Shroud of Turin Facts

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Medieval Sensibilities

Much of what we see on the Shroud defies medieval sensibilities. The most significant of these may be the nailing wounds to the wrists as opposed to the palms of the hands. All medieval iconography showed Jesus nailed to the cross through his palms.

The wounds to the wrists, the nakedness of the body, the bloodstains around the head, even the idea that a facial image would be on the Shroud and not another cloth; all these things defy the sensibilities of Middle Ages artist or forger of relics.


  The scientific study of the Turin shroud is like a microcosm of the scientific search for God: it does more to inflame any debate than settle it.”

  And yet, the shroud is a remarkable artefact, one of the few religious relics to have a justifiably mythical status.

  It is simply not known how the ghostly image of a serene, bearded man was made.”

Scientist-Journalist Philip Ball
 Nature, January 2005

Nature, that most prestigious of scientific journals, that once had bragging rights to claim that the Shroud was fake, responding to new, peer-reviewed studies that discredit the carbon 14 dating and show that the Shroud could be authentic.

WHAT  WE KNOW IN 2005

  1. The Shroud of Turin is certainly much older than the now discredited radiocarbon date of 1260-1390. It is at least twice as old and it could be 2000 years old.  FACTS
     
  2. Though no one knows how it was made, the image is a selective caramel-like darkening of an otherwise clear coating of starch fractions and various saccharides.  FACTS
     
  3. The blood is real blood.  FACTS
     
  4. Much of what we think we see in the image is an optical illusion.  FACTS

Shroud of Turin Facts Check: 2005 Facts