The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus, with the blood on the cloth thought to be type AB, but one expert is sceptical of the claim
The Shroud of Turin stands as one of history’s most extensively examined artefacts.
Thought to be the burial cloth that wrapped Jesus after his crucifixion, experts have fiercely contested whether it’s genuine for decades.
Whilst carbon dating from the 1980s pointed to mediaeval origins, certain academics maintain the blood found on the linen reveals a completely different tale – nearly a year to the day when scientists made breakthrough discovery after analysing cloth Jesus was said to be buried in.
This discovery seems to challenge a recent assertion that The Shroud was ‘never laid on Jesus’.
Biblical expert Dr Jeremiah Johnston revealed to the Tucker Carlson Network that analysis from the 1990s detected AB blood type on the Shroud, reports the Express.
“The Shroud has type AB blood, identified as Semitic, present in only six percent of the population, confirmed as human and male, ruling out animal blood or a hoax,” Dr Johnston said.
Sacred blood examination
He further observed that tests showed the blood belonged to a human male, with evidence of both premortem and postmortem traces.
“You would have to actually kill someone if you were trying to reproduce the shroud because we have premortem and post-mortem blood all over the shroud,” said Dr Johnston.
The existence of both pre- and post-mortem blood on the Shroud remains extraordinary, indicating processes that don’t match typical decomposition patterns, which some interpret as supporting resurrection narratives.
Christ’s blood classification
Italian researcher Dr Pierluigi Baima Bollone and his team first recorded the AB blood type in 1982, examining a specimen taken from the Shroud’s punctured side. Further testing also identified M, N and S antigens in blood from the foot area, confirming without a doubt that the sample was human.
The team of researchers used two methods to determine the blood type.
Initially, they checked for antibodies by placing fibres on slides, maintaining them at approximately 4°C for an extended period, adding A1 or B red blood cells and leaving them for half an hour.
They scrutinised the slides under a standard microscope, then utilised a high-powered electron microscope after preserving the fibres in alcohol and coating them with gold.
Next, the team tested for antigens – particles that trigger the immune system to produce antibodies – using a mixed agglutination method.
Jesus’ face
The slides were kept cold for 24 hours with anti-A and anti-B serums, rinsed several times with saltwater and a bovine protein solution, added A1 or B red blood cells, and examined under a regular microscope, followed by checks with an electron microscope.
The results revealed that the Shroud’s bloodstained fibres contained both A and B antigens but no antibodies, indicating type AB blood. Clean Shroud fibres showed no antigens, suggesting they were devoid of blood.
Dr Johnston also informed Carlson that the Sudarium of Oviedo in Spain – the facecloth mentioned in John’s Gospel that covered Jesus’s face – was also found to have type AB blood.
There is no image on this cloth. Only stains are visible to the naked eye, with further detail visible under the microscope.
Contamination risk
However, Dr Kelly Kearse, an immunologist who has conducted extensive research on the Shroud of Turin, has voiced doubts about claims that the blood on the Shroud is type AB.
Dr Kearse contended that the testing methods lacked adequate controls and might generate false positives owing to contamination from sources like bacteria, or blood deterioration across the centuries.
“Regarding tests to determine blood type, it could be AB, but I really don’t think there’s any solid scientific evidence to back that up,” he wrote in a 2020 study.
Dr Johnston calculated there are approximately 700 wounds visible on the Shroud.
“This was a very badly wounded man, pints of type AB blood, all over it,” he said, noting the injuries align with what is known about Roman crucifixions.
Scientists baffled
Dr Johnston also emphasised the image itself – a faint, full-body imprint of a bearded man.
“The image on the Shroud is only two microns thick and does not penetrate through the cloth,” he explained.
“If this were a hoax, painted or dyed, the material would have soaked through completely.
“Instead, the image is so thin we could shave it off with a razor. Even the world’s best scientists are baffled.”
He proposed the imprint might have formed through a sudden chemical reaction sparked by an enormous burst of energy, potentially matching the moment of the Resurrection.
Powerful energy
Paolo Di Lazzaro, a physicist and laser expert at ENEA Laboratories near Rome, devoted five years to examining the Shroud. His team succeeded in replicating the chemical transformation in the linen fibres by using an enormous burst of 34 trillion watts of energy.
This “cold” energy, which lasted merely a quarter of a billionth of a second, modified the linen’s structure to create the image on the Shroud, Dr Johnston revealed.
Stretching 14 feet in length, the linen was first put on public display in the 1350s and presented as Christ’s actual burial cloth.
Whilst 1988 radiocarbon dating suggested its origins lay between 1260 and 1390 AD, Dr Johnston argues that only a contaminated corner section – rather than the original linen – underwent testing.
“The actual linen has never been radiocarbon dated, just the upper-left corner patch, which was contaminated,” he said.
Dr Johnston branded the Shroud as “the most lied about and misunderstood artifact in the world” and expressed gratitude to Carlson for the chance to present his discoveries.