Claims of Invalid “Shroud” Radiocarbon Date Cut from Whole
Cloth
Joe Nickell
Longtime Shroud of Turin devotee Ray Rogers, a retired research chemist, now
admits there is the equivalent of a watercolor paint on the alleged burial cloth
of Jesus. By tortuous logic and selective evidence, however, he uses the
coloration to claim the “shroud” image was not the work of a medieval artist
(Rogers 2004, 2005). Rogers follows many other shroud defenders in attempting to
discredit the medieval date given by radiocarbon testing (Nickell 1998,
150–151).
In a paper published in Thermochimica Acta, Rogers (2005) claims
that earlier carbon-14 dating tests—which proved the linen was produced between
1260 and 1390 (Damon et al. 1989)—were invalid because they were conducted on a
sample taken from a medieval patch. “The radiocarbon sample has completely
different chemical properties than the main part of the shroud relic,” Rogers
told BBC News (“Turin” 2005).
In fact, the radiocarbon sample (a small piece cut from the “main body of the
shroud” [Damon 1988, 612]) was destroyed by the testing. Rogers (2005) relied on
two little threads allegedly left over from the sampling, [1] together
with segments taken from an adjacent area in 1973. He cites pro-authenticity
researchers who guessed that the carbon-14 sample came from a “rewoven area” of
repair—“As unlikely as it seems,” Rogers admitted to one news source (Lorenzi
2005). Indeed, textile experts specifically made efforts to select a site for
taking the radiocarbon sample that was away from patches and seams (Damon et al.
1989, 611–612).
To Read More of This Column Visit: www.csicop.org and http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/shroud.html
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