The front and back views of the head nearly meet at the middle of the cloth.

The "Man of the Shroud" has shoulder length hair, parted in the middle, a beard, and a moustache. He measures 5’9” to 6’2”, and appears to be muscular. For a man of Jesus’ time in the first century or of the Middle Ages (at the time of the first uncontested mention of the shroud’s existence and the proposed time of an alleged forgery), he appears to be a man of above average height. Reddish-brown stains, said to include blood, are found on the cloth, showing various wounds that correlate with the Bible’s description of Jesus’ death:

The visible wrist bears a large, round wound resembling a piercing
Upward gouge in the side, post-mortem, indicated by components of red blood cells and serum draining from the lesion
Small punctures on forehead and scalp
Linear wounds on legs and torso
Facial swelling
Blood trails down both arms
No evidence of leg fractures
Puncture wounds in the feet

Other physical characteristics include large water stains and burn holes/scorched area down both sides of the linen caused by contact with molten silver that burned through it in areas where it was folded (due to a fire in 1532). Other small burn holes, not attributed to the 1532 fire are also present, as well as permanent creasing due to repeated foldings.

Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) found that rather than being a true photographic negative, the image turns into a 3-D image of the man when the darker parts of the image are interpreted to be those features of the man that were closest to the shroud and the lighter areas of the image those features that were farthest. This does not occur in photography, and researchers could not replicate the effect.

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History of the Shroud of Turin

Including only information associated with the current shroud housed in Turin, Italy; speculation about shroud's relationship to other mentioned "Jesus Shrouds" not included.

Shroud of Turin Tour Poster

The general consensus of most researchers is that 1350 is the beginning date of the documented history of the Shroud of Turin. This is also the date determined during the testing in 1988 (radiocarbon dating of the cloth). Evidence prior to this date is circumstantial and remains unproven.

In April of 1349, Sir Geoffrey de Charny, a French knight, writes to Pope Clement VI naming his intention to build a church at Lirey, France. At this time, he already has possession of the Shroud, believed to be acquired in Constantinople. The first expositions for the Shroud are held in Lirey in 1355, but the local Bishop refuses to believe the Shroud is genuine and stopped the expositions. At that time, the Shroud is hidden away from public view. After de Charny's death in 1356, the Shroud remains in the family's possession until 1389, when King Charles VI of France orders the Shroud to be seized and housed in another church pending decision of its disposition. The dean at Liery refuses to hand over the Shroud at that time.

Public exhibitions of the Shroud resume in 1418 and the cloth is displayed all over France, despite excommunication threats from the church towards the de Charny descendents. The de Charny descendents pay "annual rents" to the Liery canons, for their loss of the Shroud. The Shroud becomes Savoy property, per Duke Louis I of Savoy, in 1464, and exhibitions continue.

The Shroud is first appears in Turin, Italy, in 1473. It is moved numerous times over the next decades, for exhibitions for the public and for royal courts. In 1509, Flemish artist Lievin van Latham creates a silver casket/reliquary for the Shroud. This casket is damaged beyond repair during a fire in 1532 at the Sainte Chapelle, Chambery; the Shroud is scorched and holed by a drop of molten silver. The Shroud is sewn onto a backing cloth in 1534, patched to cover the damage from the fire. It is covered in a gold cloth and returned to the Savoy's castle in Chambery.

The Shroud is exhibited again in Turin in 1535. After years of exhibits, the Shroud goes to Vercelli, where it stays for 20 years. More exhibitions follow before the Shroud returns to Turin in 1578. Turin will be the home of the Shroud from then on. Public and private showings of the Shroud continue, marking Papal visits, holy days, royal marriages, and religious events for the next 320 years.

During a public exhibition of the Shroud on May 28, 1898, Secondo Pia takes the first photograph of the Shroud. This ushers in the era of scientific study for the Shroud.

During World War I, the Shroud is ordered to a place of safety due to the fear of air raids. A secret underground chamber is constructed under Turin's Royal Palace. The Shroud, in its casket, is moved to the chamber on May 6, 1918. It is wrapped in a blanket of asbestos, put into a tin plate chest, hermetically sealed with cold solder, and locked inside a strong box. The Shroud is not exhibited again until 1931. During this exhibition, Giuseppe Enrie photographs the Shroud, confirming Pia's findings.

In 1937, the American Commission on the Studies of the Holy Shroud is founded. It lasts less than two decades, but it is the first Shroud research organization in America. Shroud studies end in 1939, due to the outbreak of World War II. The Shroud is once again moved to safety in Montevergine at the Benedictine Abbey. It stays there until 1946. With its return, the Shroud is officially housed on state property, due to the fall of the monarchy.

In 1969, the Shroud is secretly taken out of its casks for a preservation study by a team of experts. They examine and photograph the Shroud, but do no direct testing. During this time, the first color photographs of the Shroud are taken, as well as new black and white images and ones by Woods light.

In 1972, someone attempts to set the Shroud on fire after breaking into the Royal Chapel. The Shroud survives thanks to its asbestos protection within the alter shrine.

On November 22, 1973, the Shroud is exhibited for the first time on television, in color, with an introduction by Pope Paul VI. The next day, the Shroud is secretly examined by a new Commission of experts. Samples are taken from the Shroud for testing:

One 40 x 13 mm sample from one edge of the Shroud's frontal end
One 40 x 10 mm sample from the side-strip, along with one 13 mm warp thread and one 12 mm weft thread
12 samples of surface dust from the Shroud's extreme frontal end, using adhesive tape

The Shroud is returned to its casket that same evening.

