The Shroud of Turin is traditionally believed to be the burial cloth in which the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped after his death almost 2,000 years ago. Even after decades of numerous scientific studies, the researchers could neither endorse nor reject the linen’s connection with Jesus Christ.

The Shroud of Turin is an ancient linen cloth that depicts an image of a tortured body, in a manner that is similar to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The linen is one of the most sacred religious icons on Earth, revered by Christians around the world as the actual burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

Measuring 4.3 meters (14 feet 3 inches) long and 1.1 meters (3 feet 7 inches) wide, the fabric is rectangular in shape. It seems to portray two faint brownish images – a front and dorsal view of a naked man with his hands folded around his groin. The two viewpoints are parallel to the body’s midplane and point in opposite directions. At the center of the material, the front and back versions of the head almost meet.

A beard, mustache, and shoulder-length hair parted in the center characterize the man portrayed on the shroud. He is well-proportioned and strong, and he is rather tall (about 5 ft 9 in) for a man of the first century (the time of Jesus’ death). On the fabric are dark red stains of blood or a similar substance, apparently from the numerous wounds.

History of the Shroud of Turin

The great saga of the Shroud of Turin started somewhere in 1353 when Geoffroi de Charny, a French knight, gave the cloth to a monastery in Lirey, France.

Around 1389, Bishop Pierre d’Arcis of Troyes, France, wrote to Pope Clement VII, claiming that the shroud was fake and that an artist had confessed it to him. He declared that the shroud was not that of Jesus Christ, but he still allowed the Lirey church to keep the fabric on display as long as it was referred to as an icon rather than a relic.

In 1453, Margaret, Geoffroi de Charny’s granddaughter, sold the shroud to the Royal House of Savoy in return for two castles.

The shroud was eventually moved to Chambéry, France. In 1532, the shroud was destroyed in a fire incident but it was restored by a nuns’ order.

In 1578, the shroud was finally moved to its permanent location in Turin, Italy, where this was kept in the chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist.

The carbon dating of the shroud of Turin

In 1988, scientists from Switzerland, England, and the United States took a sample of the shroud and tested it in laboratories. The carbon-14 dating concluded that the cloth was made between 1260 and 1390 A.D. The shroud was determined to be a medieval fabrication by the scientists.

However, according to a 2011 study by Italian experts, the fragment of the cloth that was examined may have come from a section of the shroud that had been restored by an order of nuns after it was burned in a fire during the Middle Ages. Using infrared light and spectroscopy, they were able to date the shroud from 280 B.C. to 220 A.D.

In 2018, a pair of Italian researchers conducted tests on a simulated shroud using fake and real blood. They were intending to see if the bloodstains on the shroud matched those described in the Bible. The duo concluded that bloodstains on the shroud contradicted biblical accounts. However, serious concerns were raised about their research methodology.

How did the Turin Shroud get its image?

On May 28, 1898, amateur Italian photographer Secondo Pia took the first photograph of the shroud. The photograph showed a bearded man with wounds all over his body. Pia was startled by the negative in his darkroom. Mysteriously, the film negative gave the appearance of a positive image implying that the shroud image in fact was negative in itself.

Also, many researchers felt that the details and size of the man on the shroud are greatly enhanced in the photographic negative. Pia’s results intensified interest in the shroud and sparked renewed efforts to determine its origin.

Theories behind the appearance of the image on the shroud

There is no dearth of theories when it comes to demystifying the image on the relic. However, none of the theories was able to offer a clear explanation as to how the fabric came to contain the faint imprint of a bearded guy with crucifixion wounds.

Theory #1 – The image is a photograph

Secondo Pia’s photograph revealed that the image on the cloth is actually a negative, having dark areas where the lighter areas should have been. Pia went on to claim that the shroud was created by some early form of photography. Prominent South African art historian, Nicholas Allen put his weight behind Pia’s theory and claimed that it could have been possible using materials and information available to ancient scholars several centuries before photography was conceived.

Even with numerous theories floating around, the reason for the image formation on the shroud of Turin remains elusive.

Theory #2 – The image on the fabric is a painting

To test the accuracy of this theory, a team of researchers conducted a chemical analysis on the fabric to find the presence of any pigments that are used in paintings. However, the team found no evidence of paints or dyes in significant quantities on the cloth.

There are no indications that it was painted using brush strokes. The image on the fabric is hardly visible to the naked eye, and it was only discovered in the negative image of a photograph shot by Secondo Pia.

The team also noticed that the darkening of the flax fibers isn’t due to any darker substance being laid on top of or infused into them, instead it was due to the darkening of the fibers’ material itself. Moreover, unlike most dyeing or painting techniques, most ordinary chemical agents cannot dissolve, bleach, or alter the coloration.

The team concluded that the image depicts a tortured, crucified figure and doesn’t appear to be the work of an artist. The fabric has real stains of blood belonging to the AB group along with human DNA, which is badly degraded.

Theory #3 – The image was formed through a natural chemical process

In 2002, Raymond Rogers, a leading researcher on the subject, stated that image formation could be due to a simple chemical transition. He speculated that even modest heat of 40⁰C (104F) or so, could be enough to discolor the sugary carbohydrate molecules found on the surface of cotton threads. However, there is little evidence to support this theory.

Where is Shroud of Turin Kept Now?

The famed fabric is currently kept at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, where it is placed in an airtight, fireproof container that also screens out the natural light. The humidity and temperature are controlled, and the interior of the container is filled with 95 percent argon gas and 0.5 percent oxygen to preserve the item.

The extensive research running into decades is yet to solve the elusive mystery of the Shroud of Turin – some debunk the shroud as fake; while others are still convinced that it is Jesus Christ’s revered burial cloth.

If you liked this story, you should also read the unsolved mystery of the Voynich Manuscript which no one could ever decode!