Forbidden History (2013–…): Season 6, Episode 2 - Relics of the Holy Land - full transcript
PRESERVED IN
ITALY'S TURIN CATHEDRAL
IS ONE OF CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST FAMOUS HOLY RELICS.
THE TURIN SHROUD IS SAID
TO BE THE BURIAL CLOTH
IN WHICH JESUS WAS WRAPPED
AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION
OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO.
THE SHROUD COMPLETELY INSPIRES
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN IT
BECAUSE WE HAVE TO REMEMBER,
JESUS LEFT NO PHYSICAL TRACE
OF HIMSELF ON EARTH.
HE WROTE NOTHING.
THERE'S NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EVIDENCE, ACTUALLY,
THAT HE EXISTED,
BUT IF THE SHROUD IS REAL,
THEN THIS IS TANGIBLE PROOF
THAT HE DID.
THE TURIN SHROUD MIGHT BE
THE SILVER BULLET
THAT PROVES BEYOND
A SHADOW OF DOUBT
THE EXISTENCE OF JESUS CHRIST.
INCREDIBLY,
IT SEEMS JESUS'S IMAGE
WAS SOMEHOW IMPRINTED ON THE
TURIN SHROUD WHEN HE WAS BURIED.
ALTHOUGH THE IMAGE
IS VERY FAINT,
A NEGATIVE IS MUCH CLEARER.
COULD THIS REALLY BE
THE FACE OF JESUS
AFTER HIS DEATH
CROWNED WITH THORNS?
MILLIONS OF CHRISTIAN
FAITHFUL BELIEVE SO,
AS DO SOME SCIENTISTS.
I THINK WE CAN BE
CERTAIN THAT THIS IS
THE BURIAL WRAPPING JESUS.
SKEPTICS DISAGREE.
UNFORTUNATELY,
IT'S A PRETTY OBVIOUS FAKE
FROM THE MIDDLE AGES.
WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
IS THE TURIN SHROUD GENUINE,
OR CAN OTHER AMAZING
EXPLANATIONS
SOLVE THE PUZZLE
OF ITS MYSTERIOUS PROPERTIES?
IT'S NOT THE BURIAL CLOTH
OF JESUS CHRIST.
IT'S THE WORLD'S
FIRST PHOTOGRAPH CREATED
BY THE WORLD'S GREATEST GENIUS,
LEONARDO DA VINCI.
FORBIDDEN HISTORY - SEASON 6
EP - 2 - Relics of the Holy Land
Subtitles Diego Moraes
TURIN CATHEDRAL
IS HOME TO ONE OF
THE MOST FAMOUS CHRISTIAN RELICS
ON THE PLANET...
THE TURIN SHROUD.
THE TURIN SHROUD IS SO ICONIC
'CAUSE IT REPRESENTS
WHAT MIGHT BE THE ONLY PHYSICAL,
TANGIBLE PROOF OF JESUS CHRIST.
THE SHROUD GIVES A FACE TO A MAN
WHOSE LEGACY HAS DOMINATED
SO MUCH OF HUMAN HISTORY.
HIS PHYSICAL ANATOMY
IS VISIBLE ON THIS SHROUD,
AND THAT'S INCREDIBLY POWERFUL
FOR MANY PEOPLE.
BUT IS THE
TURIN SHROUD REALLY THE GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS?
TODAY, THE TURIN SHROUD
IS DISPLAYED TO THE PUBLIC
ONLY ON RARE OCCASIONS,
BUT A MODERN COPY
IS ON PERMANENT DISPLAY
IN THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SHROUD
NEAR TURIN CATHEDRAL.
BRUNO BARBERIS IS
THE SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR
OF TURIN'S INTERNATIONAL CENTER
FOR STUDY OF THE SHROUD.
WE CAN SEE THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING... THE DOUBLE HUMAN IMAGE.
HERE WE CAN SEE THE FACE,
THE CHEST,
THE HANDS, AND THE LEGS.
THE BLOOD IMAGE ARE CLEARLY
DISTINGUISHABLE
DUE TO THE FACT
THAT THEY ARE MORE RED.
IN MY OPINION, THE PROBABILITY
THAT IT'S NOT A FAKE
BUT IS REALLY THE BURIAL CLOTH
OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
IS VERY, VERY HIGH.
SKEPTICS, HOWEVER,
ARE CONVINCED
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
IS NOT JESUS'S GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH,
PARTLY BECAUSE THE FIRST
SOLID HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
OF THE SHROUD'S EXISTENCE
ISN'T UNTIL IT APPEARED
IN FRANCE IN THE 1350s,
NEARLY 1,400 YEARS
AFTER JESUS'S DEATH.
THE SHROUD SHOWS UP
UNDER VERY SUSPICIOUS
CIRCUMSTANCES
IN THE HANDS OF
A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE NAMED
GEOFFROI DE CHARNY,
AND HE NEVER WAS ABLE TO SAY
QUITE PRECISELY HOW HE,
A MAN OF MODEST MEANS,
HAD ACQUIRED THE MOST
HOLY RELIC IN CHRISTIANITY.
ADDING TO DOUBTS ABOUT
THE SHROUD'S AUTHENTICITY,
A FRENCH CLERIC OF THE TIME
DENOUNCED IT AS A FORGERY.
WHEN THE SHROUD WAS FIRST
EXHIBITED IN THE 1350s,
THE LOCAL BISHOP COMPLAINED AND
SAID THAT THIS WAS A BAD THING,
THIS WAS MISLEADING PEOPLE,
AND HE SAID HE EVEN MET
THE PAINTER WHO HAD PAINTED IT.
DESPITE THIS,
THE LEGEND OF THE SHROUD
AS THE TRUE BURIAL CLOTH
OF JESUS
CONTINUED TO GROW
OVER THE CENTURIES.
A FIRE DAMAGED IT IN 1532,
CAUSING BURN MARKS
AND WATER STAINS.
BUT NUNS QUICKLY PATCHED IT UP.
AND IN 1578, IT WAS MOVED
FROM FRANCE TO TURIN,
WHERE IT'S BEEN TREASURED
EVER SINCE.
YET GIVEN THE SHROUDS
CRYPTIC ORIGINS,
TODAY, THE VATICAN IS
OFFICIALLY CAUTIOUS
ABOUT WHETHER THE SHROUD
IS GENUINE OR NOT.
THE CHURCH DOESN'T
ACTUALLY SAY ITSELF
THAT THIS IS A LITERAL
IMAGE OF CHRIST.
THEY REFER TO IT NOT AS
A RELIC, BUT AS AN ICON,
THAT IT'S A
REPRESENTATION OF JESUS,
SO IF YOU WANT,
THE CHURCH ITSELF
SEEMS TO BE KEEPING
ITS OPTIONS OPEN.
TRUE BELIEVERS AND
SKEPTICS ALIKE WANT TO RESOLVE
THE DEBATE ABOUT THE SHROUD
ONCE AND FOR ALL.
FOR OVER 40 YEARS, BOTH SIDES
HAVE TURNED TO SCIENCE
TO PROVIDE
THE DEFINITIVE ANSWER.
THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE SCIENTIFIC
INVESTIGATION OF THE SHROUD
WAS CARRIED OUT
IN THE LATE 1970s
BY THE SHROUD OF TURIN
RESEARCH PROJECT.
BARRIE SCHWORTZ
WAS A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPERT
ON THE PRIMARILY AMERICAN TEAM.
WE DID A MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT
TYPES OF PHOTOGRAPHY,
BUT WE ALSO
DID SPECTRAL ANALYSES,
X-RAY AND X-RAY FLUORESCENCE,
AND REFLECTANCE ANALYSIS.
SO WE HAD ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT
PIECES OF EQUIPMENT.
AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME,
THEY WERE STATE-OF-THE-ART.
AND IRONICALLY, THE SINGLE
QUESTION WE WENT TO ANSWER,
HOW WAS THE IMAGE FORMED,
WE WERE UNABLE TO ANSWER.
WE KNEW OF NO MECHANISM
THAT COULD MAKE AN IMAGE
WITH THE CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
THAT WE FOUND ON THE SHROUD.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT,
I CAME TO ACCEPT THAT THIS WAS
MOST LIKELY THE BURIAL SHROUD
OF THE HISTORIC JESUS.
SINCE SCHWORTZ'S TEAM
EXAMINED THE TURIN SHROUD
IN THE LATE 1970s,
MANY OTHERS HAVE DONE
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF THEIR OWN.
SOME HAVE AGREED THAT
IT'S LIKELY TO BE AUTHENTIC,
BUT MANY OTHERS HAVE
DECLARED THE SHROUD
TO BE A MEDIEVAL FAKE.
SO NOW WE HAVE
ALL THESE SCIENTIFIC PROOFS
THAT THE SHROUD IS REAL
ALONG WITH THE SCIENTIFIC PROOFS
THAT IT ISN'T.
THE DEBATE RAGES,
BUT THIS IS ONE OF
THE MOST CENTRAL ARTIFACTS
IN CHRISTIANITY IF IT'S REAL.
ONE OF THE MOST RECENT
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES,
PUBLISHED IN 2018
BY FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
DR. MATTEO BORRINI,
EMPLOYED BLOODSTAIN-PATTERN
ANALYSIS,
A TECHNIQUE OFTEN USED
IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS.
MORNING, PEOPLE.
SO, READY TO START
WITH EXPERIMENT?
YEAH? VERY GOOD.
IN THE FIRST PART OF HIS
RECREATED EXPERIMENT,
DR. BORRINI IS COMPARING
THE BLOOD PATTERN
ON THE TURIN SHROUD
TO HOW JESUS WOULD HAVE BLED
IF HE WAS CRUCIFIED
ON A TRADITIONALLY SHAPED CROSS.
SO, NOW YOUR ARM IS EXTENDED
LIKE THE CLASSICAL
CRUCIFIXION POSITION,
SO WITH THE ARM
COMPLETELY HORIZONTAL.
SO, NOW... EXACTLY.
WE SEE HERE THE BLEEDING WITH
THE ARM COMPLETELY EXTENDED.
SO WHAT WE SEE IS THAT
THERE IS JUST BLEEDING
THAT IS GOING DOWN,
FOLLOWING THE LAW OF GRAVITY,
GOING DOWN 90 DEGREES.
HOWEVER, WHAT WE SEE IN
THE TURN SHROUD IS NOT THIS.
INSTEAD, THE BLOOD
FROM JESUS'S WRISTS,
AS SEEN ON THE TURIN SHROUD,
DIDN'T DRIP AT A
90-DEGREE ANGLE TO HIS ARMS,
BUT DRIPPED ALONG
THE LENGTH OF HIS ARMS.
BUT THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY
MEAN THE TURIN SHROUD IS A FAKE.
WE HAVE A VERY PARTICULAR
IMAGE OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF CENTURIES
OF MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE ART
THAT HAVE FIXED THIS VISION
IN OUR MIND.
BUT ACTUALLY, ROMAN CRUCIFIXIONS
EQUALLY TOOK PLACE
ON X-SHAPED CROSSES,
T-SHAPED CROSSES,
OR SIMPLY EVEN NAILING
THE VICTIM TO A TREE
THAT WAS STILL LIVING,
SO CHRIST'S CRUCIFIXION
ACTUALLY COULD HAVE TAKEN
ANY ONE OF THESE FORMS.
AS A RESULT OF THIS,
DR. BORRINI REPEATS THE
EXPERIMENT IN CASE JESUS WAS
CRUCIFIED WITH HIS HANDS NAILED
HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD.
YES. HERE YOU SEE...
I WILL HOLD YOUR ARM
SO YOU WILL NOT FEEL THE PAIN
OF A PROPER CRUCIFIED PERSON.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE BLOOD
IS COMING DOWN QUITE VERTICALLY.
NOW, THIS IS THE DIRECTION
THAT WE HAVE
IN THE TURIN SHROUD.
SCIENTIFIC TESTING COULD SUPPORT
THE AUTHENTICITY
OF THE TURIN SHROUD
IF JESUS'S HANDS WERE NAILED
HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD.
BUT WHAT ABOUT EVIDENCE
SUGGESTING THE SHROUD
IS A MEDIEVAL FORGERY?
AND IF IT IS A FAKE, WHO WOULD
HAVE HAD THE MOTIVE AND SKILL
TO CREATE SOMETHING
SO CONVINCING
THAT IT'S FOOLED MILLIONS
OF PEOPLE FOR CENTURIES?
THE TURIN SHROUD
MAY BE CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST FAMOUS HOLY RELIC.
BUT IS IT THE GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS,
OR IS IT A REMARKABLE FAKE
THAT CONTINUES TO FOOL MILLIONS
OF PEOPLE AFTER CENTURIES?
FOR OVER 40 YEARS,
SCIENTISTS HAVE SEARCHED
FOR THE DEFINITIVE ANSWER.
THE SINGLE BEST SCIENTIFIC
DATA POINT WE HAVE ON THE SHROUD
IS CARBON DATING
THAT WAS DONE IN 1988.
IT WAS DONE IMMENSELY
SCIENTIFICALLY AND INDEPENDENTLY
AND OVERSEEN
BY THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
STRIPS OF THE CLOTH
WERE SENT TO OXFORD,
TO ARIZONA, AND TO ZURICH,
AND THEY ALL TESTED
INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER.
