Raymond N. Rogers was the head of the chemistry experiments for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), the team of 24 researchers that performed the first ever in-depth scientific examination of the relic in 1978. He was a professional chemist for 52 years and spent 35 years as a research chemist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, until his retirement in 1988. Rogers shares his frank and often-unvarnished personal perspectives on his 30 year involvement in Shroud studies. He details his own research and backs it up with solid observations, chemical analysis and microscopy. He provides us with his own theory of the Shroud's image formation and his own opinion on its authenticity. He discusses the role of religion and science and how each has impacted Shroud research. Most importantly, he discusses the possible future for the Shroud itself. Rogers' unique perspective, straightforward style and in-depth knowledge will both inform and enlighten you. Includes 68 Color and B&W Illustrations.
"Heller, while a man of science, was nevertheless a devout man (Southern Baptist). He viewed his task concerning The Shroud with great scepticism; there have been far too many hoaxes in the world of religion. The book describes in great detail the events leading up to the team's conviction that the Shroud was genuine; last - not least - being Heller and Adler's verification of "heme" (blood) and the inexplicable "burned image" of the crucified man. Although carbon dating indicates that the image is not 2000 years old and that the cloth is from the Middle Ages, there is not enough evidence to disprove Heller's assertion that the Shroud is indeed genuine"--Amazon.com
Christianity was born nearly two thousand years ago in ancient Palestine. It has shaped the course of human history. Yet historians still cannot say how it really began. How did a first-century Jew called Jesus manage to spark a new religion? It is one of the biggest and most profound of all historical mysteries. This extraordinary book finally provides a convincing answer. Traditionally, the birth of Christianity has been explained via the miracle of the Resurrection. After Jesus died he was raised from the dead by God and appeared to his disciples, telling them to spread the gospel. Once they saw the Risen Jesus, nothing could shake their belief. Within a few generations Christianity had spread throughout the Middle East and Europe; within a few centuries it had taken over much of the world. But historians have been unable to account for Christianity’s remarkable success without the Resurrection to spark it. If no one really saw the Risen Jesus, how were his followers convinced that he was their immortal Messiah? Art historian Thomas de Wesselow has spent the last seven years deducing the answer to this puzzle, and in doing so he has pieced together an entirely new picture of the birth of Christianity. Reassessing a familiar but misunderstood historical source and reinterpreting many biblical passages, de Wesselow shows that the solution has been staring us in the face for more than a century. The Shroud of Turin, widely thought to be a fake, is in fact authentic. And it holds the key to the greatest mystery in human history.
The Turin Shroud is an intriguing scientific journey exploring one of the greatest mysteries of the world. It has captivated the curiosity of international scientists, as well as religious and non-religious inquirers. Hopefully, this book will elucidate insights which a casual observer may not think to consider, thereby enabling nonscientists to grasp the significance of findings that so astounds the scientific community. The Jewish perspective is also unique and intriguing. It elicits important insights: placing events and transporting readers into its historical context with surprising results. All facts have been meticulously documented with hundreds of notes and references. Foreword by Mark Antonacci, who is one of the world's leading authorities on the Shroud.
The Shroud of Turin is celebrated as one of the holiest and most important relics of Christianity, with millions of pilgrims traveling to see the precious cloth in Italy on the rare occasions it has been displayed. Yet despite its enormous global popularity, the Shroud's authenticity is not without question. To address lingering uncertainties head-on, celebrated Catholic scientist Dr. Gerard Verschuuren explores and synthesizes the various scientific studies conducted on the Shroud —including those analyzing DNA, blood, carbon, pollen, textile, and anatomical issues — as well as its storied history. He then scrutinizes the motives of the individual scientists performing these studies, the assumptions they employed to arrive at their conclusions, and the instances in which they veered into areas outside the competence of the sciences. After this exhaustive and highly satisfying analysis, Dr. Verschuuren reveals the reasons why he believes the Shroud of T
Gives an overview of the Shroud of Turin furnishing many details of the relic, both from scientific and historical views, while reporting results from scholarly studies.
The Turin Shroud is the most important and studied relic in the world. Many papers on it have recently appeared in important scientific journals. Scientific studies on the relic until today have failed to provide conclusive answers about the identity of the enveloped man and the dynamics regarding the image formation impressed therein. This book not only addresses these issues in a scientific and objective manner but also leads the reader through new search paths. It summarizes the results in a simple manner for the reader to comprehend easily. Many books on the theme have been already published, but none of them contains such a large quantity of scientific news and reports. The most important of them is the following: The result of the 1988 radiocarbon dating is statistically wrong, and three new dating methods demonstrate that the Shroud has an age compatible with the epoch in which Jesus Christ lived in Palestine. A numismatic analysis performed on Byzantine gold coins confirms this result. This book is, therefore, very important with respect to the Turin Shroud.
This book addresses the application of Raman spectroscopic techniques to a range of diverse problems which arise in the study, conservation and restoration of artefacts and sites closely related to our cultural heritage as well as in authentication. These themes are naturally wider than what at first might be considered as artworks and archaeological artefacts and the topics include pigments, paintings, ceramics, glass, sculpture and patination / corrosion, textiles, industrial archaeology, the degradation and preservation of biomaterials, mummies and human skeletal remains. An interesting feature is the inclusion of modern case studies which describe specific problems and approaches to the Raman spectral analysis of items important to our cultural heritage. The text is prefaced with an introduction to the important parameters used in nondestructive Raman measurements and also highlights some future applications based upon novel miniaturised instrumentation for in-field studies and potential screening work which will identify specimens which would repay further studies in the laboratory. An attempt is made to give a snapshot of the state-of-the-art evolution since the beginning of the technique (1970s) and to point out potential further development. The book is co-edited by three international experts with many years' experience in the application of Raman spectroscopy to artworks, archaeological artefacts and in the investigation of materials and sites for cultural heritage preservation and each editor has undertaken to write individual chapters and different topics personally. The adopted approach is designed to convey the sort of information which has become available from the adoption of analytical Raman spectroscopy to different problems in the field of cultural heritage preservation through the spectral interrogation of artefacts and how the interpretation of the spectral data can assist museum curators, archaeologists and cultural heritage historians in the preservation and conservation of ancient materials and sites : a particular advantage in this respect is the ability of Raman spectroscopy to determine –generally in a strictly noninvasive procedure - at the laboratory or on-site with mobile instruments, the presence of both organic and inorganic components in a particular specimen together nondestructively without any chemical and mechanical pretreatment being undertaken, which is an essential requirement for rare and valuable samples . An important aside from this work is the means of spectral identification of ongoing biodeterioration and biological colonisation in specimens in storage and the effects of environmental deterioration such as humidity and temperature upon their integrity.
