Scientist recreates the Shroud of Turin
Using only methods and materials available in the Middle Ages, Luigi Garlaschelli, professor of organic chemistry at the University of Pavia, has created a shroud that is very close in appearance to the relic in Turin Cathedral. The process involved placing a linen sheet flat over a volunteer, who wore a mask, and then rubbing the sheet with a substance containing pigment and acid. The sheet was then heated in an oven and washed. When blood and burn holes were added, the result was remarkably similar to the Shroud of Turin.
Trade in holy relics was lucrative in medieval Europe, and amidst the genuine articles were numerous fraudulent creations. The Shroud of Turin may be one of the fakes, and has never been confirmed as authentic by the Catholic Church. In 1988, carbon dating tests placed the origin of the Shroud to between 1260 and 1390. However, the tests have been challenged (some say the material tested was a medieval patch and that the rest of the shroud is much older) and faith in the Shroud remains strong. Professor Garlaschelli noted, "If they don't want to believe carbon dating done by some of the world's best laboratories they certainly won't believe me."
Find out more in the article at BBC News or the feature by Philip Pullella, Reuters, which includes a useful comparison photo and is made available at MSNBC.com.
- Learn more about:
- Medieval Christianity
- Medieval Italy
Comments
Actually, there was a TV episode showing how and why the medieval repair smack in the middle of the sample seriously compromised the value of the C-14 test. The original scientist was astounded that his team had made such an obvious blunder, and admitted that yup, after all, the shroud seems to be old enough. You could clearly see the patch on the ultra-violet, and the repair was done with another fiber (cotton I think) rather than linen.
Which is not to say that the image might be more recent, or a fake or maybe even real. The fact that somebody figured out a way that it “could” have been faked doesn’t mean a darn thing.
Actually in my non-scientific opinion, the best arguement that the shroud is the genuine burial cloth of Christ is that the Catholic Church claims that there have been NO miracles associated with it. Not a single one! No miracles, no pilgrimages, no tourist money. When I see money, I see fraud. The converse then should be true as well…when I see NO money, I see NO fraud.
——Stag
Well Bill if you believe that the shroud of Turin is not a fake because you believe it through faith thats one thing .
but
If you want to have an educational debate about it thats another. If your going to cite a TV show where they prove its not a fake , its best to actually know the name of the show and where it was shown.
and
Of course the Shroud of Turin is based on money. How many pilgrims do you think have spent money to come and see it ? How many donations to the church from the faithfull do you think were made upon seeing it? Both of these general examples are exactly what happened with “holy” relics of old. As just a basic example of a source I would have you look at “The Cantabury Tales” . Its a book about a bunch of pilgrims on pilgramage.
Its not my intention to bash you . My intention is just to have you be more convincing with your writing and more academic with your research.
Sure. I don’t make this stuff up y’know. I don’t need “faith”. I got the internet. So I’ll do five minutes of googling and see what I come up with.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin#Recent_developments
the above is the standard “science light” of wiki. However more info is at this link.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5137163/Turin-Shroud-could-be-genuine-as-carbon-dating-was-flawed.html
Miracles are listed on the Vatican web site…
None are listed with respect to the Shroud of Turin.
http://www.catholic-pages.com/dir/shroud.asp
The shroud is not even kept on display, and though no doubt people visit Turin in the hopes of maybe catching a glimpse of it, thats just tourism, on the same level as say, visiting the CN Tower in Toronto or the Vatican in Rome….and not like that monument to greed at Lourds.
So, even my offhand comments are well researched before I make them. Are yours?