AND THE RESULTS THAT CAME BACK
WITH A 95% CERTAINTY
WERE THAT THE LINEN DATED FROM
BETWEEN 1260 AND 1390.
SO IF THE
CARBON DATING WAS ACCURATE,
THE TURIN SHROUD IS
A MEDIEVAL FAKE
DATING TO THE
13th OR 14th CENTURIES.
HOWEVER, BELIEVERS IN THE SHROUD
HAVE SUGGESTED
THE STUDY WAS FLAWED,
EVEN THOUGH MOST EXPERTS
ACCEPT THE DATING RESULTS.
ONE SHROUD RESEARCHER
IN PARTICULAR, LYNN PICKNETT,
BELIEVES IT'S A MEDIEVAL FORGERY
AND CLAIMS TO HAVE IDENTIFIED
THE PERSON WHO
FAKED IT SO CONVINCINGLY.
VERY FEW PEOPLE WOULD HAVE HAD
THE MOTIVE AND TALENT
BESIDES ONE OF
THE GREATEST ARTISTS,
SCIENTISTS, AND INVENTORS
OF ALL TIME...
LEONARDO DA VINCI.
WE CAN'T BE CERTAIN
WHO COMMISSIONED LEONARDO
TO FAKE THE SHROUD,
BUT ALMOST CERTAINLY,
IT WAS SOMEONE IN THE VATICAN,
PERHAPS EVEN THE POPE,
BECAUSE IN THOSE DAYS,
THEY WERE VERY CORRUPT.
AND BASICALLY, THEY WANTED
THE ULTIMATE CHRISTIAN RELIC
THAT WOULD PULL IN THE PUNTERS
AND LINE THEIR POCKETS.
FROM THE LATE MEDIEVAL AGES,
THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT
COMMERCIAL VALUE
IN HAVING HOLY RELICS
BECAUSE YOU WOULD DRAW PILGRIMS
NOT ONLY TO YOUR CHURCH
BUT TO YOUR CITY,
AND THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT
SOURCE OF INCOME.
WE KNOW LEONARDO WAS GIVEN
A ROOM IN THE VATICAN,
A SECRET ROOM.
WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT
WHAT HAPPENED IN THERE,
BUT WHATEVER IT WAS, IT INVOLVED
A MACHINE MADE OF MIRRORS.
AND IT IS SAID THAT WHATEVER
WENT ON IN THAT ROOM,
THE GERMAN MIRROR MAKERS THAT
WERE EMPLOYED RAN OUT SCREAMING
THAT IT WAS SORCERY.
AND IT SEEMED TO INVOLVE
HUGE FLASHES OF LIGHT.
LYNN BELIEVES
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
HAD THE EQUIPMENT AND SKILLS,
EVEN IN THE 15th CENTURY,
TO EXPERIMENT WITH PHOTOGRAPHY.
SHE CLAIMS THE TURIN SHROUD
IS ACTUALLY
THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH.
I PERSONALLY HAVE NO DOUBT
THAT LEONARDO HAD
THE TECHNOLOGICAL KNOW-HOW
AND MEANS TO FAKE
THE TURN SHROUD.
LEONARDO INVENTED SO MANY
INNOVATIVE THINGS
THAT HAVE ONLY COME TO
MASS PRODUCTION... HELICOPTERS,
FLYING MACHINES, ALL SORTS
OF TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES
THAT WERE HUNDREDS OF YEARS
AHEAD OF THEIR TIME.
AND HE WAS WORKING
WITH CAMERA TECHNOLOGY.
HE BUILT A CAMERA OBSCURA,
WHICH HE CALLED ARTIFICIAL EYE,
WITH A LITTLE HOLE IN ONE WALL,
AND YOU PROJECTED IMAGES
THROUGH IT ONTO THE INNER WALL.
WHAT YOU HAD TO DO IS YOU PUT
A CLOTH IN THE CAMERA OBSCURA,
COAT IT WITH
LIGHT-SENSITIVE CHEMICALS...
CHEMICALS THAT WERE READILY
AVAILABLE IN LEONARDO'S DAY,
FOR EXAMPLE,
EGG WHITE AND URINE,
AND BASICALLY,
THE LIGHT HITS IT,
AND THE IMAGE FORMS.
BUT DEVELOPING
A PHOTOGRAPH USING
A CAMERA OBSCURA
CAN TAKE SEVERAL DAYS.
SO IT'S VERY UNLIKELY
LEONARDO DA VINCI
GOT SOMEONE TO STAND STILL FOR
SO LONG IN FRONT OF THE PINHOLE.
INSTEAD, LYNN BELIEVES
THAT LEONARDO USED
THE BODY OF A CORPSE
AND THE CAST OF
A JESUS-LIKE FACE
TO CREATE HIS PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE
OF JESUS ON THE SHROUD.
THE IDEA THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
COULD HAVE EFFECTIVELY CREATED
A RENAISSANCE-ERA
PHOTOGRAPH OF JESUS
ISN'T QUITE AS OUTLANDISH
AS IT MAY SEEM
BECAUSE FOR ONE THING,
THE IDEA OF THE CAMERA OBSCURA
WAS KNOWN 500 YEARS
BEFORE LEONARDO.
AND WE KNOW FROM HIS DRAWING
OF THE VITRUVIAN MAN
THAT HE WAS FASCINATED
BY THE WAY THAT HUMAN BODIES
MOVE AND SO ON.
SO IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
WAS ONE OF LEONARDO'S
MORE BIZARRE EXPERIMENTS.
LEONARDO HAD NO COMPUNCTION
ABOUT DOING TERRIBLE THINGS
TO CORPSES IN HIS
ANATOMICAL RESEARCHES.
HE WOULD HAVE EXPERIMENTED
UNTIL HE GOT IT RIGHT.
HE WOULD HAVE CRUCIFIED
A CORPSE.
THEN LYNN BELIEVES
LEONARDO DA VINCI
ILLUMINATED HIS CAST OF
A JESUS-LIKE FACE
AND THE CRUCIFIED CORPSE,
PROJECTING THEIR IMAGES
THROUGH A CRYSTAL LENS
ONTO THE LIGHT-SENSITIVE CLOTH
IN THE CAMERA OBSCURA.
AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS,
YOU TAKE THE CLOTH OUT
AND YOU WASH IT IN COLD WATER.
AND YOU'RE LEFT WITH
THE LIGHT BITS.
THE DARK BITS JUST WASH AWAY.
SO YOU'VE GOT A NEGATIVE IMAGE,
ESSENTIALLY,
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT,
THE SHROUD OF JESUS.
AND THEN YOU PAINT BLOOD ON
AND YOU'VE GOT IT.
AND THE PILGRIMS COME IN,
AND THEY GO, "WOW."
IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY IDEA.
CAN IT REALLY BE SUBSTANTIATED
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
CRUCIFIED A CORPSE IN ORDER
TO CREATE CHRISTIANITY'S
BEST-KNOWN HOLY RELIC?
LYNN PICKNETT IS COMMITTED
TO TRYING TO PROVE
THIS THEORY BEYOND DOUBT.
YET THERE'S STILL
THE POSSIBILITY
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
IS GENUINE, AND TO THIS DAY,
SCIENTISTS CONTINUE
CARRYING OUT EXPERIMENTS
TO TRY TO VERIFY
ITS AUTHENTICITY.
PRESERVED IN TURIN CATHEDRAL
IS ONE OF CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST RENOWNED HOLY RELICS...
THE TURIN SHROUD.
SAID TO BE JESUS'S BURIAL CLOTH,
BLOODSTAIN-PATTERN ANALYSIS
HAS HINTED THAT
SOME OF THE BLOOD STAINS ON IT
COULD BE
PHYSIOLOGICALLY ACCURATE.
SKEPTICS, HOWEVER,
BELIEVE IT'S A MEDIEVAL FORGERY,
PERHAPS EVEN AN EARLY PHOTOGRAPH
TAKEN BY LEONARDO DA VINCI.
BUT ALTHOUGH RADIOCARBON TESTS
HAVE DATED THE SHROUD
TO THE 13th OR 14th CENTURIES,
SOME PEOPLE HAVE
IDENTIFIED INACCURACIES
IN THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS USED.
SO, ONE PROMINENT
LINE OF ARGUMENT
IS THAT SOOT FROM THE FIRE
THAT THE SHROUD SUFFERED
IMPREGNATED THE FIBERS,
AND THAT HAS THROWN OFF
THE CARBON DATING.
WELL, IT'S A THEORY
THAT YOU CAN PUT FORWARD.
BUT THE SCIENTISTS WHO
CONDUCTED THE CARBON DATING
HAVE ADDRESSED THESE ISSUES
AND SAY ABSOLUTELY NOT.
THEIR TESTS TAKE ACCOUNT
OF THESE FACTORS.
I HAVE FRIENDS
THAT ARE PRO-SHROUD.
I FELT... WHEN THE
CARBON DATING WAS DONE,
I FELT GENUINELY SORRY FOR THEM
BECAUSE I KNEW THEY WERE
BRIEFLY... ONLY BRIEFLY...
THEY WERE DEVASTATED.
AND THEN THEY CAME UP
WITH SEVERAL HOPEFUL THEORIES,
AND THEY WERE BACK OFF
AND RUNNING AGAIN.
ONE LONGSTANDING
TURIN SHROUD RESEARCHER
WHO DOUBTS THE RELIABILITY
OF THE CARBON-DATING RESULTS
IS STEPHEN MATTINGLY,
RECENTLY RETIRED AFTER
MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF WORKING
AS A PROFESSOR OF MICROBIOLOGY
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
WHEN THE
RADIOCARBON DATE CAME OUT,
THAT KIND OF CONVINCED ME
AT THE TIME THAT IT WAS MEDIEVAL
AND IT WAS SOME KIND OF FAKE.
BUT SINCE I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT
AND GOT INVOLVED IN RESEARCH
AND THOUGHT ABOUT IT
SCIENTIFICALLY,
I REALIZE NOW THAT IT IS
THE ACTUAL SHROUD OF JESUS.
ACCORDING TO MATTINGLY,
THE SHROUD WAS DATED
INACCURATELY TO MEDIEVAL TIMES,
NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF
THE MEDIEVAL FIRE,
BUT ALSO BECAUSE
AIRBORNE BACTERIA
ACCUMULATED ON THE SHROUD
OVER THE CENTURIES.
A COMMON CONTAMINANT,
BACILLUS SUBTILIS,
ARE IN THE AIR EVERYWHERE.
EACH DAY, THEY'RE ADDING
NEW CARBON, RADIOACTIVE CARBON.
SO THE CONTAMINATION ISSUE
IS SOMETHING WE CAN'T DEAL WITH
AS FAR AS THE SHROUD OF TURIN
IS CONCERNED.
MOST SIGNIFICANTLY,
MATTINGLY BELIEVES
THAT NOT ONLY DID
AIRBORNE BACTERIA
AFFECT THE CARBON DATING
OF THE SHROUD,
SKIN BACTERIA ALSO CREATED
THE MYSTERIOUS IMAGE
OF JESUS ON THE SHROUD.
MATTINGLY SAYS THAT TO CREATE
A REALLY STRONG IMAGE ON CLOTH,
YOU NEED HUGE NUMBERS
OF BACTERIA.
AND HE SAYS THAT'S EXACTLY
WHAT HAPPENED
AS A RESULT
OF JESUS'S CRUCIFIXION,
HIS BLOODY DEATH PROVIDED
THE PERFECT CONDITIONS
FOR BACTERIA
TO MULTIPLY ON HIS SKIN.
WE KNOW THAT THEY
ADDED A CROWN OF THORNS
EARLY ON, AND ANYBODY THAT'S
EVER HAD A WOUND IN THE HEAD
KNOWS THAT IT BLEEDS FOREVER.
THERE ARE REPORTS OF
OVER 100 SCOURGE MARKS
ON THE BODY, FRONT AND BACK,
THAT WOULD ALSO BLEED.
SO WE HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL
THAT, ESSENTIALLY,
IS BLEEDING CONTINUOUSLY.
AND THERE ARE
CONSEQUENCES TO THAT...
MOST IMPORTANTLY,
THE FACT THAT JESUS'S
OWN SKIN BACTERIA BEGAN TO GROW.
THEY HAD ALL THE NUTRIENTS
THEY NEEDED,
AND THEY WERE DOUBLED
EVERY 30 MINUTES.
SO WHEN THE SHROUD WAS REMOVED,
IT LEFT THE EXCESS BACTERIA
FROM HIS SKIN ON THE SHROUD.
AND THAT'S WHAT CREATED
THIS WONDERFUL IMAGE.
TO DEMONSTRATE SCIENTIFICALLY
THAT JESUS'S SKIN BACTERIA
COULD HAVE CREATED
THE IMAGE ON THE TURIN SHROUD,
MATTINGLY IS GOING TO COAT
HIS HAND WITH SOME SKIN BACTERIA
GROWN IN HIS HOME LABORATORY
AND THEN IMPRINT HIS HAND
ON SOME CLOTH.
AND I BEGIN COATING MY FINGERS.
THIS IS
STAPHYLOCOCCUS EPIDERMIDIS,
WHICH I OBTAINED
FROM MY OWN HAND AND GREW IT UP.
