Analysis of ancient fabrics, example of the Holy Shroud in Turin

ABSTRACT

As it is not always simple to perform a systematic study on an ancient textile considering the complexity of the various techniques that can be applied, this paper considers as an example, the case of the HS (Holy Shroud), discussing the recent tests applied to it with relative results. After a brief presentation of the textile and an explanation of its complexity, the paper presents some tests and results obtained from 1978. The dark spots present in the fabric, attributable to the image of a man, add interesting information regarding its possible origin. The dating problem is discussed by comparing the information coming from the tradition with the contradictory result provided by the radiocarbon test performed in 1988 and other new dating results produced by innovative techniques. The dusts vacuumed from the HS, employed to perform a study of the human DNA coming from external contamination, provide an interesting hypothesis of the relic’s origin; in addition, among these dusts, electrum micro-particles, provide an interesting hypothesis on Byzantine customs. Finally, the problems related to the conservation of the textile are also considered. This example shows how it is possible to obtain from a textile interesting scientific results and confirmations of previous historical hypotheses.

References

• Melelli Alessia, Darshil U. Shah , Gemala Hapsari, Roberta Cortopassi, Sylvie Durand, Olivier Arnould , Vincent Placet, Dominique Benazeth, Johnny Beaugrand, Frédéric Jamme  and Alain Bourmaud, 2021, Lessons on textile history and fibre durability from a 4,000-year-old Egyptian flax yarn, Nature Plants, Vol 7, 1200–1206, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-00998-8
• Liu Jian, Danhua Guo, Yang Zhou, Ziying Wu, Wenying Li, Feng Zhao, Xuming Zheng, 2011, Identification of ancient textiles from Yingpan, Xinjiang, by multiple analytical techniques, Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol. 38, Issue 7, pp. 1763-1770
• Schwalbe L.A., R.N. Rogers, Physics and chemistry of the Shroud of Turin, a summary of the 1978 investigation. Analytical Chemical Acta, 135, 1982, pp. 3-49
• Jumper E.J., Adler A.D., Jackson J.P., Pellicori S.F., Heller J.H., Druzik J.R., A comprehensive examination of the various stains and images on the Shroud of Turin, Archaeological Chemistry III, ACS Advances in Chemistry nº 205, J.B. Lambert, Editor, Chapter 22, American Chemical Society, Washington D.C., 1984, pp. 447-476.
• Fanti Giulio, Open issues regarding the Turin Shroud, Scientific Research and Essays Vol. 7(29), 2012, pp. 2504-2512
• Fanti G, Botella JA, Di Lazzaro P, Heimburger T, Schneider R, Svensson N., Microscopic and Macroscopic Characteristics of the Shroud of Turin Image Superficiality. Imaging Sci. Technol. 2010, 54(4) :040201-1/8
• Giulio Fanti. Science and Christian Faith: The Example of the Turin Shroud. Glob J Arch & Anthropol. 2019; 8(1): 555726. DOI: 10.19080/GJAA.2019.08.555726
• Barcaccia Gianni, Galla Giulio, Achilli Alessandro, Olivieri Anna, Torroni Antonio Uncovering the sources of DNA found on the Turin Shroud, Nature, Scientific Reports, 5, 14484, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep14484
• Fanti G., Basso R. and Bianchini G., Turin Shroud: Compatibility Between a Digitized Body Image and a Computerized Anthropomorphous Manikin, of Imaging Science and Technology, 2010, 54(5): 050503–050503-8, 2010
• Accetta, J.S. and J.S. Baumgart, Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy and Thermographic Investigations of the Shroud of Turin, Applied Optics, 19, No. 12, 1980, pp. 1921-1929
• Fanti, G., Maggiolo, R., The double superficiality of the frontal image of the Turin Shroud, Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics, 6, 2004, pp. 491–503
• Fanti G., Botella J.A., Di Lazzaro P., Heimburger T., Schneider R., Svensson N., Microscopic and Macroscopic Characteristics of the Shroud of Turin Image Superficiality. of Imaging Sci. Technol. 54 No. 4, p. 040201-1/8, 2010
• Fanti Giulio, Hypotheses regarding the formation of the body image on the Turin Shroud. A critical compendium. of Imaging Sci. Technol. 2011, Vol. 55, No.6, p. 060507.
• Fanti Giulio, Holy Fire and Body Image of the Holy Shroud: Divine Photography Hypothesis, World Scientific News 176, 104-120 2023
• Fanti Giulio, Is the “Holy Fire” Related to the Turin Shroud? Glob J Arch & Anthropol. 2019, 10(2): 555782. DOI:10.19080/GJAA.2019.10.555782
