Counter claims made against the dating of the shroud
The Shroud of Turin, on which it is claimed an image of the body of Jesus is marked, is back in the spotlight again. Having been dated to the Middle Ages in 1988 by the use of radiocarbon at several independent laboratories, it appeared that the lack of authenticity of the shroud was settled. Even the Vatican accepted the outcome.
Now John Jackson, a physicist at University of Colorado, and his wife Rebecca are claiming that contamination of the cloth led to an aberrant dating, as the cloth and image appear much older than the date established by radiocarbon. As they challenge the radiocarbon dating in the hope of being allowed to reexamine the cloth, the Jacksons will be aided in their quest by the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory, another challenger, has suggested that the mediaeval date reading came about from new material sewn into the shroud as a repair.