AND WE JUST KEEP REPEATING THIS.
BUT SKEPTICS FIND IT DIFFICULT
TO BELIEVE BACTERIA
ON JESUS'S BODY
COULD HAVE CREATED THE IMAGE
ON THE TURIN SHROUD,
AND THEY POINT TO THE BIBLE
FOR SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS, THOSE THAT
SEE THINGS THE SAME WAY...
MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKE...
THEY DO SPEAK ABOUT JESUS'S BODY
BEING WRAPPED IN A SHROUD.
BUT JOHN, WHICH MANY THINK
IS THE MOST ACCURATE GOSPEL,
ACTUALLY DOESN'T.
IT TALKS ABOUT LINEN STRIPS
AND EVEN A SEPARATE HEADPIECE.
BUT PERHAPS THE MOST FASCINATING
THING ABOUT THE GOSPELS
IS WHAT THEY DON'T SAY.
IF THERE HAD BEEN AN IMAGE
ON THE SHROUD,
YOU WOULD EXPECT THEM
TO HAVE RECORDED THAT.
ACCORDING TO MATTINGLY, HOWEVER,
JESUS'S IMAGE ON THE SHROUD
MAY SIMPLY HAVE NEEDED TIME
TO DEVELOP AFTER THE SHROUD
WAS REMOVED FROM HIS BODY.
AS HIS EXPERIMENT SHOWS,
AN IMAGE CREATED BY BACTERIA
DOES TAKE A LONG TIME
TO DEVELOP.
YOU REALLY CAN'T
SEE MUCH RIGHT NOW.
THIS WILL CONTINUE
TO DEVELOP OVER TIME.
THE HOPED-FOR IMAGE ON THE CLOTH
IS JUST BARELY VISIBLE FOR NOW.
BUT THE EXPERIMENT WAS BRIEF.
AND MATTINGLY SAYS
THAT JESUS'S BODY WAS COVERED
WITH BILLIONS MORE BACTERIA
THAN HIS OWN HAND.
AND JESUS'S IMAGE ALSO HAD
MUCH LONGER TO FORM
ON HIS BURIAL SHROUD.
TO DEMONSTRATE THE PRINCIPLE,
MATTINGLY SHOWS AN IMAGE
OF HIS HAND ON HIS COMPUTER
THAT HE CREATED WITH BACTERIA
YEARS AGO.
THIS WAS DONE
ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO,
AND THE COLOR
HAS DEVELOPED OVER TIME.
THIS IS THE NEGATIVE,
AND IT SHOWS EVEN MORE DETAIL.
ALTHOUGH HIS THEORY
IS VERY CONTROVERSIAL,
AS A RESULT OF HIS EXPERIMENTS,
MATTINGLY IS CONVINCED THAT
THE IMAGE ON THE TURIN SHROUD
WAS CREATED BY BACTERIA
MULTIPLYING ON JESUS'S SKIN
DURING HIS BLOODY DEATH.
AS A CHRISTIAN, HE FINDS JESUS'S
IMAGE ON THE SHROUD REASSURING.
I HAVE NO TROUBLE
BEING A CHRISTIAN
AND A SCIENTIST,
BUT THE TRUTH HAS TO BE
THROUGH SCIENCE.
I THINK WE CAN BE CERTAIN
THAT THIS IS
THE BURIAL WRAPPING OF JESUS.
WE TALK ABOUT WANTING
TO SEE HIS FACE IN OUR PRAYERS,
AND HERE IT IS.
HERE IS HIS FACE.
WHAT DOES JESUS LOOK LIKE?
WE KNOW WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE.
WE KNOW HOW TALL HE WAS.
WE KNOW MANY THINGS ABOUT HIM
BECAUSE OF THE SHROUD.
COULD STEPHEN MATTINGLY'S
REMARKABLE THEORY BE TRUE?
DID BACTERIA FROM JESUS'S BODY
REALLY CREATE THE IMAGE
ON THE TURIN SHROUD?
SOME SKEPTICS BELIEVE
JESUS'S PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION
ON THE SHROUD ISN'T REALISTIC,
SUGGESTING THAT THE SHROUD
MAY BE A MEDIEVAL FAKE.
TO HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY,
SOME LOOK FOR CLUES
IN THE HISTORY
OF ROMAN CRUCIFIXIONS.
CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST FAMOUS HOLY RELIC,
THE TURIN SHROUD,
IS SAID TO BE
JESUS'S BURIAL CLOTH
BEARING THE BLOODY IMPRINTS
OF HIS CRUCIFIED BODY.
BUT IS IT, IN FACT,
A MEDIEVAL FORGERY?
THE HISTORY OF ROMAN
CRUCIFIXIONS OFFERS A CLUE.
PEOPLE WHO WERE CRUCIFIED
WERE NORMALLY CRUCIFIED
AS SEDITIONARIES.
THEY'D COMMITTED TREASON
AGAINST THE ROMAN STATE.
AND SO, NORMALLY, THEY WERE
LEFT TO JUST HANG THERE,
BEING PECKED UP BY THE BIRDS
AND EATEN BY ANIMALS,
AND THEIR BODY WOULD HAVE
ROTTED ON THE CROSS.
SO THE IDEA OF SOMEBODY
BEING TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS
AND BEING GIVEN A LOVELY BURIAL
WITH A SHROUD...
HIGHLY UNLIKELY.
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
ALSO PROVIDES IMPORTANT CLUES
ABOUT WHETHER THE TURIN SHROUD
IS GENUINE.
BLOODSTAIN-PATTERN ANALYSIS
HAS SHOWN
JESUS'S WRIST WOUNDS
ARE REALISTIC
IF HE WAS CRUCIFIED WITH
HIS HANDS HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD.
BUT WHAT ABOUT OTHER BLOODSTAINS
ON THE SHROUD?
IN PARTICULAR,
THE BIBLE MENTIONS A WOUND
CAUSED BY A ROMAN SOLDIER
WHO STABBED JESUS IN THE CHEST.
BELIEVERS IN THE AUTHENTICITY
OF THE TURIN SHROUD
SAY THE CHEST WOUND
LEFT THIS BLOODSTAIN
AND, ALSO, ON THE BACK
OF JESUS'S BODY,
THIS WIDE BELT OF BLOOD.
IS THIS REALISTIC?
TO REPLICATE THE SPEAR WOUND,
FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
DR. MATTEO BORRINI
USES A SIMPLE METHOD... A SPONGE
ON THE END OF A SPATULA.
THIS IS THE MOST
TO-REALITY REPRODUCTION
OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN.
AND HERE YOU SEE THE
DIRECTION OF THE BLOOD
FOLLOWING THE GRAVITY.
BUT WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
HERE THE BLOOD IS GOING DOWN
AND IS NOT GOING,
IN ANY WAY, BEHIND.
THEN HOW COULD THE BELT OF BLOOD
ON THE BACK OF JESUS'S BODY
ON THE TURIN SHROUD
HAVE BEEN CAUSED
BY THE SPEAR WOUND?
IT'S BEEN SAID BY SOME THAT
THE BELT OF BLOOD
COULD HAVE BEEN CREATED
IF JESUS CONTINUED TO BLEED
AFTER HE WAS TAKEN DOWN,
DEAD, FROM THE CROSS
AND WAS LYING FLAT IN HIS TOMB.
BUT IS THIS POSSIBLE?
I WANT TO TRY TO REPLICATE
THIS SECOND BLEEDING,
SO THIS, FOR US,
IS REPRESENTING THE SHROUD.
AND THIS IS THE INDIVIDUAL
BLEEDING THROUGH THE WOUND
ON THE CHEST.
IT'S EXPANDING.
AND NOW WE MOVE THE BODY,
IF YOU CAN HELP ME.
VERY GOOD. GREAT.
NOW LOOK AT THIS.
THERE IS A BIG POOL OF BLOOD
HERE ON THE FUNERARY CLOTH.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE DO NOT SEE
IN THE SHROUD OF TURIN.
AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY
NON-REALISTIC.
OVERALL, BLOOD-PATTERN ANALYSIS
CANNOT RECREATE
THE WIDE BELT OF BLOOD
ON THE BACK OF THE TURIN SHROUD,
SUPPOSEDLY CAUSED
BY THE SPEAR WOUND
TO THE FRONT OF JESUS'S BODY.
I THINK IT'S FAIR TO
SAY THAT PROFESSOR BORRINI'S
TEST PRETTY MUCH PROVES
THAT THE SHROUD IS A FAKE,
AT LEAST ON THE CRITERIA
THAT HE USED,
MAINLY BECAUSE THE FRONT
AND THE BACK SIMPLY DON'T MATCH
IN TERMS OF THE WOUNDS
AND THE DIRECTION OF BLOOD.
IN MY PERSONAL OPINION,
I THINK THAT THE SHROUD OF TURIN
WAS MADE IN THE MEDIEVAL TIME
WHERE THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE
WERE ILLITERATE
SO WERE NOT ABLE TO READ
THE BIBLE AND THE GOSPELS,
SO WAS LIKE A PAINTING
TO EDUCATE PEOPLE.
IF THE TURIN SHROUD
WAS CREATED AS A PAINTING
TO ENLIGHTEN
MEDIEVAL CHRISTIANS,
THIS COULD EXPLAIN
ANOTHER SURPRISING
FEATURE OF THE SHROUD.
WHILE THE AVERAGE
HEIGHT OF A MAN
IN PALESTINE 2,000 YEARS AGO
WAS ABOUT 5 FEET, 5 INCHES,
JESUS, AS HE APPEARS
ON THE SHROUD, IS MUCH TALLER,
BETWEEN 5-FEET-10 AND 6-FEET-1.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT
THE SHROUD IMAGE,
IMMEDIATELY, YOU'RE STRUCK BY
THIS VERY LONG, THIN FIGURE
THAT'S VERY UNNATURAL
IN ITS ELONGATION.
AND HAVING STUDIED
CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY,
I RECOGNIZED THAT THIS WAS
JUST FRENCH GOTHIC ART,
WAS THE MOST OBVIOUS
EXPLANATION,
AND THAT FIT, YOU SEE,
WITH ITS ORIGIN IN FRANCE
IN THE GOTHIC PERIOD.
IT'S CONCEIVABLE THAT
JESUS'S ELONGATED BODY
ON THE TURIN SHROUD
JUST INDICATES
HE WAS UNUSUALLY TALL.
BUT THE SUGGESTION
THAT THE SHROUD
IS A GOTHIC MEDIEVAL PAINTING
DESIGNED TO EDUCATE THE FAITHFUL
IS A STRONG POSSIBILITY.
IF THE TURIN SHROUD IS
ACTUALLY A PAINTING,
IN THEORY, IT SHOULD BE
POSSIBLE TO REPLICATE IT,
RECREATING ON CLOTH
A VERY SIMILAR IMAGE OF JESUS.
BUT CAN A CONVINCING
FULL-SCALE REPLICA
OF THE TURIN SHROUD
BE CREATED TODAY?
THE FAMOUS
TURIN SHROUD IS SAID TO BE
THE BURIAL CLOTH IN WHICH
JESUS WAS WRAPPED
AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION.
MANY PEOPLE,
INCLUDING SOME SCIENTISTS,
BELIEVE THE IMAGE ON THE
TURIN SHROUD IS GENUINELY JESUS,
AMAZINGLY SHOWING US
EXACTLY WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE.
BUT HISTORICAL
AND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE,
INCLUDING ANALYSIS
OF THE SHROUD'S
PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION
OF JESUS AND HIS BLOODSTAINS,
LEADS MANY PEOPLE
TO THINK OTHERWISE.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE
THAT THIS IS THE ACTUAL
BURIAL SHROUD OF CHRIST.
IN FACT, IT HAPPENS THAT MOST OF
THE EVIDENCE POINTS TOWARDS IT
BEING A MEDIEVAL CREATION.
THE TURIN SHROUD IS NOT GENUINE.
IT IS A VERY IMPRESSIVE,
HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED,
RATHER WONDERFUL
PIECE OF MEDIEVAL ART.
IF THE TURIN SHROUD IS
TRULY A PIECE OF MEDIEVAL ART
DESIGNED TO EDUCATE
THE CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL,
THEN IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE
TO CREATE A CONVINCING,
FULL-SCALE REPLICA OF IT.
LUIGI GARLASCHELLI,
FORMER PROFESSOR
OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PAVIA
IN ITALY,
HAS TRIED TO DO THIS.
BUT BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO CREATE
A REALISTIC REPLICA
OF THE SHROUD,
GARLASCHELLI FIRST RULED OUT
HOW IT WASN'T MADE.
IF WE THINK THAT
IT WAS A MEDIEVAL ARTIST
WHO MADE THE SHROUD,
PROBABLY, THE FIRST ATTEMPT
HE DID WAS TO SEE
WHAT THE PRINT OF A REAL BODY
LEAVES ON A LINEN CLOTH.
SO WE TRIED, ACTUALLY, THIS.
WE COVERED A VOLUNTEER
WITH RED PAINT,
AND WE PUT A SHEET FLAT ON HIM.
AND THIS IS THE RESULT.
AS YOU SEE, IT LOOKS VERY BAD.
IT'S DISTORTED.
LOOK AT THE FACE...
COMPLETELY AWFUL.
