14 DAY TRIAL // Despite it's being labeled as a medieval forgery back in 1988, it appears that the highly controversial Shroud of Turin does in fact date back to Jesus Christ's time.
Thus, scientists working with the University of Padua in Italy now say that, following their carrying out several tests on the cloth, they have reached the conclusion that it was manufactured somewhere between 300 BC and 400 AD.
This means that the cloth might have been used to bury Jesus Christ, Huffington Post reports.
Previous investigations focusing on the Shroud of Turin made use of carbon-14 dating techniques and eventually reached the conclusion that the cloth most likely dated back to medieval times (i.e. 1260 – 1390).
Because of this, it was said that the Shroud could not be more than a forgery.
Professor Giulio Fanti's new book, “Il Mistero della Sindone” (“The Mystery of the Shroud”), which was published in Italy this past Wednesday, argues that, as three new tests carried out on fibers taken from the Shroud show, the cloth was indeed manufactured during Jesus' lifetime.
The three tests carried out by Giulio Fanti and his fellow researchers employed infrared light, electromagnetic radiation and voltage in order to establish the estimate date at which the Shroud was manufactured.
Truth be told, believers never really did agree with the claim that the Shroud was no more and no less that an elaborate hoax carefully constructed by someone living in medieval times.
Thus, they often said that the fibers tested in 1988 did not even come from the original Shroud, but were merely taken from portions of cloth that were used to repair the relic when it got damaged by fire at one point in the Middle Ages.
The Shroud of Turin, which is now kept safe in a cathedral in Turin, Italy, is expected to appear on television this coming March 30.