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Burial shroud from time of Jesus Christ found, says Irish expert

PATRICK ROBERTS,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, December 16, 2009, 7:34 AM

Updated Wednesday, December 16, 2009, 8:15 AM

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The Shroud of Turin

An Irish scientist is among a crack team of archaeologists and scientists who say they have found a burial shroud from the time of Jesus in a Jerusalem tomb.

The researchers say the shroud is very different than the Shroud of Turin, with a much more simple, two-way weave — not the twill weave used on the Turin cloth, which textile experts say was introduced more than 1,000 years after Christ lived.

Many Christians believe the Shroud of Turin is Christ's burial cloth, but the new discovery bolsters the view of many scientitists and scholars who say it could not be.

Ireland's Helen Donoghue and the team of scientists found the body of a man wrapped in the newly discovered shroud in a tomb that clearly dates form the time of Jesus near the Old City of Jerusalem.

It was found in a cemetery called the Field of Blood, where Judas is thought to have killed himself.

The researchers say the body was that of a Jewish high priest or a member of the aristocracy who died of leprosy — the earliest case they have found.

TThe researchers say that the clothes and shroud are typical of the burial cloths used during the life of Christ

Nster.com

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brondell | Dec 20, 2009, 03:05 PM EST

Maybe the Italians know best: "Se non é vero, é ben trovato". Loosely translated, "Even if it is not true, it makes a good story."

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irishathens | Dec 20, 2009, 10:15 AM EST

Impromp2, I don't know the source of your info..I can assure you that in Israel all digs come under the authority of the IAA in Jerusalem..

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jacersisityourself | Dec 20, 2009, 07:34 AM EST

The jury is still out on the authenticity of the Shroud, despite the Carbon-14 dating tests. In fact, this very dating test itself was thrown open to doubt during the tests on the Shroud, sending shudders through the scientific community world-wide, suggesting that all the scientific dating carried out hitherto on all artefacts using Carbon-14 could be in doubt. Apparently, some flaws in the reliability of Carbo-14 and even Carbon-12 tests were exposed during tests on the Shroud. One of the difficulties the Shroud testers faced was the discovery of pollen in its fibres of the kind found only in Palestine in the 1st Century AD. Myself? - I'm non-committal on its authenticity so far, despite having been to the Museum of the Holy Shroud.

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Impromp2 | Dec 19, 2009, 10:09 AM EST

Yes. The Shroud of Turin is fake. Leonardo Davinci is supposed to have drawn the image on the cloth and passed it off as Religious Antiquity so that it would be protected by the Catholic Church. However... Israel is NOT in control over digs, The Muslims are. And, as far as the Muslims are concerned, they destroy more of Israeli artifacts than anyone and the Israeli Government has little to say about it out of fear of retaliation.

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irishathens | Dec 17, 2009, 06:11 AM EST

The shroud of Turin though impressive is a fake. It was Carbon-14 tested by 3 separate labs all of their results showed a 'middle age' period. All digs in Israel are controlled by the Israel Antiques Authority and they now have the final say in whether to allow testing on materials found. In 2000 an American archeologist James Tabor and his team discovered a freshly robbed tomb in the Hinnom Valley (just outside Jerusalem) a shroud and several bones remained. Carbon 14 testing proved the shroud was from the 1st century. Anthropological analysis determined bones were from an adult male and they further tested by using a DNA sequencing test. The DNA testing is incredible as it means we can now determine parentage when a tomb or ossuary is discovered containing several skeletal remains. Archeologists have to be wary in Israel as Orthodox Jews believe in the sanctity of a grave. If they discover a dig has unearthed bones they consider it their duty to stone the 'defilers' and take all bones found for reburial.

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Watereskhill | Dec 16, 2009, 09:39 PM EST

Our Science teacher in Ireland had a devotional picture of The Shroud of Turin taped to the black-board (as pictured here).And pointed to it every time we entered the classroom and sat in the desks "This demolishes everything known to man" On occasion he had a penchant to make us all join hands in a circle and wired us up to an apparatus on the wall that measured amps and currents, turned the knob, and electrocuted us with jolts. Informing that the moment of Resurrection could not be doubted in it's cosmic power and that The Shroud was valid. The charcoal of Christ may well have hit the cloth in Turin. All I know is that for the remainder of the class we were in a daze and didn't know where we were.

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IrishEddy | Dec 16, 2009, 08:56 PM EST

If the Shroud of Turin is not authentic, which I believe it is, I wonder what techniques could have been used to make it. Is there anything similar from that period?

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jacersisityourself | Dec 16, 2009, 04:48 PM EST

In 1999, I visited the Holy Shroud Museum in Turin. It is located in via San Domenico and I was part of a group given a private tour by an English-speaking Italian lady who was married to a member of the family which possessed the shroud for centuries and who still live in the building. She told us that even though she is not a practicing Catholic herself, the family history of her husband is so strongly documented that she has no doubt that the original shroud has the miraculous image of Christ.

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plasticpaddy | Dec 16, 2009, 01:59 PM EST

faith is like mythology, useful message, in practice misleading, blindly believing in anything is of no use ot anyone.

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kickstar | Dec 16, 2009, 01:42 PM EST

OK if the shroud of turin is a fake it's just one less icon to bow down before and pray too.

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MotherIrish | Dec 16, 2009, 10:15 AM EST

Another grasping at straws for relics. Shroud of Turin is a fake, pieces of the "true" cross are fact. You all need to react with faith not tactile things which are fleeting in the end.

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