Holy Shroud: Science Confronts the Imprints

Scientists have studied the Holy Shroud of Turin for the last hundred years since the faint brown image on it was first photographed in 1898. This revealed minute details not visible to the naked eye.

The photos showed, in amazing and accurate anatomical detail, the body of a scourged and crucified man laid out in death. The cloth also bears human bloodstains which have seeped from wounds on a corpse. No one has yet been able to explain how the image got onto the cloth although there are numerous pieces of historical and scientific evidence to suggest that the cloth is of Palestinian origin from the time of Jesus Christ, whose actual burial cloth it is widely believed to be.

In 1942 French scientist, Dr Jean Volckringer, published his theory that the chemical cause of the image coloration was degradation of the cellulose content of the cloth fibres. Forty years later American scientists with their vast array of high-tech equipment and advanced knowhow came to the same conclusion.

This fascinating book is the first translation into English of Volckringer's research carried out more than fifty years ago. This is a classic for the shelves of the Shroud enthusiast and layman alike, brought to the English-speaking world by its editor, Shroud author Rex Morgan.