THE SHROUD OF TURIN, THE HOLOGRAPHIC EXPERIENCE
BY DR. PETRUS SOONS

This is the text that comes with the POWERPOINT Presentation 3D

ABSTRACT

My presentation summarizes work connected with digitizing Shroud photographs taken by Giuseppe Enrie in 1931, enhancing the digitized images to improve details, translating the enhanced images “gray scale data into depth data”, generating a sequence of up to 625 images of each of these, and combining these images with a Holoprinter to produce holograms (3D images) of the Shroud. It also summarizes my study of these holograms and discovery of heretofore unseen details, which confirm many previous findings and reveal some surprises.

INTRODUCTION

In 2001, my wife and I moved to Panama, the country where she was born. Being retired, I started to make wood sculptures as a hobby. In 2004, I decided to sculpt a Pieta, but I had an accident and fractured a vertebra. For 5 months, I was unable to work, so I used this time to search the internet for the most original face of Jesus Christ and Mary, his mother, to use in the Pieta sculpture. My search found two images called “acheiropoeta”, or “not made with (human) hands” and they are, the image of the Man on the Shroud of Turin and the image on the Tilma of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. I later used both face images in the pieta.

OBSERVATIONS OF 3D INFORMATION IN THE SHROUD.

The Shroud of Turin is a textile made of linen (flax), measuring about 442cm in length and 113 cm in width. One side of the Shroud shows the front and the back image of a crucified and tortured man. The image is superficial, meaning, it is located on the surface of the uppermost fibers. Chemically speaking, it was formed by an unknown process that caused oxidation, dehydration and conjugation of the polysaccharide structure of the flax fibers, a kind of premature aging process of the linen. The inside of these image fibers, that are 10 to 20 times thinner than a human hair, does not show this process. The image itself shows some qualities that are important for the 3D investigations
The image displays the light and dark characteristics that you normally observe in a photographic negative and that was discovered in 1898, when Secondo Pia made the first photographs of the Shroud. After developing his negative glass plates, he found to his surprise that they showed a positive image of the Man on The Shroud, instead of the negative image that he expected.
Studying the image in the early part of the last century, Prof Paul Vignon made the observation, that the image on the Shroud varied inversely with the cloth-to-body distance, which means that the parts of the body that were close to the cloth, were imaged darker then the parts that were further away. The density in different parts of the image is proportional to the distance between the body and the cloth and is caused by the fact that more fibers per unit area are discolored. This translates to 3D information-encoding of the image in the grayscale of the photographs.
Drs. Jackson and Jumper confirmed the 3D information in 1977. Later work done by Prof. Tamburelli from the University of Turin confirmed this also.
Drs. Jackson and Jumper used a densitometer to extract the grayscale information and then with the help of the VP-8 Image Analyzer, translated this information into vertical relief, which resulted in the first three-tridimensional photos of the Shroud image. They were able to conclude that Vignon’s theory was correct. The work of Prof. Tamburelli (Italy) confirmed this also. It is important to note that if you use any regular photograph in this process, the result will be distortion and flattening of any three-dimensional features, because there is no photograph that contains the 3D information that we find in the image on the Shroud.

THE GRAYSCALE

A densitometer measures the differences in density in a photograph. In a black and white photograph, black areas are dense with information and white areas are void of information. The in-between areas are many shades of gray, from almost white to almost black. You can assign a different number, or value to each shade of gray, for example on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represents black, and 10 white, all numbers between 1 and 10 represent various shades of grays. This is a grayscale or gray map, where different numbers represent different densities. Subsequently, these numbers are translated mathematically into vertical height on the Z axis.

HOLOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS

During the 5 months of rehabilitation, following my accident, I studied many books written about the Shroud of Turin.
I was familiar with the 3D concept because I founded and for many years worked in an Ultrasound Center in Curacao. I also studied the theory of a Holographic Universe (Dr. Susskind, Gerard van’t Hooft and Dr. Wheeler), so I was also familiar with Holography.
There were two observations in particular, that caught my attention
The image appears more distinct at a distance and fades when viewed at certain angles, particularly as one comes closer to the Shroud. The image is faint, without well-defined boundaries so the eye has no point of reference and it appears simply as variation of the background density.
After the fire in 1997, Aldo Guerreschi, a professional photographer who is familiar with the image, was asked to photo-document the examination of the Shroud. He observed the following: “Moving around the table, (with the Shroud laid out horizontally) I saw this image so faded as if to practically disappear, while from other angles, it seemed as if the figure were almost outside the sheet”.
These two observations hint at holographic qualities, indicating that apart from the grayscale with the built-in 3D information, there might be holographic information present in an interference pattern. In order to investigate this possibility, I decided to form a team of experts and to produce holograms, based on the scientifically proven 3D information in the grayscale of the image. That led us in a different direction of the 3D research with some unexpected results.
HOLOGRAHPY, FROM 3D TO 2D AND back to 3D AGAIN

A hologram is a light wave interference pattern of a 3D image, recorded on a special photographic film (2D) that, when illuminated properly, can reproduce the 3-dimensional image in light.

WHAT IS INTERFERENCE?
Interference means a mixing of two waves, as for example, when we throw two stones simultaneously from opposite sides of a pool into the water, the two resulting wave patterns will meet and intermix. We call this intermixing interference. The waves can be any waves, for example, water-waves, sound waves or light-waves etc. To produce a hologram, lasers are being used to create the interference pattern.

WHY DO WE USE LASERS?
A laser beam consists of photons of the same size, all moving in the same direction. The wave packets are aligned together and all of the same frequency. This is known as coherent light and has the ability to contain intelligent information.
The info wave has a precise mathematical form.

PRODUCING A HOLOGRAM THE TRADITIONAL WAY
To produce a hologram, a laser beam is split into two beams: a reference and an object-beam. The reference-beam is widened by a lens or curved mirror and aimed directly at the sheet of photographic film. The object-beam is also widened but aimed at a physical 3D object (the subject of the hologram) which reflects the light onto the same film. The two beams interact, forming an interference pattern that is recorded. This is the Master Hologram.
From the Master Hologram we can produce copies that, when illuminated with monochromatic light (e.g., a halogen lamp) from the same angle that the reference-beam hit the plate, can be seen in 3D again, in light.
The monochromatic light beam is a reversed reference beam that produces a real image of the 3D object.
Every area of the Master Hologram contains information about the whole image. If you break a Master hologram in multiple pieces, you have multiple holograms, each containing information about the whole image.

COMPUTER GENERATED SHROUD HOLOGRAMS
The different stages of the process that we followed to create the hologram of the Shroud of Turin:

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL
We used second and third generation copies of the original photographs made by Giuseppe Enrie in 1931. In those days, the most reliable light-sensitive material was an orthochromatic emulsion, which was sensitive to the blue and green elements of white light and insensitive to red and that resulted in an enhancement of the image.

DIGITALIZATION OF THE NEGATIVES
We digitized the Enrie negatives to facilitate translation of image density information into gray-scale numbers (result: 70-100 p.p.m.).

CONVERSION PROCESS FROM 2D to 3D
—Bernardo Galmarini, an Argentinean 3D expert, translated the gray- scale levels into depth-data on the Z-axis and, where necessary, repaired and softened existing image areas that were void of 3D information…perhaps the result of historic insult and damage. Bernardo then generated a sequence of 625 images, which were later integrated into a 3D Shroud image using a Holoprinter.
—In this process, Bernardo used a virtual camera, moving along a horizontal path over the 3D model from center to most left, and most right, and interpolated all other images. The result is a 3D image that contains all existing distance information recorded in the grayscale.

