Insights into 2022 viral research that could prove the Shroud of Turin is 2,000 years old

CV NEWS FEED // A scientific analysis of the Shroud of Turn conducted by Italian researchers in 2022 is currently making headlines due to its conclusions, which may confirm traditional Christian beliefs about the ancient artifact.

The investigations revealed that the 1988 radiocarbon dating of the Shroud was inaccurate. Using a new technique that uses wide-angle X-rays, it was determined that the Shroud is much older – 2,000 years old. This is consistent with the widely held belief that the image of the Crucified Christ on the Shroud is actually an image of Jesus Christ.

According to a report by the Christian Daily, the Institute of Crystallography of the National Research Council in Italy first published the results of its analysis in 2022 in a public-access journal called Heritage.

The research results made several headlines in recent days after the British Daily Mail published an article with the headline “Is this proof the Shroud of Turin is real?: Scientists make surprising discovery after analyzing the fabric 'in which Jesus was buried'.”

“The degree of natural aging of the cellulose that makes up the linen of the sample studied, determined by X-ray analysis, showed that the TS fabric is much older than the seven centuries suggested by the 1988 radiocarbon dating,” the Italian researchers explained.

The 1988 tests cannot be considered reliable because there were “both procedural and statistical problems,” the Christian Daily said. These included problems related to carbon contamination and the samples used in the tests.

The researchers further explained that the “level of natural aging” that the new method found in the cellulose that made up the linen sample was far beyond what previous researchers had found, according to the Christian Daily report. Cellulose is an organic compound that is often processed into fibers used in clothing and paper.

“The experimental results are compatible with the hypothesis that the Shroud is a 2,000-year-old relic, as Christian tradition holds,” they noted, as long as the Shroud was stored at average temperatures and humidity during the thirteen centuries of its unknown history and the seven centuries of its known history.

For the 1988 results to be accurate, the researchers estimated that the Shroud would have had to be preserved “during its hypothetical seven-century lifespan at a room temperature very close to the maximum temperatures recorded on Earth.”

Finally, they noted that it was “a stroke of luck” that the Shroud was brought to Europe seven centuries ago:

Our analysis has indeed shown that the natural ageing of the cellulose of the TS linen from the 14th century to the present day was very low due to the low secular average room temperature in Europe. This prevented the TS body image from disappearing completely, which would have been the case at a secular average room temperature of 22.5 °C.

The researchers also concluded that the Shroud's recent history in Europe may ultimately be the reason why the linen did not completely yellow and the image disappeared. “This leaves a mystery that is very difficult for science to solve.”