New Evidence Concerning the Shroud of Turin

Carbon-14 dating performed in the 1980s of the Shroud of Turin--believed by some to be the cloth in which Christ was wrapped when he was interred after his death and later resurrected--supposedly showed that the Shroud only dated back to the Middle-Ages. However, there have long been suspicions about the dating because the results of the three tests conducted varied one from another, suggesting that the samples were contaminated, which would make the cloth appear younger than it actually was--not an unlikely assumption since the Shroud had been displayed and handled in environments where it was exposed to contamination and it had been repaired at times.

    Last month, a team of researchers using a new dating technique released findings showing that the Shroud is indeed 2,000 years old. Per a Daily Mail article:

    For the new study, scientists at Italy's Institute of Crystallography of the National Research Council conducted a recent study using wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS).

    The technique measures the natural aging of flax cellulose and converts it to time since manufacture.

    The team studied eight small samples of fabric from the Shroud of Turin, putting them under an X-ray to uncover tiny details of the linen's structure and cellulose patterns.

    Cellulose is made up of long chains of sugar molecules linked together that break over time, showing how long a garment or cloth has been around.

    To date the shroud, the team used specific aging parameters, including temperature and humidity, which cause significant breakdown of cellulose.

    Based on the amount of breakdown, the team determined that the shroud of Turin was likely kept at temperatures at about 72.5 degrees Fahrenheit and a relative humidity of around 55 percent for about 13 centuries before it arrived in Europe.

    If it had been kept in different conditions, the aging would be different.

    Researchers then compared the cellulose breakdown in the shroud to other linens found in Israel that date back to the first century.

    'The data profiles were fully compatible with analogous measurements obtained on a linen sample whose dating, according to historical records, is 55-74 AD, found at Masada, Israel [Herod's famous fortress built on a limestone bedrock overlooking the Dead Sea],' reads the study published in the journal Heritage.

    The team also compared the shroud with samples from linens manufactured between 1260 and 1390 AD, finding none were a match. 

Another team, also last month, released the results of their examination of samples from the Shroud showing that there was blood on the Shroud (not paints or dies as often claimed by unbelievers) as well as chemicals (creatine) indicating the blood came from someone that had suffered severe physical trauma. 

    Consequently, scientists involved in the more recent research believe there is enough evidence to warrant a more detailed examination of the Shroud.