Tag: shroud of turin

New Genetic Study of the Famous ‘Shroud of Turin’ Reopens Debate Over the Controversial Relic’s Origins

The Shroud of Turin, purported by many to have been the burial cloth that once covered the body of Jesus at the time of his burial, remains one of the most controversial relics in all of history.

For centuries, the shroud was believed to preserve rare historical evidence of the seemingly miraculous events described in the New Testament. However, by the 20th century, a growing number of scholars had come to believe the shroud’s origins were likely to be far more recent: perhaps the result of a clever forgery produced sometime in the Middle Ages.

Now, according to the findings of a new genetic study, it seems the lingering questions over the shroud and its origins are far from being settled, revealing a wide range of encounters the Turin Shroud has had with humans, animals, and other objects, and offering new clues about the environments that it met over time.

Obscure Origins

The mysterious shroud, which has remained a curiosity to scholars for centuries, has been preserved in Turin, Italy, since the late 16th century. The relic depicts the ghostly image of what appears to be a male human body, as well as evidence of markings that indicate blood in the positions on the body that are traditionally consistent with New Testament accounts of the injuries Jesus bore at the time of his crucifixion.

Over the decades, studies have sought to help determine the true origins of the unusual relic, leading to a range of theories about its provenance. After centuries of debate among scholars, in 1978, scientific efforts to determine the shroud’s origins were undertaken, which included samples with remnants of DNA that its woven material has collected over time.

Ultimately, testing completed in 1988 suggested that the shroud most likely dated to no earlier than the 13th century, although the debate over its history has continued.

Reopening the Debate

Now, in a new international study effort led by Italian scientists, recent genetic studies involving the original samples collected in 1978 are helping to shed additional light on the complex nature of the interactions the shroud has had with its environment over the centuries.

The team, whose findings appear in a new preprint paper that appears on the bioRxiv website, reports that their analysis showcases the preservation conditions of the shroud over time, as well as interactions it has had with its environment that reveal “its biological complexity through rigorous DNA and metagenomic analyses.”

According to the study’s authors, “The possible existence of the Shroud prior to the first documented information places the long journey of this artifact into a Middle or Near East geographical context, with a potential historical age preceding the Sacking of Constantinople in

1204.” Sometime later, scholars believe the shroud was moved to a new location in Western Europe, before it resurfaced again near the French commune of Lirey in the early to mid 1350s.

Some of the questions about the shroud’s journey throughout the centuries is evidenced by the genetic material it carries, and through analysis, the study’s authors hoped to learn about the kinds of environments where it had been kept, dividing the chronological history of the relic into a “pre-1204” period that it was believed to have been kept in the ancient Near East, and what the team refers to as “a plausible ‘post-1353’ location in western Europe.”

“These two hypothetical temporal and spatial differentiations may be reflected in the variation of DNA data obtained from the Shroud,” the study’s authors say.

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Trace DNA Found on Shroud of Turin Suggests ‘Unexpected’ Connection to India

Scientists examining DNA contained on the Shroud of Turin were surprised to find evidence indicating that the materials used to make the relic may have originated in India. The fascinating study reportedly involved researchers re-examining samples collected from the controversial artifact in 1978, with the intention of gaining new insights from the genetic information left behind on the pieces. In detailing their analysis of the trace DNA, the scientists revealed that they detected a remarkably diverse array of plants and animals that had their proverbial prints on the relic.

But what particularly intrigued scientists were their findings with regard to the people who came into contact with the shroud. Specifically, the researchers noted that nearly 40 percent of the human DNA found on the relic was from “Indian lineages.” This “unexpected” result, they noted, “is potentially linked to historical interactions associated with importing linen or yarn from regions near the Indus Valley.” Alas, given the complex history of the relic, the scientists were unable to determine its age based on the trace DNA from “centuries of social, cultural, and ecological engagement” with the shroud.

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Anthropologist Suggests Shroud of Turin Was Actually a Medieval Tablecloth

An anthropologist has put forward a rather intriguing new theory regarding the Shroud of Turin which suggests that the famed relic was actually a medieval tablecloth. The thought-provoking hypothesis is reportedly the brainchild of researcher David Akins, who believes that he has determined when and how the iconic image, thought by some to be a depiction of Jesus Christ, wound up on the linen in the first place as well as the true purpose of the peculiar piece of cloth. According to the anthropologist, the shroud’s complex origin story can be traced back to a town in England and an inadvertent turn of events which ultimately produced the piece which has been fiercely debated for centuries.

Akins theory begins with the observation that studies of the shroud found that the cloth contains trace elements of alabaster, a type of rock used by sculptors during the medieval period, which is also when separate analysis has suggested that the relic originated. Connecting these two details, the anthropologist argues that the linen was likely circulating in the British town of Burton on Trent during that time frame, since the community was the central location for the creation of alabaster artwork by virtue of massive deposits of the mineral that could be found there. Akins goes on to posit that in the early 1300s, the persecuted Knights Templar settled in the town after fleeing France with their hoard of treasure and the Holy Grail.

In recognition of their experience, Akins says, the mysterious group “would have created a statue” depicting the Fisher King, who was a legendary figure said to be tasked with guarding the Holy Grail. Noting the piece was probably proudly displayed in the town’s abbey, the anthropologist theorizes that it was later put into storage while the building was renovated, which “is where the story of the Turin Shroud begins,” as it was likely wrapped in a linen cloth for decades while construction was taking place. Upon completion of the project, he surmises, workers at the abbey unwrapped the statue and discovered that “the alabaster had reacted with chemicals in the mustiness of the cellar and left an image of the Fisher King” on the material.

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