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Shroud of Turin Story Home Page

The
Resurrection
Problem
and the
Shroud of Turin

By Daniel R. Porter

1. Introduction
2. "Ann, You're Nuts"
3. What we need to know 
4. The newer evidence
5. The resurrection problem
6. Vetting
7. Acceptance
8. Textile studies
9. Plant images and pollen
10. Travertine aragonite
11. Sudarium of Oviedo
12. The Image of Edessa
13. Jesus in art
14. A negative that is not a negative
15. Other visual characteristics
16. The most intriguing characteristic
17. A picture of a million words
18. How were the images formed ? 
19. Appendix: Carbon 14, etc.

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Appendix A - The Carbon 14 Tests

Field archeologists and historians, who regularly use radiocarbon dating, know only too well how anomalous radiocarbon dating results can be. Carbon-14 dating procedures are best used for testing organic archeological finds that have been left undisturbed and protected from the environment. It is also important, when possible, to obtain multiple samples at diverse places from an object to be tested and by statistical method determine a reasonable range of ages for the object. Yet, even with ideal conditions, carbon-14 results are sometimes highly erroneous. In one test, living snails - at least alive until just before testing - were found to be 26,000 years old. In another test, a newly killed seal was found to have died in 700 CE. Bone tools made from caribou ribs were once found to be twenty-seven thousand years old while a core sample from the innermost portion of the same caribou bone was found to be only 1,350 years old. The British Museum conducted tests on an Egyptian mummy in the Manchester Museum and found that her linen wrappings were 800 to 1000 years "newer" than her body. Other mummy samples have demonstrated this same peculiarity with cloth wrappings seemingly being newer than the bodies they contain. This could only make sense if the mummies had been rewrapped hundreds of years later. Egyptologist cannot support such supposition.

Sometimes, erroneous results in Carbon-14 testing remain inexplicable. In most cases, however, adequate reasons for improbable dates are found. Contamination, not properly cleaned from samples, can seriously affect results. Sometimes, newer or older matter is introduced into samples, as was the case with the caribou bones that had absorbed chemically rich ground water.

In the case of the Shroud, three independent laboratories used a recently developed Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) method for measuring the date. AMS has proven to be an accurate measurement technology that does not require that large samples be burned, as was necessary with older radiocarbon dating methods. The labs used control samples to ensure proper calibration and the few anomalous results encountered during calibration were thought to be few enough to be within appropriate margins of error. Unfortunately, the labs used identical testing protocols, thus it was really only one test performed three times. And they also used an identical unproven cleaning procedure on three snippets of cloth; regrettably cut from a single sample. The single cutting was taken from the upper left corner of the Shroud, which was probably the most contaminated part of the entire Shroud.

Knowing all too well about such problems, world-renowned archeologist William Mecham wrote:

No competent archeologist would trust a single date or a series of dates on just one point to define an important historical reality... No radiocarbon scientist can state with certainty that he has removed all the contamination or that a series of dates produced for a specimen are beyond any doubt its effective calendar age. The public and many non-specialist academies seem effectively to share the erroneous concept that carbon-14 dates are absolute ... The dates that have revealed themselves to be useless are ... numerous, either as a result of contamination or from other causes ...

The Shroud over the centuries has been exposed to any number of contaminants including burning incense, wax from candles, paint flecks from frescoed ceilings, dirt on peoples hands, wrapping cloths, ordinary dust, and modern airborne contaminants from industrial Turin. In 1532, a fire in the cathedral in Chambery, France damaged parts of the Shroud - burn marks and repairs that are clearly visible today. The fire was hot enough to melt the Shroud's silver casket. At these high temperatures isotopic ion exchange can take place and additional carbon-14 from carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, dousing water, smoke, newer carbon from protective wrapping, as well as from contaminants on the fabric itself could have reacted chemically with the structure of the linen fibers. Dmitri A. Kouznetsov and and Andrey Ivanov of the Biopolymer Laboratory in Moscow have tested the characteristics of such a fire and its effect on linen. In an article in the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeological Science in January of 1996, Kouznetsov and Ivanov reported that a chemical modification of the textile cellulose could result in a "rejuvenated" reading making ancient linen cloth appear to be 1000 years newer when radiocarbon dating is used.

Dr. Kouznetsov has also theorized that linen may not be so easy to test with radiocarbon methods. Flax, the plant from which linen is made, redistributes its carbon components with a greater proportion of the carbon-14 isotope being transferred to cellulose part of the flax plant during retting. This natural process, known as biological fractionation of carbon isotopes, is hard to quantify. This problem was not considered in the 1988 testing.

