A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin

Kelly Kearse

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11

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A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin

Kelly Kearse

Published in International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 11, Issue 2)

Received: 13 August 2023 Accepted: 29 August 2023 Published: 8 September 2023

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Abstract

The Shroud of Turin is a large linen cloth that bears the faint image of a crucified man containing bloodstains corresponding to scourging and crucifixion. Although the Shroud has been heralded as the most studied archaeological object in the world, the nature and origin of the image remains enigmatic, with explanations ranging from the natural to the supernatural. The bloodstains have been demonstrated to contain authentic blood components including hemoglobin, albumin, and immunoglobulin, although the species of origin remains to be determined. Controversy exists regarding the proposed blood transfer from a body to the cloth, particularly if certain bloodstains occurred in a dry state. The suggestion has been made that dried blood was thrust onto the cloth by a brief radiation burst emitted from the body, although demonstration of such a process is lacking. Here, a simple, natural mechanism is shown that could account for the imprinting of dried bloodstains onto the Shroud. Specifically, these studies examine the idea that temperature and humidity conditions like those described for a cave tomb environment are sufficient for the rehydration and transfer of dry blood stains. Moreover, these data demonstrate that high humidity imprinting faithfully represents the original patterns of dried blood and dried serum stains on skin.

Published in	International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 11, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11
Page(s)	17-21
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Turin Shroud, Blood, Humidity

References

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[2]	Culliton, B. A., The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin challenges 20th-century science. Science 201, (4352), 235-239 (1978).
[3]	Jackson, J. Critical Summary of Shroud Observations, Data and Hypotheses. Colorado Springs, CO: Turin Shroud Center of Colorado Publishing; 2019.
[4]	Damon, P., Donahue, D., Gore, B. et al. Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin. Nature 337, 611–615 (1989).
[5]	Rogers, R. N., Studies on the radiocarbon sample from the Shroud of Turin. Thermochimica Acta 425: 189-194 (2005).
[6]	Casabianca, T., Marinelli, E., et al. The radiocarbon dating of the Turin Shroud: New evidence from raw data. Archaeometry 5 (61): 1223-1231 (2019).
[7]	Marino, J. G. G., The 1988 C-14 dating of the Shroud of Turin: A stunning expose’, J. G. Marino Publishing (2020).
[8]	Jumper E. J., Adler A. D., Jumper E. J., et al. A comprehensive examination of the various stains and images on the Shroud of Turin. Archaeological Chemistry III, ACS Advances in Chemistry 205, 22, American Chemical Society, Washington DC; p. 447‒476 (1984).
[9]	Kearse, K. P. Ultraviolet 365 as an Alternative Light Source for Detection of Blood Serum. J Forensic Sci. Sep; 65 (5): 1716-1721 (2020).
[10]	Antonacci, M. Test the Shroud: At the Atomic and Molecular levels, LE Presss, LLC (2015).
[11]	Rucker, R. The Mysteries of the Shroud of Turin. Materials Evaluation, (80) 2: 24-36 (2022).
[12]	Lavoie, G. The Shroud of Jesus, Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, NH, (2023).
[13]	Nitowski, E. Environmental study of the Shroud in Jerusalem field and laboratory report (1986), available at www.shroud.com Environmental Study of the Shroud in Jerusalem Field and Laboratory Report - Sept. 14, 1986.
[14]	Benabdelhalim, H. and Brutin, D. Phase separation during blood spreading. Sci Rep., Jun 3; 11 (1): 11688 (2021).
[15]	Laan, N., Smith, F., et al. Morphology of drying blood pools. Forensic Sci. Int. 267, 104-109 (2016).
[16]	Kearse K. P. Environmental influence on blood serum detection using ultraviolet 365. J Forensic Sci Res., 5: 030-036 (2021).
[17]	Miller V. D. and Pellicori SF. Ultraviolet fluorescence photography of the Shroud of Turin. J Biol Photographers Assoc. Jul; 49, (3): 71-85 (1981).
[18]	Pellicori, S., UV fluorescence imagery of the Turin Shroud-digitally revisited. Int. J. of Archaeology, 8 (2): 32-36 (2020).
[19]	Barbet, P. A doctor at Calvary, Roman Catholic Books, Ft. Collins, CO (1953).

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APA Style

Kelly Kearse. (2023). A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin. International Journal of Archaeology, 11(2), 17-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11

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Kelly Kearse. A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin. Int. J. Archaeol. 2023, 11(2), 17-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11

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AMA Style

Kelly Kearse. A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin. Int J Archaeol. 2023;11(2):17-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11,
  author = {Kelly Kearse},
  title = {A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin},
  journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
  volume = {11},
  number = {2},
  pages = {17-21},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20231102.11},
  abstract = {The Shroud of Turin is a large linen cloth that bears the faint image of a crucified man containing bloodstains corresponding to scourging and crucifixion. Although the Shroud has been heralded as the most studied archaeological object in the world, the nature and origin of the image remains enigmatic, with explanations ranging from the natural to the supernatural. The bloodstains have been demonstrated to contain authentic blood components including hemoglobin, albumin, and immunoglobulin, although the species of origin remains to be determined. Controversy exists regarding the proposed blood transfer from a body to the cloth, particularly if certain bloodstains occurred in a dry state. The suggestion has been made that dried blood was thrust onto the cloth by a brief radiation burst emitted from the body, although demonstration of such a process is lacking. Here, a simple, natural mechanism is shown that could account for the imprinting of dried bloodstains onto the Shroud. Specifically, these studies examine the idea that temperature and humidity conditions like those described for a cave tomb environment are sufficient for the rehydration and transfer of dry blood stains. Moreover, these data demonstrate that high humidity imprinting faithfully represents the original patterns of dried blood and dried serum stains on skin.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin
AU  - Kelly Kearse
Y1  - 2023/09/08
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11
T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
SP  - 17
EP  - 21
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7595
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11
AB  - The Shroud of Turin is a large linen cloth that bears the faint image of a crucified man containing bloodstains corresponding to scourging and crucifixion. Although the Shroud has been heralded as the most studied archaeological object in the world, the nature and origin of the image remains enigmatic, with explanations ranging from the natural to the supernatural. The bloodstains have been demonstrated to contain authentic blood components including hemoglobin, albumin, and immunoglobulin, although the species of origin remains to be determined. Controversy exists regarding the proposed blood transfer from a body to the cloth, particularly if certain bloodstains occurred in a dry state. The suggestion has been made that dried blood was thrust onto the cloth by a brief radiation burst emitted from the body, although demonstration of such a process is lacking. Here, a simple, natural mechanism is shown that could account for the imprinting of dried bloodstains onto the Shroud. Specifically, these studies examine the idea that temperature and humidity conditions like those described for a cave tomb environment are sufficient for the rehydration and transfer of dry blood stains. Moreover, these data demonstrate that high humidity imprinting faithfully represents the original patterns of dried blood and dried serum stains on skin.
VL  - 11
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Kelly Kearse

Knoxville Catholic High School, Knoxville, USA

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Kelly Kearse. (2023). A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin. International Journal of Archaeology, 11(2), 17-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11

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ACS Style

Kelly Kearse. A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin. Int. J. Archaeol. 2023, 11(2), 17-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Kelly Kearse. A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin. Int J Archaeol. 2023;11(2):17-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11,
  author = {Kelly Kearse},
  title = {A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin},
  journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
  volume = {11},
  number = {2},
  pages = {17-21},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20231102.11},
  abstract = {The Shroud of Turin is a large linen cloth that bears the faint image of a crucified man containing bloodstains corresponding to scourging and crucifixion. Although the Shroud has been heralded as the most studied archaeological object in the world, the nature and origin of the image remains enigmatic, with explanations ranging from the natural to the supernatural. The bloodstains have been demonstrated to contain authentic blood components including hemoglobin, albumin, and immunoglobulin, although the species of origin remains to be determined. Controversy exists regarding the proposed blood transfer from a body to the cloth, particularly if certain bloodstains occurred in a dry state. The suggestion has been made that dried blood was thrust onto the cloth by a brief radiation burst emitted from the body, although demonstration of such a process is lacking. Here, a simple, natural mechanism is shown that could account for the imprinting of dried bloodstains onto the Shroud. Specifically, these studies examine the idea that temperature and humidity conditions like those described for a cave tomb environment are sufficient for the rehydration and transfer of dry blood stains. Moreover, these data demonstrate that high humidity imprinting faithfully represents the original patterns of dried blood and dried serum stains on skin.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Simple, Natural Mechanism for the Transfer of Dry Bloodstains onto the Shroud of Turin
AU  - Kelly Kearse
Y1  - 2023/09/08
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11
T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
SP  - 17
EP  - 21
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7595
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20231102.11
AB  - The Shroud of Turin is a large linen cloth that bears the faint image of a crucified man containing bloodstains corresponding to scourging and crucifixion. Although the Shroud has been heralded as the most studied archaeological object in the world, the nature and origin of the image remains enigmatic, with explanations ranging from the natural to the supernatural. The bloodstains have been demonstrated to contain authentic blood components including hemoglobin, albumin, and immunoglobulin, although the species of origin remains to be determined. Controversy exists regarding the proposed blood transfer from a body to the cloth, particularly if certain bloodstains occurred in a dry state. The suggestion has been made that dried blood was thrust onto the cloth by a brief radiation burst emitted from the body, although demonstration of such a process is lacking. Here, a simple, natural mechanism is shown that could account for the imprinting of dried bloodstains onto the Shroud. Specifically, these studies examine the idea that temperature and humidity conditions like those described for a cave tomb environment are sufficient for the rehydration and transfer of dry blood stains. Moreover, these data demonstrate that high humidity imprinting faithfully represents the original patterns of dried blood and dried serum stains on skin.
VL  - 11
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download