The Shroud of Turin: authenticity and image formation

Saturday, November 7, 2009, 7:28 PM

(Raymond Rogers examines the Shroud in Turin, 1978)

Here is a list of some of the scientific papers and websites on the Shroud of Turin that:
* support the authenticity of the Shroud;
* exclude the evidence of "aromas and/or burial ointments" on the Shroud
* explain a probable mechanism of image formation;
* account for the historical-geographical "route" of the Shroud, from Palestine, 1st century, to Lirey, France, 1356, when and where the Shroud "resurfaced".

No evidence of "aromas and/or burial ointments" on the Shroud
The Original presence of burial ointments on the Turin Shroud, by Giovanni Fazio (INFN, Dept. of Physics, University of Messina, Italy), 2006 [which, in turn quotes Pellicori S.F., Applied Optics 19 (1980) pp. 1913-1920: "Relatively to the matter that concerns us, we think that, due to their therm[al] instability, on the Shroud there are no traces directly [detectable] of aromas and/or burial ointments."]
The Holy Shroud, Scientific investigations, Blood analysis (@ xoomer.alice.it) [which also affirms that the presence of Aloe and Myrrh, "two essences with strong conservative capacity" is, again, a mere hypothetical inference]
What Shroud image properties have been observed objectively by scientific  methods? (@ shroud.typepad.com) [where we read: "Without making any assumptions that are based on the appearance of the image, some statements of fact can be proved from the scientific observations: (...) Neither aloes [n]or myrrh could be detected on the cloth."]

Possible historical-geographical "route" of the Shroud
Acheiropoietos Jesus Images in Constantinople:  the Documentary Evidence (@ shroudstory.wordpress.com), by Daniel C. Scavone, University of Southern Indiana) [which argues, on solid historical ground, that the Acheiropoietos Jesus Image, which was brought to Constantinople from Edessa in 944 AD (also known as Mandylion) and which disappeared from Constantinople in 1204 may well have resurfaced at Lirey in 1356 as the ... Turin Shroud]
On the Provenance of the Holy Shroud of Lirey/Turin: A Minor Suggestion, by Alan Friedlander, © 2006 Cambridge University Press (@ journals.cambridge.org) [which explains how the sindon was really "hidden" only for 150 years, between 1204, when it was hoarded from Constantinople, and 1353, when it "resurfaced" in possession of Geoffroy de Charny, at Lirey, France]

Errors in the Carbon 14 dating of the Shroud
The Biggest Carbon 14 Dating Mistake (@ innoval.com) [which exposes the carbon dating of 1988 as ... "The Biggest  Carbon 14 Dating Mistake ever", and, shows how a lot of independent criteria (optical, chemical, textile, of image formation, of bleaching techniques etc.) concur independently to affirm that the Shroud of Turin is authentic]

Problems and possibilities of image formation
Chances that the Shroud of Turin images formed naturally? [which shows how the ... "chances that the Shroud of Turin images formed naturally" are very scant indeed, and how, nevertheless, the shroud is there, and the image (the browning of the micrometric starch coating of the outer fibers) was certainly NOT obtained by any artificial means]
Evidences for Testing Hypotheses about the Body Image Formation of the Turin Shroud (PDF @ shroud.com), acts of The Third Dallas International Conference on the Shroud of Turin (Dallas, Texas, September 8-11, 2005) [with an ample panoramic of recent research]
The skeptical inquirer and the Shroud of Turin (@ skepticalspectacle.com) [which argues why "It is preposterous to think the Shroud of Turin was painted"]
How do you know that the image was not produced by radiation? (@ shroud.com) [where the American thermochemical scientist Raymond Rogers clearly and plainly responds to the title question - question no.3 of "Frequently Asked Questions"]
The Chemical Nature of the Image on the Shroud of Turin? (@ shroudstory.com) [with a detailed explanation of the nature of the image: a form of "browning" (caramellization) of the micrometric layer of starch deposited by evaporation on the outermost fibers of the shroud during its drying, by sun and by air, after washing/bleaching with a natural soap made from the soapwort plant (Saponaria officinalis)]
What Chemistry Disproves about the Shroud of Turin? (@ shroudstory.com)  [where it is shown that the Shroud is certainly not painted, not a photographic image, and not produced by scorching heat]

The Shroud of Turin: An Amino-Carbonyl Reaction (Maillard Reaction) may explain the Image Formation, by  Raymond N. Rogers & Anna Arnoldi, ©2003 [with detailed explanation of the Maillard Reaction]

The Shroud of Turin: Radiation Effects, Aging and Image Formation (2005 @ shroud.com) [with systematic objections by Raymond Rogers to all types of "radiation effects", and in particular to the "Corona effect"]

NOTE
For the scriptural and theological implications of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, I direct to my article The only possible "harmony" between Luke's and John's account of Jesus Burial.