Case Study: The Shroud of Turin – Iconic Relic or Fake? The Role of Raman Spectroscopic Analysis in Its Forensic Appraisal.

Abstract

AbstractOne of the most important linen textile specimens to be subjected to scientific analysis is unquestionably the Shroud of Turin, which is believed by many to have been the burial cloth of Jesus Christ in which He was placed in the garden tomb following His crucifixion. Intense periods of multidisciplinary scientific activity over approximately 40 years, including a radiocarbon dating of 1260–1390 CE with a mean value of 1325 +/− 65 in 1989, which unequivocally placed the linen manufacture in the mediaeval period, has resulted in an acrimonious and highly controversial furore of debate and division of opinion between the protagonists. Some believe that it is a fake and there are those of a contrary opinion who believe that the radiocarbon date is incorrect and that the artefact is genuinely the burial shroud of Christ. A wealth of scientific evidence has been presented by both sectors in support of their theses, including photographic imagery interpretation, serology and palynology: whereas this will necessarily be reviewed briefly here, the focus of this particular case study will be the consideration of more recent Raman spectroscopic data obtained from ancient linen textiles and fibres from the Shroud which seem to indicate that the Shroud of Turin could in fact be interpreted to date from the time of Christ.KeywordsShroud of Turin Burial cloths Ancient linen Radiocarbon dating Raman spectroscopyCellulose degradation