Before you say, “well that’s obvious,” you should be aware that there is serious science behind the idea that the C-14 dating for the shroud is suspect due to contamination (see The DNA of God?: Newly Discovered Secrets of the Shroud of Turin; the author is a scientist who pioneered new techniques for detecting an organic bacterial coating that forms over time on ancient textiles — which would contaminate C-14 tests).
Here’s the new evidence. An art historian (Luciano Buso) claims to have found tell-tale signature clues that point to the Italian master Giotto as the creator of the image on the shroud. Giotto’s lifetime occurs well within the period in which the current C-14 dating places the shroud.
Giotto? So now instead of religious veneration we get art veneration for the Shroud? Hmm.
Mike, have you seen a debunking of the idea that the portion of the shroud used in carbon testing contained different material that had been interwoven with the burned section? IIRC, after the damage suffered in a fire, nuns used a different material to micro-weave (my word, not theirs) a new section in.
I’ve read that, but haven’t seen a debunking of it. The testing really needs to be redone.
This is not really very compelling. Especially in light of this: http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/cad/
I don’t see the relationship between the shroud of Turin and the CAD – ?