Three scientists studying the images created on the Shroud of Turin have created a three dimensional model of an unmistakable and shocking image. The man who the shroud photographed was not laying on a stone slab, as previously believed by scientists and historians. The man, according to computer imaging experts, was actually levitating when the shroud was created.
The find is sending shock-waves throughout the religious community, as skeptics of the shroud as well as those who believe it is a genuine artifact of interest related to the life and death of Jesus Christ peer over the evidence hoping to reinforce their position.
The DVD, “Fabric of Time,” making the remarkable claim has also called carbon dating done by scientists into question. Previously the carbon dating was one of few pieces of conclusive evidence to confirm or deny the shroud’s existence, but it has been controversial since the beginning for several reasons.
Two months ago, an Italian professor named Garlashelli claimed to have created an exact replica of the Shroud by painting over a student, then baking a cloth in an oven he called a “shroud machine” for several hours. Of course this has vanished from the media by now, as the reproduction failed to hold up to even rudimentary scientific comparison. Whether the shroud was real or not, it was certainly not reproduced so easily.
The original Shroud of Turin had in it blood stains that had an increase of bilirubin, which could have been created only by torture (the likes of which Jesus underwent prior to crucifixion) or specific types of disease. Of course at the creation of the shroud, bilirubin was unknown and therefore their presence on the shroud was quite possibly one of the greatest coincidences in modern archaeology, or possibly evidence of its veracity.
Other things of note in the shroud of Turin are the locations of the nail marks, and the striking detail of the images on it. The nail marks, in the fifteenth century were largely thought to be in the palms of the hand, and most artwork and imagery of the time indicates this, as well as writings. This was not true, however, as Romans would almost always nail into the wrists to hold up the crucified. It may be grim, but the wrists are surrounded by bone while the palms of the hand would rip free of a nail supporting the weight of a human being. This historical accuracy was not, however, commonly known until centuries later and is considered obscure knowledge even to this day.
The details of the face and body are compelling as well, as they are almost a photographic replica of the human form. Even the greatest artistic minds normally create what the mind interprets the human form to be rather than the reality of bone and joint. From the details of the brow, nose and eyes to the incredible attention to detail of joints and hands, there is not a single mistake made in the image. If it were merely a painting, it would be a photographically exact copy.
Regardless, the new 3D imaging revelation that the Shroud of Turin is actually a levitating man is quite incredible. The shroud itself will be on public exhibition from April 19 to May 23, 2010. The Pope will be visiting the shroud on May second.