CREATING THE MASTER HOLOGRAM
1) The DFCH Holoprinter, developed by the Dutch Holographic Laboratory, employed a LcoS chip (1920 x 1080 pixels resolution) to create a computer generated “Master Hologram” from the sequence of 625 images. We first produced holograms of the face and body in smaller size, and subsequently, a Canadian company produced a 100cm x 200cm hologram from both the front- and the back-image, with each square mm built up of 1024 x 768 pixels. This was done after we improved the conversion from 2D to 3D in the Dutch Holographic Laboratory.

COPIES
2) Once you have produced the “Master Hologram” you can make copies.

3) You can also create other 3D images, like lenticulars or anaglyph photographs.
OBSERVATIONS IN THE HOLOGRAMS
The holograms provide a great opportunity to view the image on the Shroud in 3D. These observations confirmed many of the previous findings and revealed some new findings. Let us begin with observations on the dorsal image, then the frontal image, and finally the facial image.

OBSERVATIONS IN 3D DORSAL IMAGE
1) The upper part of the back of the head fades out, indicating that the head is bent forward.
2) The hair falls down along the neck and the back and looks like “wet”. It appears “rope-like” in the middle, similar to a ponytail as mentioned in the literature.
3) The buttocks do not look flattened, but rather tensed as in rigor mortis.
4) The images of the flagellation wounds follow the curved surfaces of the buttocks, legs and thorax, while on the photographs they look straight.
5) The legs in the dorsal image look quite confusing. The upper part of the anatomical right leg contains very little 3D data and the left leg contains areas void of any 3D data that, after conversion from 2D to 3D show up as “holes”. Note: to appreciate the degree of bending of the legs, we will have to rely on data from the frontal image.
6) The sole of the anatomical right foot is clearly visible, as is the tip of the left foot that seems to be crossed over the right foot.

OBSERVATIONS IN 3D FRONTAL IMAGE
1) In the depth-map, the chest appears inclined in an upward position with respect to the pelvis area, as if inclined towards the viewer. The chest also appears to be expanded.
2) The arms appear to be rigid and oriented in an almost horizontal plane. The elbows are not inclined downwards; they rather seem to lie in a plane together with the lower and missing upper arms. The anatomical left lower arm shows the elbow higher than the left hand, which is crossed over the right hand in a natural bending. The right wrist is under the left hand, over the space between the two legs. The right hand angles upwards following the curvature of the upper left leg, with the fingers bent downward along the left leg curvature. The left hand is bent at the wrist and fingers in a downward direction.
3) We can better appreciate the position of the legs in this frontal view. Both legs are bent, with the anatomical left leg bent a little more than the right leg and partly covering it.
4) The anatomical left foot crosses over the right foot in the form of an X, and the tips of the toes of the left foot are visible.
5) To show difficulties in the interpretation of these 3D images, I refer to a ropelike 3D shape crossing the left hand/wrist and an unknown little 3D object on the fingers of this hand (flower, ampulla?). The question what this means remains open.

OBSERVATIONS IN 3D FACIAL IMAGE

1) In conventional Shroud photographs of the face, we observe a bloodspot seemingly hovering above the head. In the 3D image, however, this bloodspot appears to rest on top of the head. The blood images result from actual blood contact. There are multiple bloodspots on the top and the back of the head area, suggesting that this was not caused by only a crown of thorns, but a “helmet” of thorns.

