The Post-STURP Era of Shroud Research 1981 to the Present · temporarily to Cardinal Saldarini's residence. Signs of arson are found in the Royal Chapel, the walls of which are very

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The Post-STURP Era of Shroud Research 1981 to the Present

Presented by BARRIE M. SCHWORTZ

Editor and Founder Shroud of Turin Website

President, STERA, Inc.

© 1978-2013 STERA, Inc.

www.shroud.com

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http://www.shroud.com/�

The Post-STURP Era of Shroud Research 1981 to the Present

LECTURE 4

A Review of the “Bleak" Years

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A Review of the “Bleak” Years

After the radiocarbon dating results were released, most Shroud research worldwide came to a complete halt. Many qualified researchers simply walked away, accepting that the cloth was medieval. Others, who were not convinced by the dating, quietly continued their work. It would take another 12 years before any significant evidence would come to light that could credibly challenge the medieval results (see Lecture #3 - The 1988 Radiocarbon Dating and STURP). During that time, many theories were proposed as to why the results were inconsistent with the other scientific and historical evidence. These were all tested and eventually discarded, since none of them proved to be credible. In this lecture we will review some of those theories and the events that occurred during that “bleak” period in Shroud research.

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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating October 13, 1988: (Thursday) At a press conference held in Turin, Cardinal Ballestrero, Archbishop of Turin, makes an official announcement that the results of the three laboratories performing the Carbon dating of the Shroud have determined an approximate 1325 date for the cloth. At a similar press conference held at the British Museum, London, it is announced that the Shroud dates between 1260 and 1390 AD. Newspaper headlines immediately brand the Shroud a fake and declare that the Catholic Church has accepted the results.

Source: Shroud of Turin Website Shroud History Page http://www.shroud.com/history.htm#1900

http://www.shroud.com/history.htm�

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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating October 13, 1988: (Thursday) At a press conference held in Turin, Cardinal Ballestrero, Archbishop of Turin, makes an official announcement that the results of the three laboratories performing the Carbon dating of the Shroud have determined an approximate 1325 date for the cloth. At a similar press conference held at the British Museum, London, it is announced that the Shroud dates between 1260 and 1390 AD. Newspaper headlines immediately brand the Shroud a fake and declare that the Catholic Church has accepted the results. November 17, 1988: (Thursday) Dr. Michael Tite gives lecture to the British Society for the Turin Shroud on his radiocarbon-dating work.

February 15, 1989: (Wednesday) In a talk at the Logan Hall, Institute of Education, London, Professor Hall lectures to the British Museum Society on 'The Turin Shroud: A Lesson in Self-Persuasion'. He very forcefully declares anyone continuing to regard the Shroud as genuine a 'Flat Earther' and 'onto a loser'.

February 16, 1989: Publication, in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, of the official results of the Shroud radiocarbon dating. This has twenty-one signatories. It declares that the results 'provide conclusive evidence that the linen of the Shroud of Turin is medieval'.



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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating March 20, 1989: (Palm Sunday) Retirement of Cardinal Ballestrero as Archbishop of Turin, to be succeeded by Giovanni Saldarini, formerly of the Milan Archdiocese. Cardinal Ballestrero temporarily remains official custodian of the Shroud. March 24, 1989: (Good Friday) A press release to the UK press announces that forty-five businessmen and 'rich friends' have donated 1 million to create a chair of archaeological sciences at Oxford to perpetuate the radiocarbon-dating laboratory created by Professor Edward Hall. The first incumbent is to be the British Museum's Dr. Michael Tite. April 28, 1989: Interviewed by journalists during a plane journey forming part of the papal visit to Africa, Pope John Paul II guardedly speaks of the Shroud as an authentic relic, while insisting that 'the Church has never pronounced on the matter'.

September 7-8, 1989: Shroud Symposium organized by the French Shroud group CIELT is held in Paris. The speakers include Professor Michael Tite.

September 30, 1989: New Scientist reports findings of the scientific workshop at East Kilbride that 'the margin of error with radiocarbon-dating ... may be two or three times as great as practitioners of the technique have claimed'.



