Abstract
We review the sampling and results of the radiocarbon dating of the archaeological cloth known as the Shroud of Turin, in the light of recent statistical analyses of both published and raw data. The statistical analyses highlight an inter-laboratory heterogeneity of the means and a monotone spatial variation of the ages of subsamples that suggest the presence of contaminants unevenly removed by the cleaning pretreatments. We consider the significance and overall impact of the statistical analyses on assessing the reliability of the dating results and the design of correct sampling. These analyses suggest that the 1988 radiocarbon dating does not match the current accuracy requirements. Should this be the case, it would be interesting to know the accurate age of the Shroud of Turin. Taking into account the whole body of scientific data, we discuss whether it makes sense to date the Shroud again.
Highlights
The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth measuring 4.4 m by 1.1 m bearing the faint imprint of head-to-head, frontal and dorsal body images of a man with apparent wounds, laid out in death as if the images had been formed while the cloth was longitudinally folded over a human body.The positions of bloodstains are consistent with the specific details of Jesus’ crucifixion: the thorns on the head, the scourging, the nail wounds on feet and wrists, and the wound in the side
Out of 26 tests proposed, the Pontifical Academy of Science suggested that the Holy See accept only one, the radiocarbon test
The AMS technology in the 1980s provided a medieval dating of the linen cloth
Summary
The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth measuring 4.4 m by 1.1 m bearing the faint imprint of head-to-head, frontal and dorsal body images of a man with apparent wounds, laid out in death as if the images had been formed while the cloth was longitudinally folded over a human body.The positions of bloodstains are consistent with the specific details of Jesus’ crucifixion: the thorns on the head, the scourging, the nail wounds on feet and wrists, and the wound in the side. The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth measuring 4.4 m by 1.1 m bearing the faint imprint of head-to-head, frontal and dorsal body images of a man with apparent wounds, laid out in death as if the images had been formed while the cloth was longitudinally folded over a human body. After conducting the most extensive, multidisciplinary scientific examination of the Shroud in 1978, a team of scientists under the auspices of the Shroud of Turin Research Project Shroud.com/78team.htm) published the main results in 30 papers, listed in https://www.shroud.com/. The most important result of the STuRP analyses is that the 0.2-micrometer-thick sepia color of the body image was produced by a process related to oxidation, dehydration, and conjugation
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