Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

William Meacham

Currie also raised an important issue of faulty procedures that could have prevented an error from invisible reweaving. According to Currie, the original sampling protocol required multiple samples from different locations on the cloth. Archeologist William Meacham disagrees on historical detail but not scientific principle. In a recent email to about 100 shroud researchers, Meacham stated that the original protocol called for a single sample to be divided among seven labs. He wrote:

Al Adler and I argued forcefully but unsuccessfully . . . for at least a second sample . . . the original protocol was seriously flawed, so it should not be described as some sort of properly designed scientific procedure that was put aside.

Had multiple samples been taken, the chemical differences between the sample area and the rest of the shroud would certainly have been obvious to the labs in 1988.

Rogers blamed church authorities in Turin for not following standard scientific protocol. In the interview with Inside the Vatican magazine, Rogers said:

The sampling operation should have involved many persons from different fields before cutting anything . . . if you really want to get a radiocarbon data, take a lot of samples.