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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating March 9 to September 2, 1990: London's British Museum holds exhibition entitled 'Fake. The Art of Deception'. This includes a life-size transparency of the Turin Shroud. May 4, 1990: During celebration of the Feast of the Holy Shroud in the Royal Chapel, Turin, several chunks of stone crash to the floor from the roof ninety-eight feet above. These are due to shifts on the part of exterior sustaining arches. The Chapel is closed and a temporary canopy erected over its altar. September 18, 1990: Vatican press conference announces the transfer 'of the position as Pontifical Custodian for the conservation and cult of the Holy Shroud to His Excellency Monsignor Giovanni Saldarini, Archbishop of Turin'. June 22-23, 1991: Scholars from Italy, Spain, France, Australia and the United States gather at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, for a Symposium on the Shroud. The meeting closes with the forming of a task force to ultimately formulate an American position on conservation and further testing of the Shroud. A second meeting for this purpose is held several months later, but with little impact on sindonology.

Source: Shroud of Turin Website Shroud History Page

http://www.shroud.com/history.htm#1900


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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating September 7, 1992: (Monday) The Shroud is brought out for examination in the sacristy of Turin Cathedral before five textile experts: England's Sheila Landi; Switzerland's Mechthild Flury-Lemberg; the USA's Jeanette M. Cardamone; Italy's Silvio Diana and Gian Luigi. Optical observation only is permitted and no samples are taken. The Shroud is re-sealed in its casket. February 24, 1993: (Ash Wednesday) Because of the repairs to the Royal Chapel, the Shroud, without being taken out of its casket, is removed from its normal shrine in the Royal Chapel and transferred to a specially designed but temporary plate glass display case behind the High Altar, in the main body of Turin Cathedral.



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© Patrizia Mussa

After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating

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Based On Original Illustration © "Sindon“ Issue 5/6, December 1993

Key to Diagram 1. The Shroud 2. The Silver and Wooden Casket 3. Bulletproof Glass Box 4. 39mm Thick Openable Bulletproof Glass Sheets 5. Tempered Glass Sheet 6. Base containing the opening mechanism for the external bulletproof glass sheets


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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating April 15, 1993: American pediatrician Dr. Leoncio Garza-Valdes, a respected amateur microbiologist, gives a paper on 'Lichenothelia varnish' to the Society for American Archaeology's annual meeting at St. Louis, Missouri. May 1993: Dr. Garza-Valdes examines Riggi's Shroud sample in Turin. June 10-12, 1993: Shroud Symposium, organized by CIELT, held at the Domus Mariae conference center, on the outskirts of Rome. Among the speakers are Dr. Leoncio Garza-Valdes, who suggests that 'Lichenothelia varnish, or bioplastic coating, on the Shroud may have contaminated the Shroud radiocarbon dating'. Russian Dr. Dmitri Kouznetsov is another of the speakers. In this same year the official charter of STURP, the team that examined the Shroud in 1978, is formally dissolved by the Secretary of State for the State of Connecticut. February 12, 1994: Conference on the Shroud held at the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, at which pediatrician Dr. Leoncio Garza-Valdes again conveys his findings concerning a bioplastic coating on the Shroud's fibers contaminating the radiocarbon dating.



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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating September 2-3, 1994: Round table at the University of Texas San Antonio Health Science Center, attended by Professor Harry Gove, during which Gove views Shroud threads under the microscope and acknowledges that these certainly seem to have a substantial bioplastic coating. September 1995: Cardinal Saldarini issues statement declaring any Shroud samples in circulation other than those taken with official permission for the tests of 1978 as unauthorized. He remarks that 'if such material exists…the Holy See has not given its permission to anybody to keep it and do what they want with it' and he requests those concerned to give the pieces back to the Holy See. This statement seems clearly to be directed at the samples taken by Professor Giovanni Riggi in April 1988, portions from which were procured in all good faith by Dr. Garza-Valdes. Editor’s Note: That same year, Garza-Valdes took his Shroud sample to the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio for analysis of the blood it contained and the so-called bioplastic coating. He enlisted two researchers, microbiologist Dr. Steven Mattingly and DNA expert Dr. Victor Tryon, to work with him. Tryon determined the blood was male, human and with normal chromosomes. Both expected Garza-Valdes to submit the data to a peer reviewed journal.