SO THIS IS NOT
HOW THE SHROUD WAS MADE.
IT'S NOT THE CONTACT PRINT
OF A REAL BODY.
INSTEAD, GARLASCHELLI
TRIED TO RECREATE THE SHROUD
USING A TECHNIQUE
KNOWN AS BAS RELIEF,
RUBBING THE OUTSIDE OF A SHEET
TO REVEAL THE CONTOURS
OF THE BODY WRAPPED WITHIN.
WE HAVE A
VOLUNTEER UNDER THE SHEET,
AND WE HAVE RUBBED,
WITH A DRY PIGMENT, THE CLOTH,
SO WE HAVE FOLLOWED
THE SHAPE OF THE BODY.
AS YOU CAN SEE,
IT'S NOT DISTORTED.
THIS IS MORE SHROUD-LIKE.
UNLIKE THE REST OF THE BODY,
A REAL FACE STILL
APPEARS DISTORTED
USING THE BAS-RELIEF TECHNIQUE.
SO THE FACE OF JESUS
IN THIS IMAGE
WAS CREATED USING A
CONTOURED, FLAT, PLASTER MOLD.
SO, THIS IS A VERY
SIMPLE TECHNIQUE
AVAILABLE IN THE MIDDLE AGE.
THIS IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN
HAVE A FACE UNDISTORTED.
GARLASCHELLI
IS USING BLUE PIGMENT
TO HIGHLIGHT THE FACT
THAT THE COLOR DOESN'T MATTER.
HE SAYS THE FAINT IMAGE
OF JESUS ON THE SHROUD
IS A KIND OF GHOST IMAGE
OF REDDISH ACIDIC IMPURITIES
LEFT BEHIND BY
THE ORIGINAL COLORED PIGMENT
THAT HAS COMPLETELY FADED AWAY
OVER THE CENTURIES.
NOW WE WILL HAVE TO
ARTIFICIALLY AGE THIS IMAGE
BECAUSE THE SHROUD
HAD CENTURIES TO DO SO,
BUT WE WANT TO DO THAT
IN AN HOUR,
SO WE WILL PUT IT INTO AN OVEN
AT 160 DEGREES CELSIUS
TO SIMULATE THE AGING.
AFTER AN HOUR IN THE OVEN,
THE IMAGE IS WASHED
TO REMOVE THE PIGMENT.
ONLY THE PIGMENT'S
ACIDIC IMPURITIES
NOW REMAIN ON THE CLOTH,
WHICH IS THEN IRONED DRY.
NOW THE PIGMENT IS GONE,
AND THIS IS THE IMAGE
ON THE SURFACE OF THE LINEN...
NOTHING BEHIND.
AND THE FINAL TEST WOULD BE
TO TAKE THE NEGATIVE
OF THIS IMAGE
AND SEE IF IT LOOKS LIKE
THAT OF THE SHROUD.
SO JUST A QUICK TEST
WITH A CELLPHONE.
AND...
ALL RIGHT.
YEAH, THIS IS THE NEGATIVE.
IT LOOKS LIKE
THE SHROUD OF TURIN.
AFTER ADDING HIS
HOMEMADE FACIAL REPLICA
TO A SIMILARLY AGED BAS RELIEF
OF THE VOLUNTEER'S BODY,
GARLASCHELLI THEN
PAINTED ON BLOODSTAINS
IN ORDER TO CREATE A FULL-SCALE
DUPLICATE OF THE TURIN SHROUD.
PERSONALLY, I FIND
PROFESSOR GARLASCHELLI'S
BAS-RELIEF ANALYSIS
EXTREMELY CONVINCING.
THE IMAGE THAT RESULTED
FROM THIS TECHNIQUE
IS ONE THAT CLOSELY RESEMBLES
WHAT WE SEE ON THE SHROUD,
SO, REALLY, A REMARKABLE JOB.
OTHERS AREN'T CONVINCED
BY GARLASCHELLI'S RE-CREATION
AND SAY THAT IT DOESN'T PROVE
THE TURIN SHROUD WAS PAINTED.
IN PARTICULAR,
SHROUD RESEARCHER LYNN PICKNETT
REMAINS CONVINCED
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
IS THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH
CREATED BY LEONARDO DA VINCI.
AND SHE CLAIMS TO HAVE FOUND
FURTHER EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.
PRESERVED IN TURIN CATHEDRAL
IS ONE OF CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST FAMOUS HOLY RELICS...
THE TURIN SHROUD.
SAID TO BE JESUS'S BURIAL CLOTH,
IT BEARS THE BLOODY IMPRINT
OF HIS CRUCIFIED BODY.
SKEPTICS BELIEVE
THAT IT ISN'T GENUINE
AND IT IS, IN FACT,
A PIECE OF MEDIEVAL ART.
A PROMISING ATTEMPT
TO REPLICATE THE SHROUD
USING A BAS-RELIEF TECHNIQUE
SUGGESTS IT COULD BE
A MEDIEVAL PAINTING.
BUT SHROUD RESEARCHER
LYNN PICKNETT REMAINS CONVINCED
THAT IT IS INSTEAD
THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH
CREATED BY THE ONE AND ONLY
LEONARDO DA VINCI.
THE SHROUD HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID
TO BEHAVE LIKE A PHOTOGRAPH.
WHEN SEEN IN
PHOTOGRAPHIC NEGATIVE,
IT ALMOST LEAPS INTO LIFE,
INTO FOCUS.
IT'S QUITE ASTONISHING.
LYNN'S THEORY THAT
THE TURIN SHROUD
IS THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH
IS VERY CONTENTIOUS.
BUT SHE HAS CARRIED OUT
EXPERIMENTS
THAT INDICATE IT IS POSSIBLE.
BY PROJECTING AN ILLUMINATED
CAST OF A GIRL'S HEAD
ONTO A CLOTH
IN A CAMERA OBSCURA,
JUST LIKE THE ONE SHE BELIEVES
WAS USED BY LEONARDO DA VINCI,
SHE WAS ABLE TO CREATE
A RECOGNIZABLY SHROUD-LIKE IMAGE
OF THE GIRL'S FACE.
AS FOR THE FACE
THAT LEONARDO USED
WHEN HE CREATED
THE TURIN SHROUD,
LYNN BELIEVES,
VERY CONTROVERSIALLY,
THAT LEONARDO USED HIS OWN FACE
TO REPRESENT JESUS.
LEONARDO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT,
"YEAH, WELL, YOU'RE NOT GONNA
GET JESUS, OBVIOUSLY.
YOU'RE GOING TO GET MY FACE."
LEONARDO WAS A HERETIC.
HE HAD VERY PASSIONATE BELIEFS,
AND THEY WEREN'T CHRISTIAN.
IN FACT, THERE'S
EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE
THAT HE HATED CHRISTIANITY,
AND THEREFORE,
FAKING THE TURIN SHROUD
WAS AN ACT OF REBELLION.
IT JUST WOULD HAVE
APPEALED TO HIM.
LYNN'S ENTIRE THEORY
ABOUT LEONARDO DA VINCI,
HOWEVER, IS CONSIDERED
VERY FAR-FETCHED
BY MOST OBSERVERS.
THE CLAIM THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
MADE THE SHROUD OF TURIN...
IT'S JUST NOT CREDIBLE.
I LOVE THIS THEORY
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
SOMEHOW CREATED
THE TURIN SHROUD.
HE WAS AN AMAZING VISIONARY MAN,
BUT EVEN HE COULDN'T HAVE
CREATED SOMETHING
BEFORE HE WAS BORN.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT
LEONARDO WASN'T BORN UNTIL 1452,
WHEREAS THE FIRST GENERALLY
ACCEPTED HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
OF THE SHROUD PLACES IT
IN FRANCE 100 YEARS EARLIER.
HOWEVER, LYNN CLAIMS
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
ISN'T THE SAME SHROUD AS THE ONE
DISPLAYED IN THE 1350s.
SHE SAYS IT'S SIGNIFICANT
THAT THIS EARLIER SHROUD
WAS SOON DENOUNCED BY THE LOCAL
BISHOP AS AN ARTISTIC FORGERY.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS
A BLATANT PAINTING,
SO, CLEARLY, WHAT HAPPENED WAS
THE CHURCH LIKED THE IDEA
OF HAVING A SHROUD,
THE ULTIMATE CHRISTIAN RELIC,
JESUS'S OWN IMAGE AND BLOOD.
BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT THAT ONE.
ACCORDING TO LYNN,
THE ORIGINAL,
UNCONVINCING SHROUD
WAS SECRETLY SWITCHED
BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN THE LATE 15th CENTURY
WHEN IT WAS TAKEN
FROM FRANCE TO ITALY.
LEONARDO'S NEW,
MUCH MORE REALISTIC SHROUD
WAS THEN DISPLAYED IN ITS PLACE
IN ORDER TO ATTRACT
AS MANY PILGRIMS AS POSSIBLE.
DESPITE CRITICS WHO SAY
THIS IS A FANCIFUL
AND HIGHLY UNLIKELY STORY,
LYNN CLAIMS TO HAVE FOUND
FURTHER EVIDENCE
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI REALLY
DID CREATE THE TURIN SHROUD.
SHE'S FOUND CLUES
IN THE SALVATOR MUNDI,
THE FAMOUS PICTURE OF JESUS
SAID TO HAVE BEEN PAINTED
BY LEONARDO.
IF YOU SPLIT THE SALVATOR MUNDI
DOWN THE MIDDLE
AND YOU HAVE THAT ON ONE SIDE
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE,
YOU HAVE A PICTURE
OF THE SHROUD OF TURIN,
WHAT YOU GET IS ASTONISHING.
EVERY SINGLE TINY FEATURE
LINES UP EXACTLY.
THE SALVATOR MUNDI,
STRANGE THOUGH IT MAY SEEM,
IS ACTUALLY ALSO LEONARDO.
BUT THERE'S MORE.
SALVATOR MUNDI IS HOLDING
A GLOBE... A CRYSTAL GLOBE.
AND PEOPLE HAVE SAID,
"WELL, OF COURSE,
THE NAME MEANS
SAVIOR OF THE WORLD,
SO THAT'S IT...
HE'S GOT THE WORLD IN HIS HAND."
BUT IT'S ACTUALLY A CRYSTAL.
AND WHAT DID LEONARDO USE TO
CREATE THE IMAGE OF THE SHROUD?
A CAMERA OBSCURA IN WHICH HE PUT
A LENS MADE OF CRYSTAL.
THIS IS HIS NEAREST THING
TO A CONFESSION
HE CREATED THE TURIN SHROUD.
WHATEVER THE TRUTH IS
ABOUT THIS AMAZING THEORY,
THE DEBATE ABOUT
THE TURIN SHROUD
WILL SURELY CONTINUE FOR YEARS.
IS IT THE WORLD'S
FIRST PHOTOGRAPH?
IS IT A MEDIEVAL PAINTING?
OR IS IT THE GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS,
IMPRINTED, PERHAPS, BY BACTERIA
WITH THE IMAGE
OF HIS CRUCIFIED BODY?
ALTHOUGH CARBON DATING
HAS PROVIDED
COMPELLING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
SUGGESTING THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
IS NOT GENUINE,
BELIEVERS CONTINUE TO DISPUTE
THE STUDY'S ACCURACY.
I JUST THINK THIS TELLS US THAT
BELIEVERS WILL ALWAYS FIND FAULT
WITH ANY AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE
THAT THEY'RE PRESENTED WITH.
I THINK THAT FOR SOME PEOPLE,
THE IDEA THAT THE SHROUD
IS THE REAL THING
THAT WRAPPED JESUS CHRIST'S BODY
IS TOO BEAUTIFUL
TO BE IMPOSSIBLE.
YOU COULD SAY
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD SHOWS
THAT WE'RE A WORLD DIVIDED
BETWEEN BELIEVERS
AND NONBELIEVERS,
BETWEEN THOSE WHO WANT PROOF...
SCIENTIFIC, RATIONAL PROOF,
IF YOU WANT,
AND THOSE WHO BELIEVE
THAT FAITH IS IMPORTANT.
FOR THEM, BELIEVING THAT IT IS
THE IMAGE OF JESUS IS ENOUGH.
THAT SENSE OF WONDER
IS ENOUGH FOR THEM.
IN A WAY, THE SHROUD
BRINGS OUT WONDERFULLY
THAT CONFLICT THAT WE ALL HAVE
BETWEEN THE RATIONAL
AND THE ROMANTIC.
IT'S WONDERFUL TO BELIEVE
THAT THE SHROUD MIGHT BE REAL.
IT'S A LITTLE TEDIOUS TO HAVE
SCIENCE TELL ONE IT ISN'T,
BUT WE ALL HAVE WITHIN US
THAT NEED FOR BOTH.
THAT SPARK OF THE IMAGINATION
IS ALWAYS THERE,
AND FOR SO LONG AS HUMANS
HAVE THAT,
THE SHROUD WILL HAVE
ITS SUPPORTERS.
AND SO, REGARDLESS
OF THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
INDICATING WHETHER IT IS
OR ISN'T THE GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS,
FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE,
THE TURIN SHROUD
WILL UNDOUBTEDLY
LONG REMAIN ONE OF THE WORLD'S
MOST REVERED AND ICONIC
RELIGIOUS TREASURES.