In 1976, the testing of the surface dust seems to reveal pollen exclusive to Israel and Turkey. These finding suggest that the Shroud must have been exposed to air in those countries at one time.

In 1978, the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) is officially formed, and plans for testing the Shroud samples are put in place. The STURP team arrives in Turin on September 30, 1978, but Italian customs holds their equipment, delaying their testing on the Shroud. The equipment is finally released on October 5, 1978, and the STURP team works around the clock for the next two days setting up the equipment for testing. The Shroud is removed from public display on October 8, 1978, and five days of testing ensues:

Photographic floodlighting
Low power X-Rays
Narrow band ultraviolet light
Surface samples removed via sticky tape
Examination of the underside, which hasn't been seen since the Shroud was sewn to a backing in 1534
"Bloodstain" removal via warp and weft threads in the area of the small of the back
Thousands of photographs taken

Testing ends on October 13, 1978. All told, there was 120 hours of continuous testing. The Shroud is returned to its casket the following morning.

In March of 1979, the STURP team presents its preliminary findings:

Image shows no evidence of the hand of an artist
Body image does not appear to be any form of scorch
Blood image was probably present before the body image

In March of 1983, the official owner of the Shroud, ex-king Umberto II, dies. He bequeaths the Shroud to the Pope and his successors, with the caveat that the cloth stays in Turin.

On April 21, 1988, after years of wrangling about radiocarbon dating the Shroud, the three labs that will do the testing (Oxford, Arizona, and Zurich labs) finally gain access to the Shroud. A sliver of the Shroud is cut off one edge, cut in half, then one of the halves is divided into three. The three samples are placed in sealed canisters for each lab to take away with them. Blood samples are also taken from the lower part of the crown of thorns bloodstains on the Shroud's dorsal image.

The Arizona lab tests its sample first, on May 6, 1988; they arrive at a date of 1350 AD for the Shroud. The Oxford lab tests its sample in July of 1988, as does the Zurich lab. During the same time, the sticky tape samples are studied and reveal pollens, fabric particles, and plant parts and floral debris, suggesting that real flowers were laid on the Shroud sometime during its history. On October 13, 1988, the Archbishop of Turin announces the results of the radiocarbon dating of the three labs: approximate date of 1325 AD for the cloth.

Neither the Church nor the Pope ever declare the Shroud to be a forgery, but do speak tentatively of the Shroud being an actual relic.

In 1997, a fire breaks out in Turin's Guarini Chapel. The Shroud is safely removed, and signs of arson are found. The Shroud is taken to an undisclosed place of safety. In 2000, the Shroud is taken off display and will not be publically exhibited until 2025.

In 2002, the Shroud was restored under the auspices of the Archbishop of Turin and his advisors, with the full permission of the Vatican. This "restoration" causes a firestorm of controversy due to removing and replacing the almost 500 year old backing cloth, hanging lead weights from the edges of the Shroud to flatten many of the creases in the cloth and applying steam to certain areas to accomplish this, handling the cloth without gloves or special clothing, scraping away the charred edges of all the burned areas, and exposing the cloth to significant amounts of potentially damaging light and polluted air. This "restoration" was performed in secret, without consulting any Shroud researchers or experts, who later worried that historical and scientific data was lost during the restoration.

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Image Formation

Controversy abounds around the Shroud due to the results of the radiocarbon dating and the Church not officially accepting the results. Theories abound about how the Shroud was created, since the radiocarbon dating shows it was allegedly created in the Middle Ages.

The image on the cloth is superficial and does not penetrate the cloth fibers under the surface. The cloth itself is not dyed. The image itself could be a discoloration, not a coloration (meaning painted or dyed).

Distortion of the face suggests it was not wrapped around an actual human head. If it were wrapped around a head, the face would have been elongated since the sides of the face would also appear on the image. Due to this fact, some state that the image on the Shroud is likely formed by manual methods such as painting, or using flat relief as part of some sort of transfer process, like early photography or print pressing.

Leonardo da Venci

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Photographic Image Production

Some propose that the image on the Shroud was formed by a primitive photographic technique in the 13th century; most lay this theory at the feet of artist Leonardo da Vinci. Some propose this is the first ever example of photography, showing the portrait of its alleged maker, da Vinci.

Supporters of this theory conclude that the first documented appearance of the cloth was an inferior fake, since it shows up a century before da Vinci's birth. The fake was replaced by the superior Shroud, with da Vinci placing his own portrait on the cloth.

This is a hypothesis only, since there are no reports that indicate a sudden change in the quality of the image.

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Painting

There was a special technique of painting in the Middle Ages of painting on linen using tempera paint which produces images with unusual transparent features. Researchers claim to have found traces of red ochre and vermillion tempera on the samples taken from the Shroud.

This hypothesis is questioned due to the fact that the image is found only on the carbohydrate level of the cloth and no pigment is visible on any other layer of the cloth.

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Other Means

Other possible means of the creation of the image:

Auto-Oxidation (a slow, flameless combustion of materials by reaction with oxygen)
Maillard Reaction (a browning involving amino acid and a reducing sugar; normally associated with browning of food at high temperatures)
Shadow Theory (exposing dark linen to the sun for ten days under a sheet of glass on which a positive face mask had been painted)
Bas-Relief (the image was formed using an actual three-dimensional object, like a sculpture)

For believers, the image on the Shroud was formed by miraculous means. They hypothesize that the image was produced as a side effect of Jesus' resurrection, either by collapsing through the glorified body of Jesus or by being exposed to the radiation streaming from the body as it was being resurrected.

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