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In 1999, Garza-Valdes publishes his “bioplastic coating” theory and the Texas DNA results in a provocatively titled controversial book, “The DNA of God” rather than in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Mattingly and Tryon disengage. The work is reviewed by experts who determine that the “bioplastic coating” he claims exists on the cloth would have to comprise 60% of the Shroud by weight to skew the date by 1300 years. Microscopic examination of the Shroud cloth revealed no such coating exists and his theory is ultimately disregarded by the scientific community. Since the sample itself was never authorized for DNA analysis, those results are also invalidated.

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Another theory that was proposed during this period was that of Russian researcher Dr. Dmitri Kouznetsov, who claimed that the 1532 fire that caused significant damage to the cloth also caused a change in the c14 content of the Shroud, thus skewing the date. Kouznetsov was taken seriously at first, and a number of noted Shroud scholars helped him financially to further his research. However, once his data was evaluated by experts, it was determined that his claims could not be supported. Sadly, it was eventually revealed that the institute he claimed to be affiliated with in Russia does not exist. Then, on a visit to the United States, he was arrested for writing bad checks. Ultimately, his claims are disregarded by the Shroud research community since he provided no scientific evidence that could actually support them.

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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating January 21, 1996: The Shroud of Turin Website (http://www.shroud.com) goes online. The website is produced by Barrie Schwortz, STURP's Official Documenting Photographer during the 1978 examination. It quickly becomes the largest Shroud resource on the Internet. (See Lectures #5. #6 and #7 – The Shroud and the Internet) April 11 & 12, 1997: Shortly after 11 p.m. fire breaks out in Turin's Guarini Chapel, quickly threatening the Shroud's bulletproof display case. Fireman Mario Trematore uses a sledgehammer to break open this case and the Shroud, in its traditional casket, is taken temporarily to Cardinal Saldarini's residence. Signs of arson are found in the Royal Chapel, the walls of which are very badly damaged. Also damaged are the whole High Altar end of the cathedral and the part of the Royal Palace directly adjoining the Chapel. (See Lecture #8 – A Long History of Trial By Fire) April 14, 1997: In the presence of the Cardinal and several invited specialists, including Mme. Flury-Lemburg, Professor Baima-Bollone and Dr. Rosalia Piazza of Rome's Istituto Centrale del Restauro, the Shroud is brought out from its casket and its condition carefully examined. It is found to be completely unaffected by the fire. It is taken to an undisclosed place of safety.



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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating May 11-14, 1997: International Symposium on the Shroud held in Nice, France. The event is sponsored by CIELT, the French sindonology organization. September 13-14, 1997: A group of independent sindonologists meets in Kaufman, Texas to discuss the collection and archiving of the important and diverse Shroud materials residing in private collections in the United States. Curators of the Wuenschel and Boston collections, two of the largest collections in the world, attend. April 18 to June 14, 1998: Public Exposition of the Shroud is held to commemorate the centenary of Secondo Pia's first photograph of the cloth, the discovery of its hidden negative image and the beginning of the scientific era of its study. Over two million pilgrims visit the Shroud during the eight week exhibition. May 24, 1998: Pope John Paul II visits the Shroud as it is displayed in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, in Turin. The visit occurs on the exact day that Secondo Pia made the first photograph of the Shroud 100 years earlier, on May 24, 1898. This is the first time the pope has seen the cloth since a private viewing in 1980.



