Shroud is thought to display an image of Jesus following his death and burial, though a new examination has sparked renewed discussion concerning its beginnings. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
Controversy and fascination surrounding the Turin Shroud have flared up again, as a novel scientific refutation challenges a broadly circulated declaration that the relic constitutes a medieval imitation rather than an actual representation of Jesus after the Crucifixion.
A recent refutation issued in the peer‐reviewed publication Archaeometry contests the research of Brazilian scientist Cicero Moraes, who in the previous summer showcased conclusions in the same periodical comparing the manner in which material acts when draped over both a living person and a sculpture fashioned on a level plane with subtle, raised features.
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His outcomes proposed that an impression from a low-relief carving aligned substantially more precisely with the form and measurements evident on the Shroud.
The Shroud, kept in Turin’s Cathedral of St John the Baptist, is considered to exhibit the depiction of Jesus after his crucifixion and interment. The linen textile, measuring 14.5 feet by 3.7 feet, presents a faint outline of a male figure exhibiting wounds consistent with crucifixion.
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For centuries, it has been respected as a sacred artefact originating over 2,000 years ago. Despite uncertainties surrounding its validity, the tale has persisted through the eras from when the artefact initially surfaced in France in the 14th Century.
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In 1989, radiocarbon analysis indicated the shroud was created during the medieval period, specifically between 1260 and 1390 CE. Later investigations questioned these findings, suggesting the examined segment might have been extracted from a repaired section of the fabric.
By employing 3D modelling technology, Moraes posited the likeness resulted from laying the cloth over a shallow sculpted shape, perhaps constructed of wood, stone or metal, that would have functioned as a template to produce the intended impression.
However, three specialists on the Shroud – Tristan Casabianca, Emanuela Marinelli and Alessandro Piana – now assert Moraes’ digital recreation possesses considerable faults and disregards qualities that render the relic so difficult to interpret.
The experts claim the modelling neglects two key facts: the image exists only on the surface (solely affecting the outermost layer of fibres), and separate evidence suggests genuine blood is present on the cloth. Both observations, they argue, contradict the concept of a medieval artisan as the originator.
They additionally claim the forgery premise depends on an inconsistent fusion of eras and locales that do not logically correspond. The historian William Dale, most often quoted by Moraes, in fact proposed the Shroud’s aesthetic seemed Byzantine – at least two centuries earlier and greatly removed from 14th Century France.
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This, the specialists contend, weakens the argument that a medieval French artisan could have imagined and crafted such an image, especially of a nude, full-body, post-crucifixion Christ – a portrayal practically unheard of in medieval Western artwork. Moraes has replied in the same journal, defending his conclusions but stressing that his work was “strictly methodological”, focusing on how bodies distort when imprinted onto material.
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He also mentions four artworks from the 11th to 14th centuries as possible inspirations – although, as the response underlines, none depict the precise, dramatic scene witnessed on the Shroud.
The Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Roberto Repole – custodian of the Shroud – cautioned last year against “superficial” judgements in certain recent claims, urging for a more exhaustive investigation.