• McCrone W. C., The Shroud Image, The Microscope 48, nº 2, 2000,pp. 79-85
• Heller, J.H., A.D. Adler. Blood on the Shroud of Turin. Applied Optics, Vol. 19, No. 16, August 15, 1980, pp. 2742-2744
• Heller, J.H., A.D. Adler. A Chemical Investigation of the Shroud of Turin. Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences Journal, 14, No. 3, 1981, pp. 81-103
• Fanti Giulio, Giuseppe Zagotto, Blood reinforced by pigments in the reddish stains of the Turin Shroud, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Volume 25, 2017, Pages 113-120, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2016.12.012
• Fanti G., A Reexamination of the Pigment-Reinforcement Hypothesis of the Turin Shroud’s Bloodstains, World Scientific News, 163 (2022) 99-114.
• Mottern R.W, R.J. London, R.A. Morris, Radiographic Examination of the Shroud of Turin – a Preliminary Report. Materials Evaluation, 38 No. 12, 1980, pp 39-44
• Morris R. A., L. A. Schwalbe, J. R. London, X-ray fluorescence investigation of the Shroud of Turin. X-Ray Spectrometry 9 (2): 40-7, 1980, https://doi.org/10.1002/xrs.1300090203
• Fanti G., Could an anomaly in Turin Shroud blood reopen the 1988-radiocarbon-dating result? World Scientific News, 162, 102-119 2021
• Di Lascio A., P. Di Lazzaro, P. Iacomussi, M. Missori, and D. Murra, Investigating the color of the blood stains on archaeological cloths: the case of the Shroud of Turin, Applied Optics, 57, Issue 23, 2018, pp. 6626-6631 https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.57.006626
• Damon P.E., Donahue D.J., Gore B.H., Hatheway A.L., Jull A.J.T., Linick T.W., Sercel P.J., Toolin L.J., Bronk C.R., Hall E.T., Hedges R.E.M., Housley R., Law I.A., Perry C., Bonani G., Trumbore S., Wölfli W., Ambers J.C., Bowman S.G.E., Leese M.N., Tite M.S., Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin. Nature, 337, 1989, pp. 611-615
• Riani, M., Atkinson, A.C., Fanti, G. et al. Regression analysis with partially labelled regressors: carbon dating of the Shroud of Turin. Stat Comput 23, 551–561 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11222-012-9329-5
• N. Rogers, Studies on the Radiocarbon Sample from the Shroud of Turin, Thermochimica Acta 425, 2005, 189-194
• Thomas McAvoy, On Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin. J. of Archaeology, 9:2, 2021, 34-44
• Schwalbe L., B. Walsh, On Cleaning Methods and the Raw Radiocarbon Data from the Shroud of Turin. J. of Archaeology, 9:1, 2021, 10-16
• Hedges R.E.M, Reply to Shroud irradiated with neutrons? Nature 33716, 1989.
• Phillips T.J., Shroud irradiated with neutrons? Nature 33716, 1989.
• Teruaki Enoto, Yuuki Wada, Yoshihiro Furuta, Kazuhiro Nakazawa, Takayuki Yuasa, Kazufumi Okuda, Kazuo Makishima, Mitsuteru Sato, Yousuke Sato, Toshio Nakano, Daigo Umemoto & Harufumi Tsuchiya, Photonuclear reactions triggered by lightning discharge. Nature Letter, 483, 24630, 2017
• Fanti G., P. Malfi, Multi-parametric micro-mechanical dating of single fibers coming from ancient flax textiles. Textile Research J, Volume 84 Issue 7, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0040517513507366
• De Caro L, Giannini C, Lassandro R, Scattarella F, Sibillano T, Matricciani E, Fanti G, X-ray Dating of Ancient Linen Fabrics, Heritage, 2(4), 2763-2783, 2019, https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2040171
• Liberato De Caro, Teresa Sibillano, Rocco Lassandro, Cinzia Giannini and Giulio Fanti, X-ray Dating of a Turin Shroud’s Linen Sample, Heritage, 5(2), 860-870, 2022, https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage5020047
• De Caro, Liberato, César Barta, Giulio Fanti, Emilio Matricciani, Teresa Sibillano, and Cinzia Giannini, Long-Term Temperature Effects on the Natural Linen Aging of the Turin Shroud, Information 13, no. 10: 458, 2022, https://doi.org/10.3390/info13100458
• Fanti G., Furlan C., Do gold particles from the Turin Shroud indicate its presence in the Middle East during the Byzantine Empire? Journal of Cultural Heritage Volume 42, 2020, Pages 36-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2019.07.020
• Orlofsky Patsy, Trupin Deborah Lee, The Role of Connoisseurship in Determining the Textile Conservator’s Treatment Options, of the American Institute for Conservation, Vol. 32, No. 2, 1992, pp. 109-118

Download all article in PDF

WSN 189 (2024) 236-257

ADVERTISEMENT