The Shroud of Turin
What Was Found
A length of linen cloth, approximately 14 feet by 3.5 feet, bearing the faint front and back image of a crucified man. The shroud is first securely documented in Lirey, France, in the 1350s under the ownership of the knight Geoffroi de Charny, and has been kept in Turin since 1578. Radiocarbon dating performed in 1988 by three independent laboratories yielded a date range of approximately 1260–1390 AD, consistent with the known medieval provenance. Proponents of an earlier origin dispute the sampling and point to other lines of evidence (image chemistry, pollen, blood stains); mainstream science has not retracted the 1988 result.
Acceptance Assessment
Controversial
The 1988 carbon-14 dating is accepted by mainstream science; alternative analyses exist but remain contested. Classification here reflects the evidentiary dispute, not a theological claim.
