In 1989, the journal Nature published the results of radiocarbon testing on the Shroud of Turin. Their conclusion was that it dated to between 1260 and 1390 with 95% certainty. Since that time researchers have asked the laboratories for the raw data, only to be refused. Recently, French researcher Tristan Casabianca obtained the raw data of the original tests from the British Museum, which supervised the laboratories, through a legal Freedom of Information request. Casabianca and a team of scholars published a new scientific analysis of this data in the scholarly journal Archaeometry. Their study shows that the radiocarbon dating of the 1980s was unreliable, as the tested samples were heterogeneous (showing different dates). Further, the samples were all taken from one edge of the fabric, and there is no evidence to suggest that they are representative of the entire Shroud. They conclude, "It is therefore impossible to conclude that the Shroud of Turin dates from the Middle Ages." Casabianca and his team are calling for new testing, with a robust protocol and an interdisciplinary approach to accurately date the Shroud of Turin.
Off-site Links:
- https://townhall.com/columnists/myrakahnadams/2019/07/21/shroud-of-turin-new-test-concludes-1988-medieval-hoax-dating-was-a-fraud-n2550263
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/arcm.12467
- https://www.hommenouveau.fr/2900/religion/des-chercheurs-remettent-en-cause-l-idee-selon-laquelle-brle-saint-suaire-daterait-du-moyen-age.htm
ABR ARTICLES ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN:
Readers can learn more about the Shroud on ABR's website from the links at https://biblearchaeology.org/the-shroud-of-turin-list. We recommend John Long's four-part series "The Shroud of Turin's Earlier History," as well as "Latest Developments on the Shroud of Turin," parts I and II.