ITALY'S TURIN CATHEDRAL
IS ONE OF CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST FAMOUS HOLY RELICS.
THE TURIN SHROUD IS SAID
TO BE THE BURIAL CLOTH
IN WHICH JESUS WAS WRAPPED
AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION
OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO.
THE SHROUD COMPLETELY INSPIRES
THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN IT
BECAUSE WE HAVE TO REMEMBER,
JESUS LEFT NO PHYSICAL TRACE
OF HIMSELF ON EARTH.
HE WROTE NOTHING.
THERE'S NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EVIDENCE, ACTUALLY,
THAT HE EXISTED,
BUT IF THE SHROUD IS REAL,
THEN THIS IS TANGIBLE PROOF
THAT HE DID.
THE TURIN SHROUD MIGHT BE
THE SILVER BULLET
THAT PROVES BEYOND
A SHADOW OF DOUBT
THE EXISTENCE OF JESUS CHRIST.
INCREDIBLY,
IT SEEMS JESUS'S IMAGE
WAS SOMEHOW IMPRINTED ON THE
TURIN SHROUD WHEN HE WAS BURIED.
ALTHOUGH THE IMAGE
IS VERY FAINT,
A NEGATIVE IS MUCH CLEARER.
COULD THIS REALLY BE
THE FACE OF JESUS
AFTER HIS DEATH
CROWNED WITH THORNS?
MILLIONS OF CHRISTIAN
FAITHFUL BELIEVE SO,
AS DO SOME SCIENTISTS.
I THINK WE CAN BE
CERTAIN THAT THIS IS
THE BURIAL WRAPPING JESUS.
SKEPTICS DISAGREE.
UNFORTUNATELY,
IT'S A PRETTY OBVIOUS FAKE
FROM THE MIDDLE AGES.
WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
IS THE TURIN SHROUD GENUINE,
OR CAN OTHER AMAZING
EXPLANATIONS
SOLVE THE PUZZLE
OF ITS MYSTERIOUS PROPERTIES?
IT'S NOT THE BURIAL CLOTH
OF JESUS CHRIST.
IT'S THE WORLD'S
FIRST PHOTOGRAPH CREATED
BY THE WORLD'S GREATEST GENIUS,
LEONARDO DA VINCI.
FORBIDDEN HISTORY - SEASON 6
EP - 2 - Relics of the Holy Land
Subtitles Diego Moraes
TURIN CATHEDRAL
IS HOME TO ONE OF
THE MOST FAMOUS CHRISTIAN RELICS
ON THE PLANET...
THE TURIN SHROUD.
THE TURIN SHROUD IS SO ICONIC
'CAUSE IT REPRESENTS
WHAT MIGHT BE THE ONLY PHYSICAL,
TANGIBLE PROOF OF JESUS CHRIST.
THE SHROUD GIVES A FACE TO A MAN
WHOSE LEGACY HAS DOMINATED
SO MUCH OF HUMAN HISTORY.
HIS PHYSICAL ANATOMY
IS VISIBLE ON THIS SHROUD,
AND THAT'S INCREDIBLY POWERFUL
FOR MANY PEOPLE.
BUT IS THE
TURIN SHROUD REALLY THE GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS?
TODAY, THE TURIN SHROUD
IS DISPLAYED TO THE PUBLIC
ONLY ON RARE OCCASIONS,
BUT A MODERN COPY
IS ON PERMANENT DISPLAY
IN THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SHROUD
NEAR TURIN CATHEDRAL.
BRUNO BARBERIS IS
THE SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR
OF TURIN'S INTERNATIONAL CENTER
FOR STUDY OF THE SHROUD.
WE CAN SEE THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING... THE DOUBLE HUMAN IMAGE.
HERE WE CAN SEE THE FACE,
THE CHEST,
THE HANDS, AND THE LEGS.
THE BLOOD IMAGE ARE CLEARLY
DISTINGUISHABLE
DUE TO THE FACT
THAT THEY ARE MORE RED.
IN MY OPINION, THE PROBABILITY
THAT IT'S NOT A FAKE
BUT IS REALLY THE BURIAL CLOTH
OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
IS VERY, VERY HIGH.
SKEPTICS, HOWEVER,
ARE CONVINCED
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
IS NOT JESUS'S GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH,
PARTLY BECAUSE THE FIRST
SOLID HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
OF THE SHROUD'S EXISTENCE
ISN'T UNTIL IT APPEARED
IN FRANCE IN THE 1350s,
NEARLY 1,400 YEARS
AFTER JESUS'S DEATH.
THE SHROUD SHOWS UP
UNDER VERY SUSPICIOUS
CIRCUMSTANCES
IN THE HANDS OF
A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE NAMED
GEOFFROI DE CHARNY,
AND HE NEVER WAS ABLE TO SAY
QUITE PRECISELY HOW HE,
A MAN OF MODEST MEANS,
HAD ACQUIRED THE MOST
HOLY RELIC IN CHRISTIANITY.
ADDING TO DOUBTS ABOUT
THE SHROUD'S AUTHENTICITY,
A FRENCH CLERIC OF THE TIME
DENOUNCED IT AS A FORGERY.
WHEN THE SHROUD WAS FIRST
EXHIBITED IN THE 1350s,
THE LOCAL BISHOP COMPLAINED AND
SAID THAT THIS WAS A BAD THING,
THIS WAS MISLEADING PEOPLE,
AND HE SAID HE EVEN MET
THE PAINTER WHO HAD PAINTED IT.
DESPITE THIS,
THE LEGEND OF THE SHROUD
AS THE TRUE BURIAL CLOTH
OF JESUS
CONTINUED TO GROW
OVER THE CENTURIES.
A FIRE DAMAGED IT IN 1532,
CAUSING BURN MARKS
AND WATER STAINS.
BUT NUNS QUICKLY PATCHED IT UP.
AND IN 1578, IT WAS MOVED
FROM FRANCE TO TURIN,
WHERE IT'S BEEN TREASURED
EVER SINCE.
YET GIVEN THE SHROUDS
CRYPTIC ORIGINS,
TODAY, THE VATICAN IS
OFFICIALLY CAUTIOUS
ABOUT WHETHER THE SHROUD
IS GENUINE OR NOT.
THE CHURCH DOESN'T
ACTUALLY SAY ITSELF
THAT THIS IS A LITERAL
IMAGE OF CHRIST.
THEY REFER TO IT NOT AS
A RELIC, BUT AS AN ICON,
THAT IT'S A
REPRESENTATION OF JESUS,
SO IF YOU WANT,
THE CHURCH ITSELF
SEEMS TO BE KEEPING
ITS OPTIONS OPEN.
TRUE BELIEVERS AND
SKEPTICS ALIKE WANT TO RESOLVE
THE DEBATE ABOUT THE SHROUD
ONCE AND FOR ALL.
FOR OVER 40 YEARS, BOTH SIDES
HAVE TURNED TO SCIENCE
TO PROVIDE
THE DEFINITIVE ANSWER.
THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE SCIENTIFIC
INVESTIGATION OF THE SHROUD
WAS CARRIED OUT
IN THE LATE 1970s
BY THE SHROUD OF TURIN
RESEARCH PROJECT.
BARRIE SCHWORTZ
WAS A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPERT
ON THE PRIMARILY AMERICAN TEAM.
WE DID A MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT
TYPES OF PHOTOGRAPHY,
BUT WE ALSO
DID SPECTRAL ANALYSES,
X-RAY AND X-RAY FLUORESCENCE,
AND REFLECTANCE ANALYSIS.
SO WE HAD ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT
PIECES OF EQUIPMENT.
AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME,
THEY WERE STATE-OF-THE-ART.
AND IRONICALLY, THE SINGLE
QUESTION WE WENT TO ANSWER,
HOW WAS THE IMAGE FORMED,
WE WERE UNABLE TO ANSWER.
WE KNEW OF NO MECHANISM
THAT COULD MAKE AN IMAGE
WITH THE CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
THAT WE FOUND ON THE SHROUD.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT,
I CAME TO ACCEPT THAT THIS WAS
MOST LIKELY THE BURIAL SHROUD
OF THE HISTORIC JESUS.
SINCE SCHWORTZ'S TEAM
EXAMINED THE TURIN SHROUD
IN THE LATE 1970s,
MANY OTHERS HAVE DONE
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF THEIR OWN.
SOME HAVE AGREED THAT
IT'S LIKELY TO BE AUTHENTIC,
BUT MANY OTHERS HAVE
DECLARED THE SHROUD
TO BE A MEDIEVAL FAKE.
SO NOW WE HAVE
ALL THESE SCIENTIFIC PROOFS
THAT THE SHROUD IS REAL
ALONG WITH THE SCIENTIFIC PROOFS
THAT IT ISN'T.
THE DEBATE RAGES,
BUT THIS IS ONE OF
THE MOST CENTRAL ARTIFACTS
IN CHRISTIANITY IF IT'S REAL.
ONE OF THE MOST RECENT
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES,
PUBLISHED IN 2018
BY FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
DR. MATTEO BORRINI,
EMPLOYED BLOODSTAIN-PATTERN
ANALYSIS,
A TECHNIQUE OFTEN USED
IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS.
MORNING, PEOPLE.
SO, READY TO START
WITH EXPERIMENT?
YEAH? VERY GOOD.
IN THE FIRST PART OF HIS
RECREATED EXPERIMENT,
DR. BORRINI IS COMPARING
THE BLOOD PATTERN
ON THE TURIN SHROUD
TO HOW JESUS WOULD HAVE BLED
IF HE WAS CRUCIFIED
ON A TRADITIONALLY SHAPED CROSS.
SO, NOW YOUR ARM IS EXTENDED
LIKE THE CLASSICAL
CRUCIFIXION POSITION,
SO WITH THE ARM
COMPLETELY HORIZONTAL.
SO, NOW... EXACTLY.
WE SEE HERE THE BLEEDING WITH
THE ARM COMPLETELY EXTENDED.
SO WHAT WE SEE IS THAT
THERE IS JUST BLEEDING
THAT IS GOING DOWN,
FOLLOWING THE LAW OF GRAVITY,
GOING DOWN 90 DEGREES.
HOWEVER, WHAT WE SEE IN
THE TURN SHROUD IS NOT THIS.
INSTEAD, THE BLOOD
FROM JESUS'S WRISTS,
AS SEEN ON THE TURIN SHROUD,
DIDN'T DRIP AT A
90-DEGREE ANGLE TO HIS ARMS,
BUT DRIPPED ALONG
THE LENGTH OF HIS ARMS.
BUT THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY
MEAN THE TURIN SHROUD IS A FAKE.
WE HAVE A VERY PARTICULAR
IMAGE OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF CENTURIES
OF MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE ART
THAT HAVE FIXED THIS VISION
IN OUR MIND.
BUT ACTUALLY, ROMAN CRUCIFIXIONS
EQUALLY TOOK PLACE
ON X-SHAPED CROSSES,
T-SHAPED CROSSES,
OR SIMPLY EVEN NAILING
THE VICTIM TO A TREE
THAT WAS STILL LIVING,
SO CHRIST'S CRUCIFIXION
ACTUALLY COULD HAVE TAKEN
ANY ONE OF THESE FORMS.
AS A RESULT OF THIS,
DR. BORRINI REPEATS THE
EXPERIMENT IN CASE JESUS WAS
CRUCIFIED WITH HIS HANDS NAILED
HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD.
YES. HERE YOU SEE...
I WILL HOLD YOUR ARM
SO YOU WILL NOT FEEL THE PAIN
OF A PROPER CRUCIFIED PERSON.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE BLOOD
IS COMING DOWN QUITE VERTICALLY.
NOW, THIS IS THE DIRECTION
THAT WE HAVE
IN THE TURIN SHROUD.
SCIENTIFIC TESTING COULD SUPPORT
THE AUTHENTICITY
OF THE TURIN SHROUD
IF JESUS'S HANDS WERE NAILED
HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD.
BUT WHAT ABOUT EVIDENCE
SUGGESTING THE SHROUD
IS A MEDIEVAL FORGERY?
AND IF IT IS A FAKE, WHO WOULD
HAVE HAD THE MOTIVE AND SKILL
TO CREATE SOMETHING
SO CONVINCING
THAT IT'S FOOLED MILLIONS
OF PEOPLE FOR CENTURIES?
THE TURIN SHROUD
MAY BE CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST FAMOUS HOLY RELIC.
BUT IS IT THE GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS,
OR IS IT A REMARKABLE FAKE
THAT CONTINUES TO FOOL MILLIONS
OF PEOPLE AFTER CENTURIES?
FOR OVER 40 YEARS,
SCIENTISTS HAVE SEARCHED
FOR THE DEFINITIVE ANSWER.
THE SINGLE BEST SCIENTIFIC
DATA POINT WE HAVE ON THE SHROUD
IS CARBON DATING
THAT WAS DONE IN 1988.
IT WAS DONE IMMENSELY
SCIENTIFICALLY AND INDEPENDENTLY
AND OVERSEEN
BY THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
STRIPS OF THE CLOTH
WERE SENT TO OXFORD,
TO ARIZONA, AND TO ZURICH,
AND THEY ALL TESTED
INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER.
