Shroud of Turin Facts

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Scourging or Whip Marks

There are dozens upon dozens of dumbbell shaped welts and contusions. The patterns, shapes and size of the wounds are consistent with a Roman flagrum, a whip of short leather thongs tipped with bits of lead, bronze or bone which tore into flesh and muscle.

There is blood presumably from the flagellation and even a bit of tissue thought by medical experts to be a torn-out bit of muscle.

From the angles of attack -- the way the marks fall on the man’s back, buttocks,
and legs -- it seems that man was whipped by two men, one taller than the other who stood on either side of the victim.

 

 

 

 

 

   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