2) During the 2D to 3D conversion process, image areas that were void of 3D information in the gray map showed up as “holes”. Looking at the face there were multiple, little “holes” on the forehead, the right and left sides of the face, the anatomical right side of the moustache and beard, and the middle of the lower part of the beard. When we saw this, I remembered photographs of the face and middle part of the body, in the book by Dr. Alan and Mary Whanger, where Prof. Avinoam Danin, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, had drawn in images of flowers and plants that he had discovered in the Enrie photographs. In November 2007 I teamed up with Prof.Danin and we had an opportunity to study the UV photographs taken by STURP´S official (technical) photographer, Vernon Miller, of the Brooks Institute, during the STURP team investigations in 1978. In 2007-2008, Prof. Danin discovered that the “holes” found during the 2D and 3D conversion process of the face all contained images of little flowers.
It seems that these flowers blocked the formation of the body-image-information of these areas (“holes”) of the face, and the body around the arms and hands. We know that there is no image under the bloodspots. Whatever the image formation process was, it seemingly did not penetrate solid objects, such as bloodspots or flowers. Two flowers also appear in the middle of the tip of the beard. This part of the beard does not seem to have been ripped out, because you can follow the contour of the underside of the beard that seems intact in the 3D image.

3) The 3D frontal and dorsal view of the body image are like 2 bas reliefs. When you join them together, however, you find that a “layer” of about 10 cm is missing from the middle of the body. This coincides with similar measurements of the distance between the frontal and dorsal top of the head images.
4) Under the beard in the area of the neck we found an oval-shaped solid object of about 11.5 x 5 cm, showing on the surface in relief, what appears to be three Hebrew or Aramaic letters. The letters used in both alphabets are similar. Pursuant to this finding, we did two follow-up studies:
5) First, we researched photographs of the 3D studies of Dr. Jackson and Prof. Tamburelli. They all contained the vertical relief properties observed in the hologram, confirming the presence of an object under the beard.
6) Then, we researched many photographs of the face taken by different photographers during the last 50 years. As an example, in November 2007, we had access to the extensive collection of the 1978 photographs of Vernon Miller. Many of these photographs showed the oval outline of the object and several of them the shape of the 3 letters. According to photographic experts, that we consulted, the reason the letters are visible in some photos and not others could be due to differences in depths-of-field resulting from different lighting conditions and aperture settings and lens focusing chosen by the photographer(s) when they produced the photographs.

THE LETTERS

The three letters were identified, reading from right to left as one does in Hebrew or Aramaic, as:
TSADE- ALEPH- NUN this is the Hebrew word TS’ON
Calligraphy used to be my hobby, and as the letters of these alphabets are written in calligraphic form, I used them many times to exercise my calligraphic skills, so I was very familiar with the shape of the letters. However, I do not read Hebrew or Aramaic, so I consulted experts in old Hebrew and Aramaic. They showed me the two most consulted Hebrew and Aramaic dictionaries: “A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English”, by Ernest Klein, and, “A Dictionary of the Targum, The Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi and the Midrashic Literature”, by Marcus Jastrow.
Here the Hebrew word TS’ON is translated as: “small cattle, sheep, goats”. This word is a plural.

Now, here we have the Shroud of Turin with the image of a tortured and crucified man, who according to tradition was Jesus Christ, and under the beard a solid oval object upon whose surface is written in relief and in Hebrew the word: “Sheep and goats”.
If you look at the Gospel of John, the chapter of the Good Shepherd, you can see a strong connection between the sheep and Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Good Shepherd. Jesus Christ himself is telling here, that the sheep follow him, the ones of his flock (Jews) and also the ones from other flocks (non-Jews). He will sacrifice His life for his sheep, and in concordance with the will of His Father, he will take up His life again, so talking about His crucifixion and also His Resurrection.
So, the word TS’ON is always used as small cattle, sheep, goats. There is however one exception and that is in Exodus 12:21. When the Israelites are ordered by God to prepare a lamb for sacrifice, then in the original text the word that is used for lamb is SEH (Exodus 12:3). However, in Exodus 12:21 it says: “Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb”. The word for lamb in this text is TS’ON and it is specifically translated as sacrificial lamb for this special occasion.
In the Jewish tradition this sentence is also translated as.: “make a sign with the lamb” (by putting the blood on the doorpost). This is because of the very close relationship of the word TS’ON with the word TS”IOEN and this word means “sign”.
The Church Fathers were clear in their opinion, that Our Lord Jesus Christ WAS the Passover lamb.
This makes sense because:
A) In the Gospels is mentioned, that Jesus Christ approaches the river Jordan where John the Baptist was teaching and baptizing people. When John sees Jesus, he tells the people: “Behold, there comes THE LAMB OF GOD, that takes away the sins of this world”.
B) During the Catholic Eucharist, when the priest shows the bread, he says: “This is the Body of Jesus Christ, THE LAMB OF GOD, that takes away the sins of this world”.
C) In the book of the Apocalypse by John, the word LAMB is mentioned 28 times and always means Jesus Christ.
D) During the Last Supper, where according to the Jewish tradition of the Pesach- meal, wine, bread and lamb should have been present, the Gospels only mention bread and wine. The reason is that Jesus Christ himself is THE LAMB and is going to be sacrificed the next day. That was obviously clear to the authors of the Gospels.
E) Jesus is crucified on Friday at the same moment that in the Temple the lambs were being sacrified for the Passover, making Him also the Passover lamb, because from the moment of the sunset on Friday , the festival of Passover started.