AND THE RESULTS THAT CAME BACK
WITH A 95% CERTAINTY
WERE THAT THE LINEN DATED FROM
BETWEEN 1260 AND 1390.
SO IF THE
CARBON DATING WAS ACCURATE,
THE TURIN SHROUD IS
A MEDIEVAL FAKE
DATING TO THE
13th OR 14th CENTURIES.
HOWEVER, BELIEVERS IN THE SHROUD
HAVE SUGGESTED
THE STUDY WAS FLAWED,
EVEN THOUGH MOST EXPERTS
ACCEPT THE DATING RESULTS.
ONE SHROUD RESEARCHER
IN PARTICULAR, LYNN PICKNETT,
BELIEVES IT'S A MEDIEVAL FORGERY
AND CLAIMS TO HAVE IDENTIFIED
THE PERSON WHO
FAKED IT SO CONVINCINGLY.
VERY FEW PEOPLE WOULD HAVE HAD
THE MOTIVE AND TALENT
BESIDES ONE OF
THE GREATEST ARTISTS,
SCIENTISTS, AND INVENTORS
OF ALL TIME...
LEONARDO DA VINCI.
WE CAN'T BE CERTAIN
WHO COMMISSIONED LEONARDO
TO FAKE THE SHROUD,
BUT ALMOST CERTAINLY,
IT WAS SOMEONE IN THE VATICAN,
PERHAPS EVEN THE POPE,
BECAUSE IN THOSE DAYS,
THEY WERE VERY CORRUPT.
AND BASICALLY, THEY WANTED
THE ULTIMATE CHRISTIAN RELIC
THAT WOULD PULL IN THE PUNTERS
AND LINE THEIR POCKETS.
FROM THE LATE MEDIEVAL AGES,
THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT
COMMERCIAL VALUE
IN HAVING HOLY RELICS
BECAUSE YOU WOULD DRAW PILGRIMS
NOT ONLY TO YOUR CHURCH
BUT TO YOUR CITY,
AND THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT
SOURCE OF INCOME.
WE KNOW LEONARDO WAS GIVEN
A ROOM IN THE VATICAN,
A SECRET ROOM.
WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT
WHAT HAPPENED IN THERE,
BUT WHATEVER IT WAS, IT INVOLVED
A MACHINE MADE OF MIRRORS.
AND IT IS SAID THAT WHATEVER
WENT ON IN THAT ROOM,
THE GERMAN MIRROR MAKERS THAT
WERE EMPLOYED RAN OUT SCREAMING
THAT IT WAS SORCERY.
AND IT SEEMED TO INVOLVE
HUGE FLASHES OF LIGHT.
LYNN BELIEVES
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
HAD THE EQUIPMENT AND SKILLS,
EVEN IN THE 15th CENTURY,
TO EXPERIMENT WITH PHOTOGRAPHY.
SHE CLAIMS THE TURIN SHROUD
IS ACTUALLY
THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH.
I PERSONALLY HAVE NO DOUBT
THAT LEONARDO HAD
THE TECHNOLOGICAL KNOW-HOW
AND MEANS TO FAKE
THE TURN SHROUD.
LEONARDO INVENTED SO MANY
INNOVATIVE THINGS
THAT HAVE ONLY COME TO
MASS PRODUCTION... HELICOPTERS,
FLYING MACHINES, ALL SORTS
OF TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES
THAT WERE HUNDREDS OF YEARS
AHEAD OF THEIR TIME.
AND HE WAS WORKING
WITH CAMERA TECHNOLOGY.
HE BUILT A CAMERA OBSCURA,
WHICH HE CALLED ARTIFICIAL EYE,
WITH A LITTLE HOLE IN ONE WALL,
AND YOU PROJECTED IMAGES
THROUGH IT ONTO THE INNER WALL.
WHAT YOU HAD TO DO IS YOU PUT
A CLOTH IN THE CAMERA OBSCURA,
COAT IT WITH
LIGHT-SENSITIVE CHEMICALS...
CHEMICALS THAT WERE READILY
AVAILABLE IN LEONARDO'S DAY,
FOR EXAMPLE,
EGG WHITE AND URINE,
AND BASICALLY,
THE LIGHT HITS IT,
AND THE IMAGE FORMS.
BUT DEVELOPING
A PHOTOGRAPH USING
A CAMERA OBSCURA
CAN TAKE SEVERAL DAYS.
SO IT'S VERY UNLIKELY
LEONARDO DA VINCI
GOT SOMEONE TO STAND STILL FOR
SO LONG IN FRONT OF THE PINHOLE.
INSTEAD, LYNN BELIEVES
THAT LEONARDO USED
THE BODY OF A CORPSE
AND THE CAST OF
A JESUS-LIKE FACE
TO CREATE HIS PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE
OF JESUS ON THE SHROUD.
THE IDEA THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
COULD HAVE EFFECTIVELY CREATED
A RENAISSANCE-ERA
PHOTOGRAPH OF JESUS
ISN'T QUITE AS OUTLANDISH
AS IT MAY SEEM
BECAUSE FOR ONE THING,
THE IDEA OF THE CAMERA OBSCURA
WAS KNOWN 500 YEARS
BEFORE LEONARDO.
AND WE KNOW FROM HIS DRAWING
OF THE VITRUVIAN MAN
THAT HE WAS FASCINATED
BY THE WAY THAT HUMAN BODIES
MOVE AND SO ON.
SO IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
WAS ONE OF LEONARDO'S
MORE BIZARRE EXPERIMENTS.
LEONARDO HAD NO COMPUNCTION
ABOUT DOING TERRIBLE THINGS
TO CORPSES IN HIS
ANATOMICAL RESEARCHES.
HE WOULD HAVE EXPERIMENTED
UNTIL HE GOT IT RIGHT.
HE WOULD HAVE CRUCIFIED
A CORPSE.
THEN LYNN BELIEVES
LEONARDO DA VINCI
ILLUMINATED HIS CAST OF
A JESUS-LIKE FACE
AND THE CRUCIFIED CORPSE,
PROJECTING THEIR IMAGES
THROUGH A CRYSTAL LENS
ONTO THE LIGHT-SENSITIVE CLOTH
IN THE CAMERA OBSCURA.
AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS,
YOU TAKE THE CLOTH OUT
AND YOU WASH IT IN COLD WATER.
AND YOU'RE LEFT WITH
THE LIGHT BITS.
THE DARK BITS JUST WASH AWAY.
SO YOU'VE GOT A NEGATIVE IMAGE,
ESSENTIALLY,
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT,
THE SHROUD OF JESUS.
AND THEN YOU PAINT BLOOD ON
AND YOU'VE GOT IT.
AND THE PILGRIMS COME IN,
AND THEY GO, "WOW."
IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY IDEA.
CAN IT REALLY BE SUBSTANTIATED
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
CRUCIFIED A CORPSE IN ORDER
TO CREATE CHRISTIANITY'S
BEST-KNOWN HOLY RELIC?
LYNN PICKNETT IS COMMITTED
TO TRYING TO PROVE
THIS THEORY BEYOND DOUBT.
YET THERE'S STILL
THE POSSIBILITY
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
IS GENUINE, AND TO THIS DAY,
SCIENTISTS CONTINUE
CARRYING OUT EXPERIMENTS
TO TRY TO VERIFY
ITS AUTHENTICITY.
PRESERVED IN TURIN CATHEDRAL
IS ONE OF CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST RENOWNED HOLY RELICS...
THE TURIN SHROUD.
SAID TO BE JESUS'S BURIAL CLOTH,
BLOODSTAIN-PATTERN ANALYSIS
HAS HINTED THAT
SOME OF THE BLOOD STAINS ON IT
COULD BE
PHYSIOLOGICALLY ACCURATE.
SKEPTICS, HOWEVER,
BELIEVE IT'S A MEDIEVAL FORGERY,
PERHAPS EVEN AN EARLY PHOTOGRAPH
TAKEN BY LEONARDO DA VINCI.
BUT ALTHOUGH RADIOCARBON TESTS
HAVE DATED THE SHROUD
TO THE 13th OR 14th CENTURIES,
SOME PEOPLE HAVE
IDENTIFIED INACCURACIES
IN THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS USED.
SO, ONE PROMINENT
LINE OF ARGUMENT
IS THAT SOOT FROM THE FIRE
THAT THE SHROUD SUFFERED
IMPREGNATED THE FIBERS,
AND THAT HAS THROWN OFF
THE CARBON DATING.
WELL, IT'S A THEORY
THAT YOU CAN PUT FORWARD.
BUT THE SCIENTISTS WHO
CONDUCTED THE CARBON DATING
HAVE ADDRESSED THESE ISSUES
AND SAY ABSOLUTELY NOT.
THEIR TESTS TAKE ACCOUNT
OF THESE FACTORS.
I HAVE FRIENDS
THAT ARE PRO-SHROUD.
I FELT... WHEN THE
CARBON DATING WAS DONE,
I FELT GENUINELY SORRY FOR THEM
BECAUSE I KNEW THEY WERE
BRIEFLY... ONLY BRIEFLY...
THEY WERE DEVASTATED.
AND THEN THEY CAME UP
WITH SEVERAL HOPEFUL THEORIES,
AND THEY WERE BACK OFF
AND RUNNING AGAIN.
ONE LONGSTANDING
TURIN SHROUD RESEARCHER
WHO DOUBTS THE RELIABILITY
OF THE CARBON-DATING RESULTS
IS STEPHEN MATTINGLY,
RECENTLY RETIRED AFTER
MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF WORKING
AS A PROFESSOR OF MICROBIOLOGY
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
WHEN THE
RADIOCARBON DATE CAME OUT,
THAT KIND OF CONVINCED ME
AT THE TIME THAT IT WAS MEDIEVAL
AND IT WAS SOME KIND OF FAKE.
BUT SINCE I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT
AND GOT INVOLVED IN RESEARCH
AND THOUGHT ABOUT IT
SCIENTIFICALLY,
I REALIZE NOW THAT IT IS
THE ACTUAL SHROUD OF JESUS.
ACCORDING TO MATTINGLY,
THE SHROUD WAS DATED
INACCURATELY TO MEDIEVAL TIMES,
NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF
THE MEDIEVAL FIRE,
BUT ALSO BECAUSE
AIRBORNE BACTERIA
ACCUMULATED ON THE SHROUD
OVER THE CENTURIES.
A COMMON CONTAMINANT,
BACILLUS SUBTILIS,
ARE IN THE AIR EVERYWHERE.
EACH DAY, THEY'RE ADDING
NEW CARBON, RADIOACTIVE CARBON.
SO THE CONTAMINATION ISSUE
IS SOMETHING WE CAN'T DEAL WITH
AS FAR AS THE SHROUD OF TURIN
IS CONCERNED.
MOST SIGNIFICANTLY,
MATTINGLY BELIEVES
THAT NOT ONLY DID
AIRBORNE BACTERIA
AFFECT THE CARBON DATING
OF THE SHROUD,
SKIN BACTERIA ALSO CREATED
THE MYSTERIOUS IMAGE
OF JESUS ON THE SHROUD.
MATTINGLY SAYS THAT TO CREATE
A REALLY STRONG IMAGE ON CLOTH,
YOU NEED HUGE NUMBERS
OF BACTERIA.
AND HE SAYS THAT'S EXACTLY
WHAT HAPPENED
AS A RESULT
OF JESUS'S CRUCIFIXION,
HIS BLOODY DEATH PROVIDED
THE PERFECT CONDITIONS
FOR BACTERIA
TO MULTIPLY ON HIS SKIN.
WE KNOW THAT THEY
ADDED A CROWN OF THORNS
EARLY ON, AND ANYBODY THAT'S
EVER HAD A WOUND IN THE HEAD
KNOWS THAT IT BLEEDS FOREVER.
THERE ARE REPORTS OF
OVER 100 SCOURGE MARKS
ON THE BODY, FRONT AND BACK,
THAT WOULD ALSO BLEED.
SO WE HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL
THAT, ESSENTIALLY,
IS BLEEDING CONTINUOUSLY.
AND THERE ARE
CONSEQUENCES TO THAT...
MOST IMPORTANTLY,
THE FACT THAT JESUS'S
OWN SKIN BACTERIA BEGAN TO GROW.
THEY HAD ALL THE NUTRIENTS
THEY NEEDED,
AND THEY WERE DOUBLED
EVERY 30 MINUTES.
SO WHEN THE SHROUD WAS REMOVED,
IT LEFT THE EXCESS BACTERIA
FROM HIS SKIN ON THE SHROUD.
AND THAT'S WHAT CREATED
THIS WONDERFUL IMAGE.
TO DEMONSTRATE SCIENTIFICALLY
THAT JESUS'S SKIN BACTERIA
COULD HAVE CREATED
THE IMAGE ON THE TURIN SHROUD,
MATTINGLY IS GOING TO COAT
HIS HAND WITH SOME SKIN BACTERIA
GROWN IN HIS HOME LABORATORY
AND THEN IMPRINT HIS HAND
ON SOME CLOTH.
AND I BEGIN COATING MY FINGERS.
THIS IS
STAPHYLOCOCCUS EPIDERMIDIS,
WHICH I OBTAINED
FROM MY OWN HAND AND GREW IT UP.
AND WE JUST KEEP REPEATING THIS.
