This is the fifth installment of the entry, "Linen sheet," in my "Turin Shroud Encyclopedia. I will add new installments regularly until this entry is completed.
© Stephen E. Jones
Introduction. The Shroud of Turin is a rectangular linen sheet, ~4.4 metres long by ~1.1 metres wide (~14.3 x ~3.6 feet); and about a third of a millimetre (~0.34 mm) thick. The colour of the cloth was originally white (as found by cross-sectioning a fibril). But it
has darkened with age and today its colour is variously described as "honey," "straw yellow," "yellowish," "cream," "off white" and "ivory," (see right).
Linen. The cloth is fine linen, which in the first century ranked in value with gold, silver and silk. The use of a fine linen cloth as a burial shroud for a crucifixion victim therefore indicates a high degree of wealth, which is consistent with the Gospels that "a rich man" Joseph of Arimathea, wrapped Jesus' body in "fine linen" (Mt 27:57-60; Mk 15:42-46; Lk 23:50-53; Jn 19:38-42 HCSB).
Flax. The linen had been hand-spun and hand-woven from the common domesticated flax plant, Linum usitatissimum, which is native to a region from the eastern Mediterranean to India. The flax yarn had been hand-spun with a "Z" twist. Flax has a natural "S" twist and was more common in Egypt. However, flax yarn with a "Z" twist was more frequent in the linen of the Roman Empire. Linen with a "Z" twist has been discovered in Syria and Judea, which points to a Syro-Palestinian origin of the Shroud.
Selvedge. Around the edges of the Shroud is a selvedge, or weaver-finished edge. The purpose of a selvedge is to prevent the woven cloth from fraying or unravelling.
Sidestrip. The sidestrip is the 8 to 9 (7.8 to 8.4) centimeter (~3½ inch) strip that runs the full length of the left hand side of the cloth, except for two pieces missing at each end (see above). The missing pieces were 14 and 36 cms long at the bottom and top left hand corners respectively. The sidestrip is also made of linen and the thread of the seam (see "Seam" below) joining it to the main section of the Shroud is also linen. Both the sidestrip and the main Shroud have the same herringbone three to one twill weave (see "Weave" below). Indeed, radiographs (see below) reveal that alternating high- and low-density banding structures continue from the main body of the Shroud, through the seam (see below) into the sidestrip. This means that the side strip and the main body of the Shroud were part of the same larger linen sheet. But since it would make no sense to cut lengthwise an ~8.5 cm (~3½ in.) strip off the Shroud and then sew it back on again, the most likely explanation is that of ancient textiles expert Mechthild Flury-Lemberg that the bolt of
[Above (click to enlarge): Illustration of Dr. Flury-Lemberg's explanation of how the cloth from which the Shroud came was originally woven much wider than the Shroud. Then the cloth was cut lengthwise and the two pieces bordered by the selvedge (shaded) were joined together by a seam (see "Seam" below) to form the Shroud cloth.]
linen which the Shroud was cut from was up to three times the Shroud's width (~3.3 m) and the cloth was then cut twice lengthwise, joining by a seam the two sections with selvedge for the Shroud, using the central section(s) without a selvedge for other purposes. Ancient Egyptian linen looms were even wider, up to 3.5 m (~11.5 m) but no medieval European looms were. Even medieval European tapestries were woven on looms that were only between 3 and 6 feet (~0.9 - 1.8 m) wide.
[Right (click to enlarge): Magnified radiograph of an area adjacent to the Shroud's seam, showing that weft (widthwise) threads continue from the sidestrip (left) through the seam and into the Shroud's main body (right), proving that the sidestrip and main body were part of the same wider cloth which was cut lengthwise, the central panel removed, and the two panels with side selvedges were exactly rejoined.]
professionally crafted, hand-stitched seam about 0.5 cms wide. The stitching of the seam is unusual, being nearly invisible on the image side of the Shroud, and on the obverse (non-image) side closely resembling that of Jewish textiles found at Masada, the Jewish fortress that was overthrown by the Romans in AD 73 and never reoccupied. Moreover, other Jewish clothing found at Masada had the same unusual selvedge as the Shroud. This alone is powerful evidence for the authenticity of the Shroud and against its 1988 radiocarbon dating as "mediaeval ... AD 1260-1390."
three and under one of the warp, or vertical, threads. This complex weave pattern adds strength and flexibility, but it would have been an expensive cloth in the first century, which again is consistent with the Gospels' account that Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, bought the Shroud to bury Jesus (see above). While there is no herringbone twill weave in linen yet known from the first century, there are examples of such weaves in silk and wool from third century Syria (Palmyra ~AD 276) and Roman Britain (Holborough, Kent ~AD 250). And fragments of herringbone twill weave in wool, similar to the Shroud's weave, have been found at the early second century (AD 100-120) Roman fort of Krokodilo, in Egypt's Eastern Desert. So there is no reason why 3:1 herringbone twill linen weaves could not have been produced in Syria and Egypt, countries bordering Palestine, or in Palestine itself, by the first century. Moreover, there is only one known example of a herringbone linen weave from the fourteenth century (see future "Problems of the forgery theory").
1. Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, p.72. [return]
2. Adler, A,D., Whanger, A. & Whanger, M., 1997, "Concerning the Side Strip on the Shroud of Turin," Shroud.com. [return]
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• Antonacci, M., 2000, "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence," M. Evans & Co: New York NY, pp.36, 72, 115, 120, 212.
• Baima-Bollone, P. & Zaca, S., 1998, "The Shroud Under the Microscope: Forensic Examination," Neame, A., transl., St Pauls: London, p.6.
• Bennett, J., 2001, "Sacred Blood, Sacred Image: The Sudarium of Oviedo: New Evidence for the Authenticity of the Shroud of Turin," Ignatius Press: San Francisco CA, pp.67, 146.
• Cassanelli, A., 2002, "The Holy Shroud," Williams, B., transl., Gracewing: Leominster UK, p.15.
• Danin, A., Whanger, A.D., Baruch, U. & Whanger, M., 1999, "Flora of the Shroud of Turin," Missouri Botanical Garden Press: St. Louis MO, pp.3,5.
• Dickinson, I., 1990, "The Shroud and the cubit measure," British Society for the Turin Shroud Newsletter, No. 24, January, pp.8-11, pp.10-11.
• Damon, P.E., et al., 1989, "Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin," Nature, Vol. 337, , 16th February, pp.611-615, p.611.
• de Wesselow, T., 2012, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection," Viking: London, pp.108-109.
• Drews, R., 1984, "In Search of the Shroud of Turin: New Light on Its History and Origins," Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham MD, p.11.
• Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.1.
• Heller, J.H., 1983, "Report on the Shroud of Turin," Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston MA, pp.138.
• Humber, T., 1978, "The Sacred Shroud," , Pocket Books: New York NY, p.34.
• Iannone, J.C., 1998, "The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence," St Pauls: Staten Island NY, pp.1-2, 13.
• Meacham, W., 1983, "The Authentication of the Turin Shroud: An Issue in Archaeological Epistemology," Current Anthropology, Vol. 24, No. 3, June.
• Oxley, M., 2010, "The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin," AuthorHouse: Milton Keynes UK, p.169.
• Petrosillo, O. & Marinelli, E., 1996, "The Enigma of the Shroud: A Challenge to Science," Scerri, L.J., transl., Publishers Enterprises Group: Malta, pp.161-162, 197.
• Ruffin, C.B., 1999, "The Shroud of Turin: The Most Up-To-Date Analysis of All the Facts Regarding the Church's Controversial Relic," Our Sunday Visitor: Huntington IN, p.11.
• Schwalbe, L.A. & Rogers, R.N., 1982, "Physics and Chemistry of the Shroud of Turin: Summary of the 1978 Investigation," Reprinted from Analytica Chimica Acta, Vol. 135, No. 1, pp.3-49, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co: Amsterdam, pp.40-41.
• Tyrer, J., 1983, "Looking at the Turin Shroud as a Textile," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 6, March, pp.35-46, pp.38,40.
• Vial, G., 1991, "The Shroud of Turin: A Technical Study," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 38/39, March/June, pp.7-20, p.9.
• Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," , Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, p.69.
• Wilson, I., 1986, "The Evidence of the Shroud," Guild Publishing: London, p.2.
• Sox, H.D., 1981, "The Image on the Shroud: Is the Turin Shroud a Forgery?," Unwin: London, p.77.
• Tribbe, F.C., 2006, "Portrait of Jesus: The Illustrated Story of the Shroud of Turin," , Paragon House Publishers: St. Paul MN, Second edition, pp.4, 110.
• Wilson, I. & Miller, V., 1986, "The Evidence of the Shroud," Guild Publishing: London, p.36.
• Wilson, I. & Schwortz, B., 2000, "The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence," Michael O'Mara Books: London, p.41.
• Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," , Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, p.31.
• Wilson, I., 1998, "The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence that the World's Most Sacred Relic is Real," Simon & Schuster: New York NY, pp.67-73.
• Wilson, I., 2000, "`The Turin Shroud - past, present and future', Turin, 2-5 March, 2000 - probably the best-ever Shroud Symposium," British Society for the Turin Shroud Newsletter, No. 51, June.
• Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, pp.71-76, 315.
Created: 22 January, 2015. Updated: 26 January, 2015.