Later analysis showed that the sample seemed to be from a mended area, one that was possibly rewoven. If rewoven or mended, this area certainly contained some "new" thread that would skew the radiocarbon dating. Alan Adler, a physical chemist at Western Connecticut State University, demonstrated that the chemical composition of fibers in the sample area were markedly different from those of other parts of the Shroud.

More recently, in a report, "Evidence for the Skewing of the C-14 Dating of the Shroud of Turin due to Repairs," presented by Joe Marino and Sue Benford to the Orvieto Congress in August 2000, Benford and Marino explained their examination of the Shroud by notable textile experts. It confirmed the mending and the consequent problems for accurate dating. The following is quoted from an article in the November 2000 issue of the British Society for the Turin Shroud newsletter:"

David Pearson of the French Tailors company in Columbus, Ohio 'immediately recognized the disparate weave pattern and differences in thread size.' Pearson stated 'there is no question that there is different material on each side... It is definitely a patch.' He explained 'mediaeval European weavers would typically try to match the original cloth and then hand-stitch approximately half an inch of new material into the old, such that it was invisible to all but the trained eye. This would ensure the long-term integrity of the material, while maintaining aesthetic consistency throughout the fabric. This type of detail to repairs would be consistent with the wealth and devotion of the Savoy family, who owned the Shroud at the time.'

Marino and Benford also consulted carbon dating laboratories concerning the effect of such a 16th century re-weaving on a carbon dating result. In their words; 'According to Ronald Hatfield, a scientist at Beta Analytic, the world's largest radiocarbon dating service, a merging of threads from AD 1500 into a 2,000 year old piece of linen would augment the C14 content such that a 60/40 ratio of new material to old, determined by mass, would result in a C14 age of approximately AD 1210. This correlates very closely with the Oxford mean date of AD 1200 as reported in Nature and with the observed ratio of original versus mediaeval material in the C14 sample.'

In 1993, Leoncio Garza-Valdez, a collector of ancient art objects, and Professor Stephen Mattingly, head of Microbiology at the University of Texas in San Antonio, discovered a significant, partially living fungi and bacterial coating on some Shroud fibers taken from the same sample cut for the carbon-14 testing. This biofilm they found is rich in carbon-14. Their findings were subsequently confirmed and quantified by Thomas Loy of the University of Queensland and Australia's Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology. The amount of biofilm on the fibers could likely skew the results of radiocarbon testing from the first century to the 1260-1390 timeframe.

Dozens of critical detailed technical reports have been written about the carbon-14 testing of the Shroud. There may have been serious errors in procedures and certainly there is ample evidence of problems with contamination. Dr. Harry Gove, the inventor of the Accelerator Mass Spectrometer, in recognizing the problems, sent a cautionary letter to the British Museum. He wrote: "I am astonished that you would permit the British Museum to risk having its reputation called into question in what has become a somewhat shoddy enterprise."

In the end, however, it is unlikely that anyone can prove definitively why or to what extent the tests failed. Because radiocarbon dating is not an exact science, archeologists and historians typically look for independent scientific and historical data to corroborate the age of any carbon-14 dated item. With the Shroud of Turin there is none. In fact, it is the opposite; a preponderance of evidence that argues against the carbon-14 dates.

Appendix B - Coins Over the Eyes

There appears to be something over the eyes. When examined in detail, there are object with the proportions of small coins. There is some discernable congruence of detail (like in matching finger prints) between bits of barely discernable image and two ancient coins, a Lituus lepton and a Juolia lepton. The lepta, minted in Palestine, were Roman produced coins for Jewish use. Parts of the inscription UCAI for TIBERIOU CAISAROS (in Greek as it would have been) seems to be almost visible. But it should have been UKAI. Was the C, where a K was expected, a misspelling? This was a problem that seemed to preclude positive identification until an actual Lituus lepton was found with the aberrant spelling. Several have since been found. The congruence seems extraordinary. Statistically it is. But the detail of the coins, seen in some photographs of the Shroud, is too small to be captured accurately with the orthochromatic film that was used. And later photographs, taken with finer grain film, do not reveal the same detail.

I have looked at the images and seen what looks indeed like these first century coins. (Am I seeing shapes in the clouds?) Experts, among them Barrie Schwortz, a famed shroud researcher who does believe that the Shroud is real, tells me that grains of silver can clump in photographic emulsion to create the appearance of images where none really exist. He thinks this is the case. Some researchers accept this evidence; others do not. It warrants further study.