BUT SKEPTICS FIND IT DIFFICULT
TO BELIEVE BACTERIA
ON JESUS'S BODY
COULD HAVE CREATED THE IMAGE
ON THE TURIN SHROUD,
AND THEY POINT TO THE BIBLE
FOR SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS, THOSE THAT
SEE THINGS THE SAME WAY...
MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKE...
THEY DO SPEAK ABOUT JESUS'S BODY
BEING WRAPPED IN A SHROUD.
BUT JOHN, WHICH MANY THINK
IS THE MOST ACCURATE GOSPEL,
ACTUALLY DOESN'T.
IT TALKS ABOUT LINEN STRIPS
AND EVEN A SEPARATE HEADPIECE.
BUT PERHAPS THE MOST FASCINATING
THING ABOUT THE GOSPELS
IS WHAT THEY DON'T SAY.
IF THERE HAD BEEN AN IMAGE
ON THE SHROUD,
YOU WOULD EXPECT THEM
TO HAVE RECORDED THAT.
ACCORDING TO MATTINGLY, HOWEVER,
JESUS'S IMAGE ON THE SHROUD
MAY SIMPLY HAVE NEEDED TIME
TO DEVELOP AFTER THE SHROUD
WAS REMOVED FROM HIS BODY.
AS HIS EXPERIMENT SHOWS,
AN IMAGE CREATED BY BACTERIA
DOES TAKE A LONG TIME
TO DEVELOP.
YOU REALLY CAN'T
SEE MUCH RIGHT NOW.
THIS WILL CONTINUE
TO DEVELOP OVER TIME.
THE HOPED-FOR IMAGE ON THE CLOTH
IS JUST BARELY VISIBLE FOR NOW.
BUT THE EXPERIMENT WAS BRIEF.
AND MATTINGLY SAYS
THAT JESUS'S BODY WAS COVERED
WITH BILLIONS MORE BACTERIA
THAN HIS OWN HAND.
AND JESUS'S IMAGE ALSO HAD
MUCH LONGER TO FORM
ON HIS BURIAL SHROUD.
TO DEMONSTRATE THE PRINCIPLE,
MATTINGLY SHOWS AN IMAGE
OF HIS HAND ON HIS COMPUTER
THAT HE CREATED WITH BACTERIA
YEARS AGO.
THIS WAS DONE
ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO,
AND THE COLOR
HAS DEVELOPED OVER TIME.
THIS IS THE NEGATIVE,
AND IT SHOWS EVEN MORE DETAIL.
ALTHOUGH HIS THEORY
IS VERY CONTROVERSIAL,
AS A RESULT OF HIS EXPERIMENTS,
MATTINGLY IS CONVINCED THAT
THE IMAGE ON THE TURIN SHROUD
WAS CREATED BY BACTERIA
MULTIPLYING ON JESUS'S SKIN
DURING HIS BLOODY DEATH.
AS A CHRISTIAN, HE FINDS JESUS'S
IMAGE ON THE SHROUD REASSURING.
I HAVE NO TROUBLE
BEING A CHRISTIAN
AND A SCIENTIST,
BUT THE TRUTH HAS TO BE
THROUGH SCIENCE.
I THINK WE CAN BE CERTAIN
THAT THIS IS
THE BURIAL WRAPPING OF JESUS.
WE TALK ABOUT WANTING
TO SEE HIS FACE IN OUR PRAYERS,
AND HERE IT IS.
HERE IS HIS FACE.
WHAT DOES JESUS LOOK LIKE?
WE KNOW WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE.
WE KNOW HOW TALL HE WAS.
WE KNOW MANY THINGS ABOUT HIM
BECAUSE OF THE SHROUD.
COULD STEPHEN MATTINGLY'S
REMARKABLE THEORY BE TRUE?
DID BACTERIA FROM JESUS'S BODY
REALLY CREATE THE IMAGE
ON THE TURIN SHROUD?
SOME SKEPTICS BELIEVE
JESUS'S PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION
ON THE SHROUD ISN'T REALISTIC,
SUGGESTING THAT THE SHROUD
MAY BE A MEDIEVAL FAKE.
TO HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY,
SOME LOOK FOR CLUES
IN THE HISTORY
OF ROMAN CRUCIFIXIONS.
CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST FAMOUS HOLY RELIC,
THE TURIN SHROUD,
IS SAID TO BE
JESUS'S BURIAL CLOTH
BEARING THE BLOODY IMPRINTS
OF HIS CRUCIFIED BODY.
BUT IS IT, IN FACT,
A MEDIEVAL FORGERY?
THE HISTORY OF ROMAN
CRUCIFIXIONS OFFERS A CLUE.
PEOPLE WHO WERE CRUCIFIED
WERE NORMALLY CRUCIFIED
AS SEDITIONARIES.
THEY'D COMMITTED TREASON
AGAINST THE ROMAN STATE.
AND SO, NORMALLY, THEY WERE
LEFT TO JUST HANG THERE,
BEING PECKED UP BY THE BIRDS
AND EATEN BY ANIMALS,
AND THEIR BODY WOULD HAVE
ROTTED ON THE CROSS.
SO THE IDEA OF SOMEBODY
BEING TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS
AND BEING GIVEN A LOVELY BURIAL
WITH A SHROUD...
HIGHLY UNLIKELY.
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
ALSO PROVIDES IMPORTANT CLUES
ABOUT WHETHER THE TURIN SHROUD
IS GENUINE.
BLOODSTAIN-PATTERN ANALYSIS
HAS SHOWN
JESUS'S WRIST WOUNDS
ARE REALISTIC
IF HE WAS CRUCIFIED WITH
HIS HANDS HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD.
BUT WHAT ABOUT OTHER BLOODSTAINS
ON THE SHROUD?
IN PARTICULAR,
THE BIBLE MENTIONS A WOUND
CAUSED BY A ROMAN SOLDIER
WHO STABBED JESUS IN THE CHEST.
BELIEVERS IN THE AUTHENTICITY
OF THE TURIN SHROUD
SAY THE CHEST WOUND
LEFT THIS BLOODSTAIN
AND, ALSO, ON THE BACK
OF JESUS'S BODY,
THIS WIDE BELT OF BLOOD.
IS THIS REALISTIC?
TO REPLICATE THE SPEAR WOUND,
FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
DR. MATTEO BORRINI
USES A SIMPLE METHOD... A SPONGE
ON THE END OF A SPATULA.
THIS IS THE MOST
TO-REALITY REPRODUCTION
OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN.
AND HERE YOU SEE THE
DIRECTION OF THE BLOOD
FOLLOWING THE GRAVITY.
BUT WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
HERE THE BLOOD IS GOING DOWN
AND IS NOT GOING,
IN ANY WAY, BEHIND.
THEN HOW COULD THE BELT OF BLOOD
ON THE BACK OF JESUS'S BODY
ON THE TURIN SHROUD
HAVE BEEN CAUSED
BY THE SPEAR WOUND?
IT'S BEEN SAID BY SOME THAT
THE BELT OF BLOOD
COULD HAVE BEEN CREATED
IF JESUS CONTINUED TO BLEED
AFTER HE WAS TAKEN DOWN,
DEAD, FROM THE CROSS
AND WAS LYING FLAT IN HIS TOMB.
BUT IS THIS POSSIBLE?
I WANT TO TRY TO REPLICATE
THIS SECOND BLEEDING,
SO THIS, FOR US,
IS REPRESENTING THE SHROUD.
AND THIS IS THE INDIVIDUAL
BLEEDING THROUGH THE WOUND
ON THE CHEST.
IT'S EXPANDING.
AND NOW WE MOVE THE BODY,
IF YOU CAN HELP ME.
VERY GOOD. GREAT.
NOW LOOK AT THIS.
THERE IS A BIG POOL OF BLOOD
HERE ON THE FUNERARY CLOTH.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE DO NOT SEE
IN THE SHROUD OF TURIN.
AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY
NON-REALISTIC.
OVERALL, BLOOD-PATTERN ANALYSIS
CANNOT RECREATE
THE WIDE BELT OF BLOOD
ON THE BACK OF THE TURIN SHROUD,
SUPPOSEDLY CAUSED
BY THE SPEAR WOUND
TO THE FRONT OF JESUS'S BODY.
I THINK IT'S FAIR TO
SAY THAT PROFESSOR BORRINI'S
TEST PRETTY MUCH PROVES
THAT THE SHROUD IS A FAKE,
AT LEAST ON THE CRITERIA
THAT HE USED,
MAINLY BECAUSE THE FRONT
AND THE BACK SIMPLY DON'T MATCH
IN TERMS OF THE WOUNDS
AND THE DIRECTION OF BLOOD.
IN MY PERSONAL OPINION,
I THINK THAT THE SHROUD OF TURIN
WAS MADE IN THE MEDIEVAL TIME
WHERE THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE
WERE ILLITERATE
SO WERE NOT ABLE TO READ
THE BIBLE AND THE GOSPELS,
SO WAS LIKE A PAINTING
TO EDUCATE PEOPLE.
IF THE TURIN SHROUD
WAS CREATED AS A PAINTING
TO ENLIGHTEN
MEDIEVAL CHRISTIANS,
THIS COULD EXPLAIN
ANOTHER SURPRISING
FEATURE OF THE SHROUD.
WHILE THE AVERAGE
HEIGHT OF A MAN
IN PALESTINE 2,000 YEARS AGO
WAS ABOUT 5 FEET, 5 INCHES,
JESUS, AS HE APPEARS
ON THE SHROUD, IS MUCH TALLER,
BETWEEN 5-FEET-10 AND 6-FEET-1.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT
THE SHROUD IMAGE,
IMMEDIATELY, YOU'RE STRUCK BY
THIS VERY LONG, THIN FIGURE
THAT'S VERY UNNATURAL
IN ITS ELONGATION.
AND HAVING STUDIED
CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY,
I RECOGNIZED THAT THIS WAS
JUST FRENCH GOTHIC ART,
WAS THE MOST OBVIOUS
EXPLANATION,
AND THAT FIT, YOU SEE,
WITH ITS ORIGIN IN FRANCE
IN THE GOTHIC PERIOD.
IT'S CONCEIVABLE THAT
JESUS'S ELONGATED BODY
ON THE TURIN SHROUD
JUST INDICATES
HE WAS UNUSUALLY TALL.
BUT THE SUGGESTION
THAT THE SHROUD
IS A GOTHIC MEDIEVAL PAINTING
DESIGNED TO EDUCATE THE FAITHFUL
IS A STRONG POSSIBILITY.
IF THE TURIN SHROUD IS
ACTUALLY A PAINTING,
IN THEORY, IT SHOULD BE
POSSIBLE TO REPLICATE IT,
RECREATING ON CLOTH
A VERY SIMILAR IMAGE OF JESUS.
BUT CAN A CONVINCING
FULL-SCALE REPLICA
OF THE TURIN SHROUD
BE CREATED TODAY?
THE FAMOUS
TURIN SHROUD IS SAID TO BE
THE BURIAL CLOTH IN WHICH
JESUS WAS WRAPPED
AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION.
MANY PEOPLE,
INCLUDING SOME SCIENTISTS,
BELIEVE THE IMAGE ON THE
TURIN SHROUD IS GENUINELY JESUS,
AMAZINGLY SHOWING US
EXACTLY WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE.
BUT HISTORICAL
AND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE,
INCLUDING ANALYSIS
OF THE SHROUD'S
PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION
OF JESUS AND HIS BLOODSTAINS,
LEADS MANY PEOPLE
TO THINK OTHERWISE.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE
THAT THIS IS THE ACTUAL
BURIAL SHROUD OF CHRIST.
IN FACT, IT HAPPENS THAT MOST OF
THE EVIDENCE POINTS TOWARDS IT
BEING A MEDIEVAL CREATION.
THE TURIN SHROUD IS NOT GENUINE.
IT IS A VERY IMPRESSIVE,
HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED,
RATHER WONDERFUL
PIECE OF MEDIEVAL ART.
IF THE TURIN SHROUD IS
TRULY A PIECE OF MEDIEVAL ART
DESIGNED TO EDUCATE
THE CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL,
THEN IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE
TO CREATE A CONVINCING,
FULL-SCALE REPLICA OF IT.
LUIGI GARLASCHELLI,
FORMER PROFESSOR
OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PAVIA
IN ITALY,
HAS TRIED TO DO THIS.
BUT BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO CREATE
A REALISTIC REPLICA
OF THE SHROUD,
GARLASCHELLI FIRST RULED OUT
HOW IT WASN'T MADE.
IF WE THINK THAT
IT WAS A MEDIEVAL ARTIST
WHO MADE THE SHROUD,
PROBABLY, THE FIRST ATTEMPT
HE DID WAS TO SEE
WHAT THE PRINT OF A REAL BODY
LEAVES ON A LINEN CLOTH.
SO WE TRIED, ACTUALLY, THIS.
WE COVERED A VOLUNTEER
WITH RED PAINT,
AND WE PUT A SHEET FLAT ON HIM.
AND THIS IS THE RESULT.
AS YOU SEE, IT LOOKS VERY BAD.
IT'S DISTORTED.
LOOK AT THE FACE...
COMPLETELY AWFUL.
SO THIS IS NOT
HOW THE SHROUD WAS MADE.
IT'S NOT THE CONTACT PRINT
OF A REAL BODY.
