The never-ending debate about the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin has take another twist. Scientists in Italy have announced new results regarding the age of what some believe to be the death covering of Jesus.
The news also comes as the the UK’s DailyExpress newspaper used AI last week to create an image based on the images found on the Shroud.
The Institute of Crystallography used a dating process involving WAXS, or Wide-angle X-ray scattering. WAXS helped determine that the shroud appears to consistently date as a 2,000-year-old-plus relic.
“The experimental results are compatible with the hypothesis that the Turin Shroud is a 2000-year-old relic, as supposed by Christian tradition,” the institute said on its website. “We obtained one-dimensional integrated WAXS data profiles for the Turin Shroud sample, which were fully compatible with the analogous measurements obtained on a linen sample whose dating, according to historical records, is 55–74 AD, Siege of Masada Israel.”
The shroud and a reverse image photo of it. Image: Public Domain
Dr. Liberato de Caro, leading scientist of the Heritage investigation, says that the wide-angle X-ray analysis proved that the Shroud of Turin matched a similar fabric sample from Masada, Israel dating between 55 to 74 CE. There were also tiny particles of pollen from the Middle East lodged in the linen fibers of the shroud, which seemingly ruled out the idea that the fabric came from Europe, Dr. de Caro added.
De Caro’s team conducted their analysis using a small sample from the Shroud, which is currently housed at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.
The findings contradict the results of a dating test conducted on the shroud in 1988, which found that it dated back only to about 1350. During the 1988 dating, the shroud was analyzed by three separate labs. Those results bolstered serious doubts over its authenticity. The institute’s new results indicate that “the Turin Shroud’s fabric is much older than the seven centuries proposed by the 1988 radiocarbon dating.”
The AI evaluation of the cloth depicted a vivid image of a man with shoulder-length hair and a beard. Daily Express / Midjourney.
As for the AI created image from the shroud, The Daily Express reports that it “used AI to reinterpret the enigmatic holy relic to reveal the ‘true face of Jesus’ used cutting-edge AI imager Midjourney to create a simulation of the face behind the shroud.”
The newsoutlet reports “the images appear to show Christ with long flowing hair and a beard – much like many classical depictions of him. There appears to be cuts and grazes around his face and body, pointing to the fact he had just been killed.”
Beyond the scientific world, the faithful worldwide have taken great interest in the Shroud of Turin as potential proof of the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
“I have had a long fascination for the Shroud of Turin,” said Bishop Robert Barron, founder of the Word on Fire ministry. “It first came to my attention when I was 16, and I read everything I could about the Shroud — its history and provenance, arguments regarding its authenticity and the scientific research. As such, the recent news that the use of new technology had led to a different conclusion than a carbon dating test conducted in 1988. It seems that there is now new evidence that strengthens the hypothesis that the cloth of the Shroud is contemporary to the time of Christ.”
The bishop clarified, “our faith in Christ’s resurrection is in no way dependent on the Shroud, but its uncanny power to capture our attention and many other mysteries have strengthened the faith of many.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice