The Shroud of Turin is believed by many to depict the literal face of Jesus Christ, the Christian Messiah, following his burial. It’s one of the most coveted historical relics known to man. But is it real, or is it a masterful fake from the Middle Ages? A new study analyzed DNA samples taken from the shroud. However, the results may have only added to the deep mystery surrounding this ancient religious artifact.
The Shroud of Turin is a simple piece of twill cloth bearing traces of blood and a subtle imprint of a man’s body. Thousands of people visit the shroud each year to see the object that covered Jesus Christ’s battered body prior to the Resurrection.
The shroud itself is part of a rich legend of biblical proportions. It was allegedly taken from the tomb of Jesus Christ and carried from Judea to Turkey, and later Constantinople. There, it was kept and guarded for centuries.
In 1353, the shroud popped up in a tiny church in Lirey, France. How it arrived there is, inexplicably, unknown. The Catholic Church publicly acknowledged its existence when it emerged in this unlikely location.
In the 1980s, the Church finally permitted the shroud to be examined. A group of scientists used radiocarbon dating to analyze the cloth, concluding that the shroud was crafted between 1260 and 1390. This suggested the shroud was an ingenious and elaborate fake, which ruffled feathers.
Religious zealots and critics alike immediately argued that researchers used patched up portions of the shroud that could vary in age depending on when they were done. This would result in an inaccurate estimate.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, upon Jesus’ death, “The earth shook, the rocks split, and the tombs broke open,” indicating that a massive earthquake occurred. Some geologists argued that an earthquake of a high magnitude could have released a surge of neutrons that would throw off the radiocarbon dating.
In the most recent 2015 study, a geneticist named Gianni Barcaccia and his team analyzed dust carefully extracted from the shroud. These dust particles contained traces of both plant and human DNA.
Barcaccia then separated and sequenced the human mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from mother to child. The genetic lineage of the sequenced DNA suggested that the garment had been touched by people in North Africa, East Africa, and even China.
Bettmann / Getty Images
Once sequenced and analyzed the plant DNA expressed a diverse lineage as well. The DNA snippets came from everywhere. Mediterranean clovers, European spruce trees, trees from North America, and East Asian plum trees were all present on the shroud.
Nevertheless, the most prominent genetic indicators seemed to originate from areas around the middle east and the Caucasus. This could signal that the cloth came from an area close to the supposed tomb of Jesus Christ.
Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images
According to Barcaccia, one of the most prominent haplotypes found in the DNA is likely from the Druze community, an ethnic group whose origins trace back to the areas in the Middle East.
Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images
Interestingly, the oldest DNA snippets found on the shroud come from genetic lineages only found in India. This unexpected result strongly suggests that the garment was first manufactured in India and later traveled to Europe.
“In my opinion, it is hard to believe that in the past centuries… different subjects — such as priests, monks or nuns… of Indian ancestry — have had the possibility to come in contact with the shroud in France and/or Turin,” Barcaccia stated in a recent interview.
Unsurprisingly, these results have been widely disputed. Editor of the British Society of the Turin Shroud newsletter, Hugh Farley, has argued that these results don’t convincingly answer questions about the shroud’s authenticity.
All Saints Parish / YouTube
Farley stated, “They’ve done a good job, and they’ve identified a number of species that mean, broadly speaking, nothing at all.” Meaning that Hugh Farley doesn’t believe the results are conclusive.
Another critic, Danish geoscientist Renee Enevold, argued that past studies of pollen performed on the shroud were unreliable, and therefore Barcaccia’s study is facing a similar issue. He isn’t sure that the plant DNA is truly linked to the correct source, throwing a wrench in the results.
Farey also disputed that the shroud has been on public display for centuries and has, naturally, been exposed to people from across the globe. Sure, the United States may not be the source of the shroud, but pretty much everywhere else is open.
Photo by Massimo Di Nonno/Getty Images
Strangely, Farey still believes the shroud may be a forgery, but is not wholly convinced. He argues that the Indian DNA may have stemmed from a scientific study conducted in the 20th century.
Farey insists that in order to garner convincing results, scientists would have to analyze the flax seed used to make the linen garment, which they haven’t done yet. “The proper thing to do is to maintain an open mind at the moment,” insisted Farey.
Take Silwan, a neighborhood of Jerusalem’s Old City, for example. When sewage workers arrived at humble potato field in 2004, they accidentally unearthed a piece of ancient history that was just waiting to be discovered in this veritable treasure trove.
Back in the day — more accurately, in 516 B.C. — Silwan wasn’t just an unassuming suburb outside Jerusalem. The community was a hub of religious activity, all because of where it sat on a map.
If you were a Jew in the midst of your religious awakening, you went to Silwan. It had the Pool of Siloam, where you’d stop for ritual cleansing before journeying to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Still, Silwan was important for one other reason.
The City of David was once located right in Silwan, and it had a fascinating history. Originally called Jebus, it was naturally home to the Jebusites, a Canaanite tribe who lived there until David, King of the Israelites, seized the city.
There’s little evidence that King David existed, though the few sources that corroborate him are hard to ignore: He’s in the Bible, obviously, and he features on one or two ancient stone tablets. Together they form a controversial history for the king.
David wasn’t always in a position of power. He only became leader of the military after he defeated the giant Goliath with a single slingshot. He later became King David, and when he seized Jerusalem, the city became the Israelite’s capital.
And of course, it later became the City of David. Known as the King of the Israelites, David himself ruled for 40 years, making Jerusalem and the City of David locations of huge historical significance…which obviously means one thing.
Chaim Molcho, Ezrat Niddachim Org.
Silwan and Jerusalem are now crawling with archaeologists, all hoping that they uncover something groundbreaking from thousands of years ago. There’s just one problem: The cities have been built up and torn down and built up again countless times.
In fact, when the Romans took over Jerusalem in 64 B.C., they built a new city that buried all of the sacred sites once erected by the Israelites. Those monumental places were considered long gone…until 2004, that is.
That’s when those workers were sent to repair a burst pipe, but what they found wasn’t at all what they expected. When they saw what was at the site, all they could do was drop their equipment and send for the experts.
What these workers found in Silwan goes all the way back to the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. Along with the pipe, they found odd carvings in the surrounding stone, carvings that weren’t at all formed by nature.
The Jerusalem Post
Closer analysis revealed they weren’t even carvings at all, but steps. The workers were shocked when archaeologists told them that they had discovered an ancient staircase! Of course, the number one question on their minds was, where does this staircase lead?
But those workers and archaeologists in Silwan didn’t just discover a staircase. As they soon realized, the steps led to one of Silwan’s most religiously significant locations, a place the city had assumed was buried far beneath the rock and dirt.
See, there were once two temples on the site, the first of which was erected by King David’s son. The First Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C., but the Second Temple stood until A.D. 70 when Jerusalem (and Silwan) was taken over by a familiar foe.
: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.
The Romans. It’s this Second Temple that was near the mysterious staircase uncovered by the unassuming workers in 2004, and the staircase wasn’t the only relic waiting to be found in the same site as the ancient temple.
The staircase led to the sacred Pool of Siloam, the same pool where Jews once washed before heading on to the Temple Mount. It had laid in wait for approximately 2,000 years, and it led experts to even bigger finds.
The Jerusalem Post
Since that 2004 discovery, archaeologists have uncovered much more than the staircase and pool near the hidden Second Temple. They eventually unearthed an ancient roadway that led from the pool up to the Second Temple itself.
The excavation of this roadway led to an unexpected discovery: the builder’s identity. Someone had to have built the roadway, after all, but the identity of the man who did took the archaeologists — and historians — by complete surprise.
They discovered his identity in conjunction with another archaeological find: About 100 ancient coins were found embedded in the roadway, and the dates inscribed on these coins offered up the surprising builder of the road.
The dates indicated that the ruler at the time of the road’s construction was Pontius Pilate, the man who, according to the New Testament, sent Jesus to his death. How can they be sure? Donald Ariel of the Israel Antiquities Authority explained their reasoning.
The Passion of the Christ/Icon Productions
The coins are from A.D. 31, though most excavated coins are from after A.D. 40. This means that the road was built before the A.D. 40 coins, “in other words, only in the time of Pilate,” Ariel explained. It was a remarkable discovery…
The staircase that leads to the Second Temple. Archaeologists know that other artifacts are lying in wait in the underground City of David, and that innumerable priceless artifacts are buried all over, especially in one other ancient part of the world…
It began on a cool March day in the mountains northeast of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province. Seeking to tap into the area’s plentiful water reserves, a group of farmers had begun digging a small well about a mile east of the imposing Mount Li.
The Wall Street Journal
As they got deeper, the farmers couldn’t help but cast a hopeful eye at the dirt as they pulled each shovelful from the earth. For centuries, these mountains had revealed countless bits of promise for hopeful treasure hunters.
Fragments of terracotta, as well as roofing tiles and chunks of masonry, were common discoveries, yet these small finds had never given way to anything larger. Was there more to be found, or was this just some thousand-year-old garbage dump?
The answer seemed to indicate the former, as just a few hours into digging one farmer unearthed something remarkable — a man. Yet this one wasn’t made of flesh and blood: he was entirely terracotta.
No sooner did the farmer make his discovery that archaeologists were on the scene, clearing the surrounding earth to free the terracotta figure from the dirt. But there was something else beneath the next shovelful: yet another terracotta soldier.
Sensing this deposit of stone men was more than just a few misplaced garden statues, the archaeologists used ground-penetrating radar to see what else was lying below the surface — and what they found was nothing short of historic.
Texas Farm Bureau
More than 8,000 figures appeared on the scans, all placed in tight formations around what appeared to be an underground tomb. But there was no sense in guessing what else was down there: it was time for the archaeologists to see for themselves.
A massive excavation began, with hundreds of workers brought in to help unearth this army of stone soldiers. One by one, terracotta men poked their heads from the earth and breathed fresh air for the first time in centuries.
Along with the soldiers, hundreds of animal statues were also recovered, including those of birds and military horses. There were also more than 500 working horses pulling close to 150 full-size chariots.
Laypeople were also well-represented, as statues of entertainers like acrobats, strongmen, and musicians were unearthed as well. This discovery was unlike anything the archaeologists had seen before, yet one question remained: what was this terracotta army doing here?
Colleen Shepherd / Flickr
Scholars looked to historian Sima Qian’s Shiji — also known as the Records of the Grand Historian — for the answer. Written in 94 BCE, the ancient historical text included tales of the ambitious Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.
Shortly after ascending the throne at age 13, Qin Shi Huang began work on an enormous mausoleum to serve as both his final resting place as well as a testament to his greatness. However, not everyone was a fan of the new ruler.
While Qin Shi Huang is credited for uniting the warring states of China, he did so through conquest and plenty of bloodshed. Yet even after his enemies were no more, the emperor feared they’d return to seek revenge in the next life.
O. Louis Mazzatenta / National Geographic
And so, as his grand mausoleum began to take shape, he commissioned local craftsmen to build terracotta soldiers to protect his tomb. Qin Shi Huang was laid to rest in 210 BCE, and his army of over 8,000 has stood guard ever since.
The Jakarta Post
Yet it appeared that these soldiers weren’t much for fighting, as archaeologists were now snaking their way through the ranks in search of Qin Shi Huang’s treasures — that is, until they hit a snag.
As the archaeologists approached Qin Shi Huang’s tomb, they began picking up high levels of radiation. Had the emperor’s builders left behind more than just soldiers to protect his resting place? The answer, it seemed, was far more unbelievable.
During his lifetime, Qin Shi Huang was obsessed with discovering the key to eternal life and went to incredible lengths to find it. In addition to dispatching armies in search of some kind of everlasting elixir, the emperor also became fond of one unusual liquid…
And that liquid was mercury. Believing the radioactive element would preserve his youth, Qin Shi Huang surrounded himself with mercury and actually ingested it regularly. When his great mausoleum was complete, he even had rivers of the metal flowing through it!
Bertrand Berube / Flickr
While this prevalence of mercury definitely contributed to the emperor’s early demise at 49, it’d also made Qin Shi Huang’s resting place highly radioactive. To this day, the tomb remains sealed from even the most experienced archaeologists.
The ancient Jewish manuscripts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls have fascinated scholars for decades. While no one’s exactly sure of the details surrounding them — their true origins, for instance — experts agree on a few facts.
The scrolls were first found inside an alcove in the Qumran Caves in the Judaean Desert in the 1940s. After a chemical analysis, scientists dated the pieces of parchment and papyrus between 150 B.C. and 70 A.D.
Once they’d uncovered the scrolls, the experts were stunned. They contained some of the oldest known biblical documents ever found, and for their age, they were in amazing condition. To this day, the discovery brings people from all over to visit the Qumran caves.
Specifically, people flock to the caves to see first-hand where some of the most historically astounding texts were found. This gives them a glance at one of the world’s oldest mysteries — who wrote the darn things?
First, scholars generally believed the Essenes, a small sect of Jews who occupied the region near the Qumran Caves, penned these early documents. However, one man isn’t buying this commonly held belief — and his theory could have major impact.
During a National Geographic program called Writing the Dead Sea Scrolls, an archaeologist named Robert Cargill said, “Jews wrote the Scrolls, but it may not have been just one specific group. It could have been groups of different Jews.”
Cargill’s new research suggests that after the Roman siege on the Temple of Jerusalem around 70 A.D., a separate group of authors fled from the burning Temple and wrote their own contributions to the scrolls. However, not everyone buys into this theory.
Many scholars think Cargill has his facts wrong, including a New York University professor named Lawrence Schiffman who felt Cargill’s claims are “going to be very disputed.” He’s not alone, either.
Another archaeologist and Catholic priest who supported the belief the scrolls were written solely by the Essenes was Roland de Vaux. In 1954, he led a team that studied the scrolls, concluding all the writers lived solely in Qumran.
One of the reasons for de Vaux’s belief was the discovery of several pools the team believed to be Jewish ritual baths. The scrolls mentioned these local inventions, indicating a regional author.
In fact, some of the scrolls contained other detailed guidelines for communal living — such as bathing and dining — that lined up with the ancient traditions and customs of the Essenes.
However, an archaeologist named Yuvel Peleg who spent 16 years studying artifacts around Qumran challenged long-held beliefs about who wrote the scrolls, as well. This was all thanks to one specific item found on Mount Zion.
It was a 2,000-year-old cup with an inscription that read “Lord, I have returned” on its side in a code similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Peleg believed this could mean religious leaders from Jerusalem played a role in the scrolls’ writing.
To make things even more interesting, there’s another emerging theory that states the Essenes community was comprised of Jerusalem Temple priests who exiled themselves because of unlawful kings. Once in exile, they wrote the scrolls.
Although Robert Cargill’s opinion might be unpopular, there are clearly those who agree with him. The discovery of ancient sewers beneath Jerusalem by archaeologist Ronnie Reich could indicate that, during the Roman siege, groups of Jews smuggled religious texts to various areas.
Even further evidence the scrolls were written by various groups came from studying the jars the scrolls were found in. Scientists eventually concluded only half the vessels were local to Qumran. Even with this, however, not everyone’s convinced.
Especially Lawrence Schiffman, saying, “I don’t buy it. The notion that someone brought a bunch of scrolls together from some other location and deposited them in a cave is very, very unlikely.” Still, Robert Cargill stands his ground.
He agrees with Schiffman that the scrolls show “a tremendous amount of congruence of ideology,” however, “it’s difficult to explain some of the ideological diversity present within some of the scrolls.”
If, in fact, Robert Cargill’s research is accurate, it would change everything scholars believed about the scrolls being the work of just the Essenes. They could very well be the unrecovered treasures of Jews who escaped the Roman siege.
Regardless of whether or not the Dead Sea Scrolls were the work of the Essenes or not, every archaeologist agrees that they provide a rare glimpse into first-century Judaism. Meanwhile, a few thousand miles away, researchers are still exploring caves for more treasures.
Covering vast stretches of the limestone interior walls were countless scratches and carvings, undoubtedly thousands of years old. The markings were obvious, the first thing you’d notice when entering the cave; to the untrained eye, they were also totally insignificant.
For years, locals and facility workers believed that the carvings on the walls were meaningless scrawlings, graffiti dating back to the Victorian period. Every passerby through the cave noticed them, but no one had ever recognized what they truly were…
Michael Allan Hall / Flickr
Until Hayley and Ed noticed the markings, their hidden meaning was overlooked for centuries. Hundreds of individual characters were etched into the surface, but what pulled them away from the wonder of the tour were two letters: V V.
The Vintage News
Immediately, Hayley and Ed knew the letters represented a phrase that carried a curious weight. “V V” stood for “Virgin of Virgins,” a prayer beseeching Mary of Nazareth for protection against dark forces.
Dionicio Godina / Flickr
The “V V” annotations were repeated dozens of times on any surface the carvers could reach. Hayley and Ed shared their findings with the rest of the tour group. Their guide, Heritage Facilitator John Charlesworth, was gobsmacked.
He notified the Creswell Heritage Trust at once, and experts were called in to examine the symbols. They scoured every inch of the caves. Even in the hard-to-reach nooks and crannies, they found hastily made inscriptions.
Crosses, maze patterns, and boxes were repeated ceremoniously, just like the religious “VV” pleading. Apparently, these kinds of messages were used to trick and subsequently trap evil spirits.
With the serious and dramatic meanings of the marking finally understood, there was a giant red flag: What were all these people afraid of? Clearly, a dark force had driven them to a desperate state to carve symbols on the walls of a cave for help.
Artemii Zhdanov / Flickr
Answering that question started by identifying the persons responsible for the carvings. Allison Fearne, a Ph.D. of Archaeology at the University of Leicester, claimed these apotropaic markings are usually associated with places of worship or the door frames of the home.
East Anglian Daily Times
Spending hours a day chiseling into stone, back when it would be slow painstaking work, is the act of someone in fear. The root cause of such panic has something to do with the other common name for apotropaic markings — witch marks.
Visit Blue Mountains / Flickr
Historians from Creswell Heritage teamed up with Historic England and determined the markings date back between the 14th and 18th centuries, and attributed their carving to residents of nearby Creswell.
There’s no way to prove indefinitely that the citizens of Creswell were suffering from a real-life version of The Witch, but the sheer quantity of the markings means something spooky was going down.
Connections between nature and the supernatural go back centuries and in a setting plucked out of the pages of a fantasy novel, with cliffs and a picturesque lake, anyone could see how the caves could exude power.
Lee Wyatt / Flickr
It’s also possible the villagers were facing merciless diseases or debilitating poverty and blamed a witch. Taking to the caves to perform a ritual saving themselves from unknown despair could have been their last straw.
Alfonso Coya Testón / Flickr
No matter what the cause, the caves at Creswell Crag represented an overwhelming visual depiction of something sinister. When understanding of the markings swept the tour group, everybody felt a prickle of fear.