‘There WAS a body inside’ Shroud of Turin oddity discovery exposed in Bible breakthrough

BIBLE scholars have long argued over the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, but an expert who radiocarbon-dated the cloth more than three decades ago revealed more recently that he spotted an "oddity" during his experiment that he admitted proves "it is highly probable that there was a body inside".

Shroud of Turin: Scientists use radiocarbon dating on fabric

The linen cloth, which is kept at the Cathedral of Turin, in Italy, bears the image of a man who some have claimed to be Jesus Christ. Its existence was first securely attested in 1390, when a local bishop wrote that an unnamed artist had confessed that it was a forgery, but the Catholic Church has never formally endorsed or rejected its authenticity. After years of discussion, the Holy See permitted radiocarbon-dating on portions of a swatch taken from a corner of the shroud to be independently tested at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Rob Walker spoke to Professor Michael Tite, who supervised the testing process, during the BBC’s Witness History podcast.

He said in 2018: “The Shroud is one of the most veered relics of the Catholic Church, a piece of linen cloth that appears to show the imprint of a man who has been crucified.

“Many Christians believe it’s the ancient cloth that Jesus Christ was buried in.

“For centuries, the Shroud has been the focus of intense debate, how and when did the image of a crucified man become imprinted?

The Shroud of Turin has been at the centre of controversy for years

The Shroud of Turin has been at the centre of controversy for years (Image: GETTY)

The Shroud can be found inside Turin Cathedral

The Shroud can be found inside Turin Cathedral (Image: GETTY)

“But, in the late Seventies, the Catholic Church agreed to a test that it hoped would finally determine whether this could be the shroud of Christ.

“It took almost a decade for the Church to decide on the precise protocol, but by 1988 a method had been agreed on and the Church selected a scientist to oversee it.

“Professor Michael Tite was, at the time, keeper of the British Museum Research Laboratory and he was given the job of coordinating the work of three labs chosen by the Church to do the radiocarbon dating.”

Professor Tite then detailed the process the teams took to date the cloth.

He said: “The Shroud was brought out from the chapel behind the Cathedral, it’s very rarely brought out, but it was laid out on a large table.

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The Shroud shows the image of a man

The Shroud shows the image of a man (Image: GETTY)

“It didn’t mean a great deal to me, I was interested to see it – it’s a remarkable image.

“A cut was taken from the edge and we had experts present to ensure it was part of the original shroud and not a repair.

“It was cut into three pieces, one for each laboratory, wrapped in metal foil and then put in a steel container, and my role was to make sure there was no shady business.”

The experiments concluded with a 95 percent confidence that the Shroud's material dated between 1260–1390AD.

But, Professor Tite revealed why that was not the end of the argument.

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Experts believe the cloth may have been used to wrap a Christian

Experts believe the cloth may have been used to wrap a Christian (Image: GETTY)

The breakthrough reveals more about the history of the Bible

The breakthrough reveals more about the history of the Bible (Image: GETTY)

He added: “To some extent, it confirmed what I expected, my suspicions were proved.

“But I did make a mistake at the press conference, there was a big blackboard behind me and I put 1260 - 1390 and an exclamation mark afterwards which caused me endless trouble.

“The significance of the exclamation mark was to tell the press that this is what you already knew, but all sorts of various things were read into the exclamation mark.”

Mr Walker detailed how some questions still remained over the tests carried out.

He added: “But it wasn’t just accusations of a sinister plot to discredit the Church, some suggested that the results were skewed because the sample was contaminated.

“For example, this could have occurred by people touching the Shroud over the centuries, or by a fire that occurred in the 1500s.

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“Others believe the sample came not from the original cloth, but from a much later repair.”

But, Professor Tite admitted there was one “oddity” he discovered during the testing, leading him to believe there was a body inside the Shroud at one point, a breakthrough in understanding the struggle of Bible followers in the Middle Ages.

He continued: “There are certain groups who resisted and continue to resist the date.

“A number of people have made their whole career out of the Shroud, in one way or another.

“There’s no real evidence it was painted on there, and the other oddity is if you look at paintings from the Middle Ages they always paint Christ with the nails going through the palms of the hands.

“Whereas in reality, you have to put the nails through the wrist, I think a complete replication of the image has not been achieved.

“I don’t believe it was the Shroud, but I believe it is highly probable that there was a body in there – it was the time of the Crusades and an appropriate way to humiliate a Christian would be to crucify him.”

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