Appendix C - John Paul II on the Shroud

In May of 1998, Pope John Paul II preached a sermon on the Shroud's in which he described the Shroud as "a mirror of the Gospel." This is an excerpt:

The Shroud is a challenge to our intelligence. It first of all requires of every person, particularly the researcher, that he humbly grasp the profound message it sends to his reason and his life ... It reminds modern man, often distracted by prosperity and technological achievements, of the tragic situation of his many brothers and sisters, and invites him to question himself about the mystery of suffering in order to explore its causes. The imprint left by the tortured body of the Crucified One, which attests to the tremendous human capacity for causing pain and death to one's fellow man, stands as an icon of the suffering of the innocent in every age: of the countless tragedies that have marked past history and the dramas that continue to unfold in the world. Before the Shroud, how can we not think of the millions of people who die of hunger, of the horrors committed in the many wars that soak nations in blood, of the brutal exploitation of women and children, of the millions of human beings who live in hardship and humiliation on the edges of great cities, especially in developing countries? How can we not recall with dismay and pity those who do not enjoy basic civil rights, the victims of torture and terrorism, the slaves of criminal organizations? By calling to mind these tragic situations, the Shroud not only spurs us to abandon our selfishness but leads us to discover the mystery of suffering, which, sanctified by Christ's sacrifice, achieves salvation for all humanity. (Italics mine)

Consulted and Considered

Books:

Antonacci, Mark, The resurrection of the Shroud (New York: M. Evans and Company, Inc., 2000)

Barbet, Pierre, A Doctor at Calvary (Roman Catholic Books, 1993)

Borg, Marcus J., Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1995)

Borg, Marcus J.; Wright, N. T., The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1999)

Cahill, Thomas, Desire of the Everlasting Hills (New York: Doubleday, 1999)

Chilton, Bruce. Rabbi Jesus, An Intimate Biography (New York: Doubleday, 2000)

Crossan, John Dominic, Jesus - A Revolutionary Biography (San Francisco: Harper, 1994)

Danin, Avinoam; Baruch, Uri; Whanger, Alan D.; Whanger, Mary, Flora of the Shroud of Turin (St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, 1999)

Habermas, Gary R., The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, (Joplin, College Press, Fourth Printing - Revised, 2000)

Iannone, John C., The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin, (New York. Society of St. Paul, 1998)

Porter, J. R., Jesus Christ: The Jesus of History, the Christ of Faith, (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1999)

Spong, John Shelby, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998)

Spong, John Shelby, Resurrection: Myth or Reality?: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Easter, (San Francisco: Harper, 1994)

Wilson, Ian; Schwortz, Barrie M, The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence (London: Michael O'Mara Books Limited, 2000)

Wilson, Ian, The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence that the World's Most Sacred Relic is Real (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998)

Wright, N. T., Jesus and the Victory of God, (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2nd impression, 1999)

Peer Reviewed Articles, Published Papers, and Conference Reports

Habermas, Gary R., "Historical Epistemology, Jesus's resurrection, and the Shroud of Turin"

Heller, J.H.; Adler A.D., "A Chemical Investigation of The Shroud of Turin" Canadian Society for

Forensic Science Journal - 14 (3), 81-103. (1981),

Meacham, William, "The Authentication of the Turin Shroud: An Issue in Archaeological Epistemology" (Current Anthropology, 1983, University of Chicago Press)

Bucklin, Robert, "An Autopsy on the Man of the Shroud" (1997 Nice Symposium)

Vikan, Gary, "Debunking The Shroud: Made by Human Hands" (Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 1998)

Danin, Avinoam; Baruch, Uri, "Floristic Indicators for the Origin of the Shroud of Turin" (1998 Turin Symposioum)

Danin, Avinoam, "The Origin of the Shroud of Turin From the Near East as Evidenced by Plant Images And By Pollen Grains" (Abstract) (1998 Turin Symposium)

Guscin, Mark, "Recent Historical Investigations on the Sudarium of Oviedo"

Scavone, Daniel C., "Evidence for the Shroud in Constantinople prior to 1204" (1999 Richmond Conference)

Meacham, William, "Radiocarbon Measurement and the Age of the Turin Shroud: Possibilities and Uncertainties"

Guerreschi, Aldo, "The Turin Shroud: from the photo to the three-dimensional"

Guerreschi, Aldo, "Is The Shroud of Turin a Medieval Photograph? A Critical Examination of the Theory"

Ford, David, "The Shroud of Turin's 'Blood' Images: Blood, or Paint? History of Science Inquiry"

Accetta, August D., "Experiments with Radiation as an Image Formation Mechanism"

Markwardt, Jack, "The Cathar Crucifix: New Evidence of the Shroud's Missing History"

Scavone, Daniel, "Objections to the Shroud's Authenticity: The Radiocarbon Date" (Texas Medical Association, 1993)

Moran, Kevin E., "Optically Terminated Image Pixels Observed on Frei 1978 Samples" (1999 Richmond Conference)

Heras, G., "Comparitive Study of the Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin"

Schumacher, Peter M., "Photometric Responses from the Shroud" (1999 Richmond Conference)

Piczek, Isabel, "Alice In Wonderland and the Shroud of Turin" 1996.