INSTEAD, GARLASCHELLI
TRIED TO RECREATE THE SHROUD
USING A TECHNIQUE
KNOWN AS BAS RELIEF,
RUBBING THE OUTSIDE OF A SHEET
TO REVEAL THE CONTOURS
OF THE BODY WRAPPED WITHIN.
WE HAVE A
VOLUNTEER UNDER THE SHEET,
AND WE HAVE RUBBED,
WITH A DRY PIGMENT, THE CLOTH,
SO WE HAVE FOLLOWED
THE SHAPE OF THE BODY.
AS YOU CAN SEE,
IT'S NOT DISTORTED.
THIS IS MORE SHROUD-LIKE.
UNLIKE THE REST OF THE BODY,
A REAL FACE STILL
APPEARS DISTORTED
USING THE BAS-RELIEF TECHNIQUE.
SO THE FACE OF JESUS
IN THIS IMAGE
WAS CREATED USING A
CONTOURED, FLAT, PLASTER MOLD.
SO, THIS IS A VERY
SIMPLE TECHNIQUE
AVAILABLE IN THE MIDDLE AGE.
THIS IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN
HAVE A FACE UNDISTORTED.
GARLASCHELLI
IS USING BLUE PIGMENT
TO HIGHLIGHT THE FACT
THAT THE COLOR DOESN'T MATTER.
HE SAYS THE FAINT IMAGE
OF JESUS ON THE SHROUD
IS A KIND OF GHOST IMAGE
OF REDDISH ACIDIC IMPURITIES
LEFT BEHIND BY
THE ORIGINAL COLORED PIGMENT
THAT HAS COMPLETELY FADED AWAY
OVER THE CENTURIES.
NOW WE WILL HAVE TO
ARTIFICIALLY AGE THIS IMAGE
BECAUSE THE SHROUD
HAD CENTURIES TO DO SO,
BUT WE WANT TO DO THAT
IN AN HOUR,
SO WE WILL PUT IT INTO AN OVEN
AT 160 DEGREES CELSIUS
TO SIMULATE THE AGING.
AFTER AN HOUR IN THE OVEN,
THE IMAGE IS WASHED
TO REMOVE THE PIGMENT.
ONLY THE PIGMENT'S
ACIDIC IMPURITIES
NOW REMAIN ON THE CLOTH,
WHICH IS THEN IRONED DRY.
NOW THE PIGMENT IS GONE,
AND THIS IS THE IMAGE
ON THE SURFACE OF THE LINEN...
NOTHING BEHIND.
AND THE FINAL TEST WOULD BE
TO TAKE THE NEGATIVE
OF THIS IMAGE
AND SEE IF IT LOOKS LIKE
THAT OF THE SHROUD.
SO JUST A QUICK TEST
WITH A CELLPHONE.
AND...
ALL RIGHT.
YEAH, THIS IS THE NEGATIVE.
IT LOOKS LIKE
THE SHROUD OF TURIN.
AFTER ADDING HIS
HOMEMADE FACIAL REPLICA
TO A SIMILARLY AGED BAS RELIEF
OF THE VOLUNTEER'S BODY,
GARLASCHELLI THEN
PAINTED ON BLOODSTAINS
IN ORDER TO CREATE A FULL-SCALE
DUPLICATE OF THE TURIN SHROUD.
PERSONALLY, I FIND
PROFESSOR GARLASCHELLI'S
BAS-RELIEF ANALYSIS
EXTREMELY CONVINCING.
THE IMAGE THAT RESULTED
FROM THIS TECHNIQUE
IS ONE THAT CLOSELY RESEMBLES
WHAT WE SEE ON THE SHROUD,
SO, REALLY, A REMARKABLE JOB.
OTHERS AREN'T CONVINCED
BY GARLASCHELLI'S RE-CREATION
AND SAY THAT IT DOESN'T PROVE
THE TURIN SHROUD WAS PAINTED.
IN PARTICULAR,
SHROUD RESEARCHER LYNN PICKNETT
REMAINS CONVINCED
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
IS THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH
CREATED BY LEONARDO DA VINCI.
AND SHE CLAIMS TO HAVE FOUND
FURTHER EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.
PRESERVED IN TURIN CATHEDRAL
IS ONE OF CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST FAMOUS HOLY RELICS...
THE TURIN SHROUD.
SAID TO BE JESUS'S BURIAL CLOTH,
IT BEARS THE BLOODY IMPRINT
OF HIS CRUCIFIED BODY.
SKEPTICS BELIEVE
THAT IT ISN'T GENUINE
AND IT IS, IN FACT,
A PIECE OF MEDIEVAL ART.
A PROMISING ATTEMPT
TO REPLICATE THE SHROUD
USING A BAS-RELIEF TECHNIQUE
SUGGESTS IT COULD BE
A MEDIEVAL PAINTING.
BUT SHROUD RESEARCHER
LYNN PICKNETT REMAINS CONVINCED
THAT IT IS INSTEAD
THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH
CREATED BY THE ONE AND ONLY
LEONARDO DA VINCI.
THE SHROUD HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID
TO BEHAVE LIKE A PHOTOGRAPH.
WHEN SEEN IN
PHOTOGRAPHIC NEGATIVE,
IT ALMOST LEAPS INTO LIFE,
INTO FOCUS.
IT'S QUITE ASTONISHING.
LYNN'S THEORY THAT
THE TURIN SHROUD
IS THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPH
IS VERY CONTENTIOUS.
BUT SHE HAS CARRIED OUT
EXPERIMENTS
THAT INDICATE IT IS POSSIBLE.
BY PROJECTING AN ILLUMINATED
CAST OF A GIRL'S HEAD
ONTO A CLOTH
IN A CAMERA OBSCURA,
JUST LIKE THE ONE SHE BELIEVES
WAS USED BY LEONARDO DA VINCI,
SHE WAS ABLE TO CREATE
A RECOGNIZABLY SHROUD-LIKE IMAGE
OF THE GIRL'S FACE.
AS FOR THE FACE
THAT LEONARDO USED
WHEN HE CREATED
THE TURIN SHROUD,
LYNN BELIEVES,
VERY CONTROVERSIALLY,
THAT LEONARDO USED HIS OWN FACE
TO REPRESENT JESUS.
LEONARDO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT,
"YEAH, WELL, YOU'RE NOT GONNA
GET JESUS, OBVIOUSLY.
YOU'RE GOING TO GET MY FACE."
LEONARDO WAS A HERETIC.
HE HAD VERY PASSIONATE BELIEFS,
AND THEY WEREN'T CHRISTIAN.
IN FACT, THERE'S
EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE
THAT HE HATED CHRISTIANITY,
AND THEREFORE,
FAKING THE TURIN SHROUD
WAS AN ACT OF REBELLION.
IT JUST WOULD HAVE
APPEALED TO HIM.
LYNN'S ENTIRE THEORY
ABOUT LEONARDO DA VINCI,
HOWEVER, IS CONSIDERED
VERY FAR-FETCHED
BY MOST OBSERVERS.
THE CLAIM THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
MADE THE SHROUD OF TURIN...
IT'S JUST NOT CREDIBLE.
I LOVE THIS THEORY
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI
SOMEHOW CREATED
THE TURIN SHROUD.
HE WAS AN AMAZING VISIONARY MAN,
BUT EVEN HE COULDN'T HAVE
CREATED SOMETHING
BEFORE HE WAS BORN.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT
LEONARDO WASN'T BORN UNTIL 1452,
WHEREAS THE FIRST GENERALLY
ACCEPTED HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
OF THE SHROUD PLACES IT
IN FRANCE 100 YEARS EARLIER.
HOWEVER, LYNN CLAIMS
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
ISN'T THE SAME SHROUD AS THE ONE
DISPLAYED IN THE 1350s.
SHE SAYS IT'S SIGNIFICANT
THAT THIS EARLIER SHROUD
WAS SOON DENOUNCED BY THE LOCAL
BISHOP AS AN ARTISTIC FORGERY.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS
A BLATANT PAINTING,
SO, CLEARLY, WHAT HAPPENED WAS
THE CHURCH LIKED THE IDEA
OF HAVING A SHROUD,
THE ULTIMATE CHRISTIAN RELIC,
JESUS'S OWN IMAGE AND BLOOD.
BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT THAT ONE.
ACCORDING TO LYNN,
THE ORIGINAL,
UNCONVINCING SHROUD
WAS SECRETLY SWITCHED
BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN THE LATE 15th CENTURY
WHEN IT WAS TAKEN
FROM FRANCE TO ITALY.
LEONARDO'S NEW,
MUCH MORE REALISTIC SHROUD
WAS THEN DISPLAYED IN ITS PLACE
IN ORDER TO ATTRACT
AS MANY PILGRIMS AS POSSIBLE.
DESPITE CRITICS WHO SAY
THIS IS A FANCIFUL
AND HIGHLY UNLIKELY STORY,
LYNN CLAIMS TO HAVE FOUND
FURTHER EVIDENCE
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI REALLY
DID CREATE THE TURIN SHROUD.
SHE'S FOUND CLUES
IN THE SALVATOR MUNDI,
THE FAMOUS PICTURE OF JESUS
SAID TO HAVE BEEN PAINTED
BY LEONARDO.
IF YOU SPLIT THE SALVATOR MUNDI
DOWN THE MIDDLE
AND YOU HAVE THAT ON ONE SIDE
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE,
YOU HAVE A PICTURE
OF THE SHROUD OF TURIN,
WHAT YOU GET IS ASTONISHING.
EVERY SINGLE TINY FEATURE
LINES UP EXACTLY.
THE SALVATOR MUNDI,
STRANGE THOUGH IT MAY SEEM,
IS ACTUALLY ALSO LEONARDO.
BUT THERE'S MORE.
SALVATOR MUNDI IS HOLDING
A GLOBE... A CRYSTAL GLOBE.
AND PEOPLE HAVE SAID,
"WELL, OF COURSE,
THE NAME MEANS
SAVIOR OF THE WORLD,
SO THAT'S IT...
HE'S GOT THE WORLD IN HIS HAND."
BUT IT'S ACTUALLY A CRYSTAL.
AND WHAT DID LEONARDO USE TO
CREATE THE IMAGE OF THE SHROUD?
A CAMERA OBSCURA IN WHICH HE PUT
A LENS MADE OF CRYSTAL.
THIS IS HIS NEAREST THING
TO A CONFESSION
HE CREATED THE TURIN SHROUD.
WHATEVER THE TRUTH IS
ABOUT THIS AMAZING THEORY,
THE DEBATE ABOUT
THE TURIN SHROUD
WILL SURELY CONTINUE FOR YEARS.
IS IT THE WORLD'S
FIRST PHOTOGRAPH?
IS IT A MEDIEVAL PAINTING?
OR IS IT THE GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS,
IMPRINTED, PERHAPS, BY BACTERIA
WITH THE IMAGE
OF HIS CRUCIFIED BODY?
ALTHOUGH CARBON DATING
HAS PROVIDED
COMPELLING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
SUGGESTING THAT THE TURIN SHROUD
IS NOT GENUINE,
BELIEVERS CONTINUE TO DISPUTE
THE STUDY'S ACCURACY.
I JUST THINK THIS TELLS US THAT
BELIEVERS WILL ALWAYS FIND FAULT
WITH ANY AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE
THAT THEY'RE PRESENTED WITH.
I THINK THAT FOR SOME PEOPLE,
THE IDEA THAT THE SHROUD
IS THE REAL THING
THAT WRAPPED JESUS CHRIST'S BODY
IS TOO BEAUTIFUL
TO BE IMPOSSIBLE.
YOU COULD SAY
THAT THE TURIN SHROUD SHOWS
THAT WE'RE A WORLD DIVIDED
BETWEEN BELIEVERS
AND NONBELIEVERS,
BETWEEN THOSE WHO WANT PROOF...
SCIENTIFIC, RATIONAL PROOF,
IF YOU WANT,
AND THOSE WHO BELIEVE
THAT FAITH IS IMPORTANT.
FOR THEM, BELIEVING THAT IT IS
THE IMAGE OF JESUS IS ENOUGH.
THAT SENSE OF WONDER
IS ENOUGH FOR THEM.
IN A WAY, THE SHROUD
BRINGS OUT WONDERFULLY
THAT CONFLICT THAT WE ALL HAVE
BETWEEN THE RATIONAL
AND THE ROMANTIC.
IT'S WONDERFUL TO BELIEVE
THAT THE SHROUD MIGHT BE REAL.
IT'S A LITTLE TEDIOUS TO HAVE
SCIENCE TELL ONE IT ISN'T,
BUT WE ALL HAVE WITHIN US
THAT NEED FOR BOTH.
THAT SPARK OF THE IMAGINATION
IS ALWAYS THERE,
AND FOR SO LONG AS HUMANS
HAVE THAT,
THE SHROUD WILL HAVE
ITS SUPPORTERS.
AND SO, REGARDLESS
OF THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
INDICATING WHETHER IT IS
OR ISN'T THE GENUINE
BURIAL CLOTH OF JESUS,
FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE,
THE TURIN SHROUD
WILL UNDOUBTEDLY
LONG REMAIN ONE OF THE WORLD'S
MOST REVERED AND ICONIC
RELIGIOUS TREASURES.