Scientists date Shroud of Turin back to the first century in new study

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Scientists are inching closer to determining whether the famed Turin Shroud is indeed the cloth in which Jesus was wrapped. Experts have now stated that the linen can be traced back to the beginning of the AD era, aligning with the time when Jesus was crucified.

The shroud, which bears a faint outline of a bearded man believed to be an imprint left by Jesus's body, was first displayed in 1350 and has since been referred to as the Holy Shroud.

The latest research, conducted by the Institute of Crystallography of the National Research Council, employed X-ray techniques to date the material. However, this finding contradicts previous studies from the 1980s, which suggested the shroud only dates back to the Middle Ages, casting doubt on its existence 2000 years ago.

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This study focuses on the aging of flax cellulose and compares it to the time since the product was manufactured, reports the Daily Star.

The Shroud of Turin, housed in the San Giovanni Battista since 1578, has been a subject of debate due to radiocarbon dating analyses from 1988 suggesting it's only seven centuries old. However, a new study challenges this, stating: "The data profiles were fully compatible with analogous measurements obtained on a linen sample whose dating, according to historical records, is 55-74 AD, found at Masada, Israel".

The researchers also compared the shroud's samples with those from the Middle Ages and concluded: "To make the present result compatible with that of the 1988 radiocarbon test, the Shroud of Turn should have been conserved during its hypothetical seven centuries of life at a secular room temperature very close to the maximum values registered on the earth". Dr Liberato De Caro, who spearheaded the new research, argues that the 1988 test is unreliable because: "Fabric samples are usually subject to all kinds of contamination, which cannot be completely removed from the dated specimen."

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