Kilmon, Jack, "The Shroud of Turin: Genuine Artifact or Manufactured Relic?" (Journal of the Archaeological Institute of America)

Danin, Avinoam, "Pressed Flowers: Where Did the Shroud of Turin Originate? A Botanical Quest," (Eretz, the Geographic Magazine of Israel November/December 1997)

Markwardt, Jack, "Antioch and the Shroud" (1999 Richmond Conference)

Wilson, Ian, "An appraisal of the mistakes made regarding the Shroud samples taken in 1988 - and a suggested way of putting these behind us"

Marinelli, Emanuela; Cagnazzo, Alessandro; Fanti, Giulio, "Computerized Anthropometric Analysis of the Man of the Turin Shroud" (1999 Richmond Conference)

Piczek, Isabel, "The Concept of Negativity Through the Ages vs. The Negative Image on the Shroud" (1997 Nice Symposium)

Adler, Alan D.; Whanger, Alan; Whanger, Mary, "Concerning the Side Strip on the Shroud of Turin" (1997 Nice Symposium)

Adler Alan D.; Schwalbe, Larry A., "Conservation of the Shroud of Turin"

Carr, Peter, "Dating and Formation of the Shroud"

Fanti Giulio; Winkler, Ulf, "A Feasibility Analysis of Studies on Linen from the Shroud of Turin Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance"

Markwardt, Jack "The Fire and the Portrait"

Iannone, John C., "Floral Images and Pollen Grains on the Shroud of Turin: An Interview with Dr. Alan Whanger and Dr. Avinoam Danin"

Craig, Emily A.; Bresee, Randall R., "Image Formation and the Shroud of Turin"

Grundfest, Warren S., "Imaging Spectroscopy: A New Non-Destructive Method for Materials Analysis"

Piczek, Isabel, "Is the Shroud of Turin a Painting?" (1993 Rome International Symposium)

Scavone, Daniel, "Joseph of Arimathea, the Holy Grail and the Turin Shroud" (Abstract) (1996 Esopus Conference)

Bucklin, Robert, "The Legal and Medical Aspects of the Trial and Death of Christ" (Medicine, Science and the Law, 1999)

Zugibe, Frederick T., "The Man Of The Shroud Was Washed"

Schwortz, Barrie M., "Mapping of Research Test Point Areas on the Shroud of Turin"

Moroni, Mario; van Haelst, Remi, :Natural Factors Affecting the Apparent Radiocarbon Age of Textiles

Silvio, Diana; Paolicchi, Emanuela Marinelli, Natural Textile Fibres - Optical Activity, Racemization and Epimerization"+ (May 1997 Nice Symposium)

Adler, Alan D., "The Nature of the Body Images on the Shroud of Turin" (1999 Richmond Conference)

Benford, M. Sue, "Negativity and the Shroud"

Rouvillois, Gildas, "A Point of Nuclear Physics About the Shroud of Turin"

Zugibe, Frederick T., "Pierre Barbet Revisited"

Fanti, Giulio; Marinelli, Emanuela, "A Probabilistic Model to Quantify the Results of the Research on the Turin Shroud"

Walsh, Bryan, "The 1988 Radiocarbon Dating Reconsidered"

Damon, P. E.; et. al., "Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin" Nature Magazine,

Van Haelst, Remi, "Radiocarbon Dating The Shroud of Turin - The Nature Report"

Van Haelst, Remi, "The Red Stains on the Lier and Other Shroud Copies"

Bazant-Hegemark, Leo, "Report on the Czechia Shroud Copy".

Barrett, Jim, "Science and the Shroud" (University of Texas magazine, The Mission)

Guscin, Mark, "The Sudarium of Oviedo"

Allen, Nicholas P.L., "Verification of the Nature and Causes of the Photo-negative Images on the Shroud of Lirey-Chambery-Turin"

Markwardt, Jack, "Was The Shroud In Languedoc During The Missing Years?"

Dan Porter is an Episcopalian and a member of Trinity Church, Wall Street, in New York City. He may be contacted by email at porter@shroudstory.com or by mail at 20 McIntyre Street, Bronxville, NY 10708. 

(c) Copyright 2001, Daniel R. Porter. All Rights Reserved. This article may be reproduced in full for any non-commercial purpose without further permission.