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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating June 5-7, 1998: The Third International Congress for the Study of the Shroud is held in Turin. Nearly 100 researchers come to present their work at the well attended but poorly organized event, officially opened by the Honorable Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of the Republic of Italy, and Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini, Archbishop of Turin. June 21, 1998: Death of Cardinal Anastasio Alberto Ballestrero, Archbishop of Turin from 1978 to 1989. Responsible for giving STURP permission to perform their scientific examination in October 1978, he was still Archbishop in 1988 when Shroud samples were taken and the controversial radiocarbon 14 dating was performed that concluded the Shroud was of medieval origin. November 6-8, 1998: An invitation only meeting of American sindonologists meets in Dallas, Texas, to discuss the future of Shroud research in the United States. May 6-9, 1999: A conference with the theme, "From the Passion to the Resurrection - 2000 Years of Silent Testimony," is held in Rome, Italy. Co-sponsored by the Center of Sindonology "Giulio Ricci" in Italy and the Basilica of S. Croce in Jerusalem, the conference is primarily a local event with few international experts invited to attend.



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After the 1988 Radiocarbon Dating June 18-20, 1999: The Shroud of Turin Center of Richmond, Virginia, hosts the Richmond Conference, an international Shroud meeting with the theme "Multidisciplinary Investigation of an Enigma." The focus of the meeting is new research and sindonologists from around the world attend. June 19, 1999: The Vatican officially announces the impending retirement of Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini, Archbishop of Turin and Custodian of the Shroud, because of poor health. August 1999: A controversial article titled, "Flora of the Shroud of Turin" by Avinoam Danin, Uri Baruch and Alan and Mary Whanger is published by the Missouri Botanical Garden Press, a highly respected international botanical scientific press. Not only does the article document the pollen evidence they discovered on the Shroud in detail, but it also presents their somewhat more controversial claim of observing actual flower images on the cloth. May 6, 2000: A one day Shroud Imaging Symposium called "La Sindone, dalla fotografia alla tridimensionalita" (The Shroud, photography and three-dimensionality) is held at the Sanctuary of the Holy Shroud in San Felice Circeo, Italy. Hosted by Don Augusto Bonelli, participants include Emanuela Marinelli, Aldo Guerreschi, Nello Ballosino and Barrie Schwortz. Source: Shroud of Turin Website Shroud History Page

http://www.shroud.com/history.htm#1900


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August 12 to October 22, 2000: A ten week public exhibition of the Shroud is held in Turin to commemorate the Jubilee anniversary of the birth of Jesus. It marks the fifth such exposition of the Shroud since it was first photographed in 1898 and modern science took an interest in the cloth. It also has the distinction of being the longest ever public exhibition in recorded Shroud history. August 27-29, 2000: A major International Shroud Symposium, called "Sindone 2000," is held in Orvieto, Italy. Organized by Emanuela Marinelli and other members of the Collegamento pro Sindone, researchers attend from around the world. Just a few of those presenting papers at the conference included Paul Maloney, Prof. Giulio Fanti, Dr. Alan and Mary Whanger, Rev. Albert "Kim" Dreisbach, Maurizio Marinelli, Aldo Guerreschi, Joseph Marino and Sue Benford, Isabel Piczek, Fr. Frederick Brinkmann, Kevin Moran, Prof. Daniel Scavone, Jack Markwardt, Barrie Schwortz and many more. Editor’s Note: Of course, the story doesn’t end here, but this last conference was a turning point in the post-c14 dating era of Shroud research. It was there that Benford and Marino proposed their theory regarding the anomalous nature of the c14 samples themselves.



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As you can see, Sindonologists around the world continued their efforts to study the Shroud, but a pall had been cast over the entire subject and interest had definitely waned compared to the days after STURP published their data. The public had simply accepted the radiocarbon dating and moved on. But everything was about to change and the “bleak” years were coming to an end! (Review Lecture #3 – The 1988 Radiocarbon Dating and STURP)

END OF LECTURE 4

All Photographs in this Presentation are ©1978 Barrie M. Schwortz Collection, STERA, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Unless Otherwise Noted

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Documents

The Post-STURP Era of Shroud Research 1981 to the Present · temporarily to Cardinal Saldarini's residence. Signs of arson are found in the Royal Chapel, the walls of which are very