Secrets of the Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin has been one of the most written about and researched ancient religious artifacts over the years of its existence. It is also fiercely debated about in academic as well as religious circles.  It currently lies in The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist which is in a town called Turin in Italy.

The Shroud is believed to be the cloth in which Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ as he is commonly known was buried in. It bears the mark of a man who looks like he has been recently crucified. All the impressions on the cloth are similar to a man who has been crucified. As mentioned in the Bible, Jesus was crucified by the Romans. But unlike the traditional Roman Crucifixion, this was a little bit different and the same has been reflected on the Shroud of Turin.

However, there are a few details which make the Shroud’s authenticity debatable. Historians, who have studied the Shroud, can only trace its timeline back to the thirteenth century A.D to Lirey, a town in France. Before that according to various written sources, it traveled all across Europe, mainly the Middle East. It had once been in the possession of the Knights Templar, according to a researcher at the Vatican Secret Archives.

After that, it was moved to the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and again in 1939, once World War II broke out, it was secretly moved to an abbey, the Sanctuary of Montevergine because Hitler was after the artifact. The Nazis came within inches of finding it. Prayers from the Benedictine monks there diverted them. In 1946, the Shroud was returned to Turin, where it now resides in a heavily fortified underground vault.

The Findings

In 1898, Italian Photographer Secondo Pia gained permission to photograph the Shroud of Turin. This was the first time the Vatican actually allowed someone to photograph the Shroud of Turin.

 After photographing it, he began to develop them. One night while he was examining the negatives, he discovered something amazing.

It was the face of a man, with his eyes closed. Upon examining the other negatives, he also discovered that the cloth bore the marks of a man. He was completely stunned by the sight of it, and Secondo Pia being an extremely religious man, declared that he had just stared into the face of God.

This was a shock to both the religious and the academic world. The theories started floating around regarding this and the overall interest regarding the Shroud increased worldwide. Since then, the last 100 years has been one startling discovery after the other.

Scientists have also been able to narrow down that the Shroud contains the blood of a torture victim. The linen cloth, believed to have been used to wrap the body of Jesus after crucifixion, contains ‘nanoparticles’ which are not typical of the blood of a healthy person.

These particles had a ‘peculiar structure, size and distribution,’ according to University of Padua professor Giulio Fanti. He says they are not typical of the blood of a healthy person, as show high levels of substances called creatinine and ferritin, found in patients who suffer forceful multiple traumas like torture

The theory that Jesus was buried in the Shroud is however not proven. But it still remains one of the most interesting artifacts of the ancient world for a whole set of amazing reasons.