Shroud of Turin

Shroud of Turin on Display
The Shroud of Turin on Display (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

The Shroud of Turin is believed by many to be a burial cloth of Jesus. It contains an image of a crucified man bearing nail wounds, whip marks and bruises. The estimated height and weight of the man is between 5’11” and 6’1″ and 168 to 180 pounds.

Full Length Negatives of the Shroud of Turin
Full Length Negatives of the Shroud of Turin (US Public Domain License via Wikimedia Commons)

The image on this ancient cloth is a photographic negative with 3D relief properties. This means that when someone takes a photograph of the shroud and looks at its film negative, the image becomes a photographic positive. The 3D relief properties contain information of how far away parts of the body were from the burial cloth after the body was wrapped in it. For example, the tip of the nose was closer to the cloth than the eyes were. This relief effect was somehow embedded into the image.

“The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.” (John 20:4-8)

Evidence for the Shroud of Turin

There is nothing like this shroud in the world, and no one is able to reproduce it to this day. It is one of the most studied artifacts on earth. Learn more about the evidence for the shroud in the following video by Widerperspective Productions.

For more information, see articles Further Ruminations on the Shroud of Turin and New Analysis Dates Shroud of Turin to the First Century.

Get up-to-date news of the shroud from shroud.com. This website was created by Barrie M. Schwortz, an official documenting photographer for the Shroud of Turin Research Project, Inc., which was formed when the shroud was first extensively studied in 1978. Mr. Schwortz continues to collect ongoing scientific research of this intriguing artifact.


Read John 19 and John 20 in the Bible about the crucifixion of Jesus.

To learn more about Jesus, see the Prophesied Messiah.