Scientist traces Shroud of Turin back to India, piling on more confusion over the relic

The Shroud of Turin, the most well-known and also the most controversial artefact, could have originated in India, a new study has suggested. It is a 4.4 metres long and 1.1 metres wide piece of cloth in which Jesus Christ's body is believed to have been wrapped after he was crucified. It also has a face on it which resembles Christ. Gianni Barcaccia from the University of Padova, Italy, first suggested in 2015 that it can possibly trace its origin to India. He based his theory on the analysis of material collected from the Shroud in 1978. Barcaccia has again analysed the same material to reveal that nearly 40 per cent of the human DNA found on the shroud is from Indian lineages. He states in the study that their research has shown that the Shroud carries diverse medieval and modern DNA. In fact, it is contaminated with not only human DNA but that from cats, dogs, chickens, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, and wild animals such as deer and rabbits. The team also found traces of some fish species, New Scientist reported.

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Most of human DNA on Shroud of Turin from India, study claims

DNA from carrots, wheat, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes are also present, which was likely carried to Europe by those who travelled to Asia and the Americas, researchers wrote in the study. Human DNA also covered the Shroud over the years, and there is a huge Indian link. “The Shroud came into contact with multiple individuals, thereby challenging the possibility of identifying the original DNA of the Shroud,” they wrote. Nearly 40 per cent of the human DNA is from India. Scientists said that this could have happened from either historical interactions or because the cloth for the Shroud was imported from the Indus Valley. The authors wrote that there is a likelihood of "potentially extensive exposure of the cloth in the Mediterranean region and the possibility that the yarn was produced in India."

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However, not everyone is convinced that the Shroud of Turin has Indian links. Anders Götherström at Stockholm University in Sweden told the outlet, “I still see no reason to doubt that the shroud is French and from the 13th-14th century,” he says. He called it "a legendary origin… without scientific support" and simply shrouds history. Notably, radiocarbon dating in 1988 pegged the origin of the Shroud to the 13th century. Recently, a study published in the Journal of Medieval History said that a theologian named Nicole Oresme called it a fake 600 years ago.