Spirituality

Did an earthquake create the Turin Shroud ?

By T.K. Randall
February 12, 2014

Image: Turin Shroud
Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 / Dianelos Georgoudis For years the Turin Shroud, a length of linen cloth thought to bear the image of Christ after his crucifixion, has been at the center of controversy and debate. Some maintain that the shroud is likely to be the genuine article while others are more skeptical, believing it instead to be a medieval forgery.

Now a research team from Italy has weighed in on the debate by claiming that a powerful earthquake that took place in 33 AD triggered a release of neutron particles, effectively imprinting the image of Jesus' body on the cloth like an X-ray.In addition to explaining the origins of the image, the research also suggests that a corresponding increase in the level of carbon-14 isotopes in the cloth could have fooled radiocarbon tests that indicated that the shroud was only 768 years old.

"We believe it is possible that neutron emissions by earthquakes could have induced the image formation on the Shroud's linen fibres, through thermal neutron capture on nitrogen nuclei, and could also have caused a wrong radiocarbon dating," said Professor Alberto Carpinteri who led the study.

Source: Independent

Tags: Turin Shroud