Turin Shroud ‘was wrapped around a torture victim’
IT is a matter of faith for Christians that the Shroud of Turin was wrapped around the body of Jesus after he was crucified.
Now experts say they have new evidence supporting their belief – “nanoparticles” of blood from a torture victim discovered on the linen cloth.
Elvio Carlino, of the Institute of Crystallography in Bari, Italy, said the tiny particles “have recorded a scenario of great suffering, whose victim was wrapped up in the funeral cloth”.
The 14ft by 3ft shroud, which is currently displayed at St John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin, carries a faintly stained image of a man and has been venerated for centuries as Christ’s burial shroud.
Scientific efforts to ascertain its authenticity have been intense. The latest study was carried out under Italy’s National Research Council.
Researchers drew on previous atomic resolution studies and medical studies on patients who suffered multiple acts of trauma and torture.
Professor Giulio Fanti, of the University of Padua, said the particles had a “peculiar structure, size and distribution” not typical of the blood of a healthy person. They showed high levels of creatinine and ferritin, found in patients who suffered forceful multiple traumas, such as torture.
Professor Fanti said: “Hence, the presence of these biological nanoparticles point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin Shroud.”
The findings contradict claims that the shroud was forged in the Medieval era. Prof Fanti said the characteristics of the particles “cannot be artifacts made over the centuries on the fabric of the Shroud”.
Particles of blood in the cloth have recorded a scenario of suffering ELVIO CARLINO EXPERT INVOLVED IN NEW STUDY