I believe that this finding on the image of The Shroud of Turin is important. An oval shaped object under the beard of The Man on The Shroud, containing three letters that form the word TS’ON and show a very direct link with Jesus Christ, as if saying: “Here is Jesus Christ”.
“THE LAMB OF GOD IS THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB (TS’ON)”.

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MOVIE PRESENTATION 3D OHIO CONFERENCE

DVD THE FABRIC OF TIME

This is a documentary, produced by Grizzly Adams around 2007 about the Shroud and also includes the work that we did with the Dutch Holographic Laboratory, in order to make the HOLOGRAMS and some discoveries that came out of this work studying these holograms.
I met David W. Balsiger, the Senior Producer, in the spring of 2006 in Kaufman, Texas, USA, during a meeting that I had with AMSTAR in the house of Mike Minor. We discussed with him the cooperation for producing a documentary of the Shroud and include the new holograms and discoveries. Present in this meeting were also Isabel Piczek and Tom D’Muhala. (see photograph of David Balsiger).
Grizzly Adams was awarded a special price for this documentary and it was followed up by the documentary: “The Case for Christ’s Resurrection”, including also the holograms and discoveries.

Note:
To access this movie, click the icon and it will show two items:
1) Double Click VTS_01_1 (1,048,404 KB)
2) Double Click VTS_01_2 (365,090 KB)

ENJOY THE MOVIE !

MAX FREI, SWISS CRIMINOLOGIST sample taking 1973 and 1978
POLLEN ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN
By DR.PETRUS SOONS

CURRICULUM VITAE: Dr. MAX FREI 1913-1983

Dr MAX FREI was an internationally acclaimed criminologist, held a doctorate in Botany and was a recognized botanical expert regarding the Mediterranean flora. He founded the city of Zurich Police’s Central Scientific Department in 1948 and was its director for twenty-five years. From 1952 on, he began lecturing in criminology at the Swiss Police Institute at Neuchatel and at the German Police Institute at Hiltrup. He was scientific editor of the German review Kriminalistik, was regularly consulted by police forces in Germany and Italy, as well as his native Switzerland, and in 1961 was appointed by the United Nations to become one of the senior investigators into the death of their Secretary-General Dag Hammerskjold. In his criminological work, Frei routinely used analysis of pollens on a suspect’s clothing, to assess whether he might or might not have been at a particular crime scene.

In 1973 Frei was granted permission to take some sticky-tape samples of the dust that he had noticed on the Shroud’s cloth surface. He took twelve sticky-tape samples, which he studied under the microscope in his Zurich Laboratory. As Frei expected, the tapes contained microscopic debris from a lot of different sources. To give an idea we add a list
of these materials observed by him and others:

1) Power-station fly ash (FIAT factory in Turin).
2) Specks of various metals (iron, bronze, silver, gold—think of silver casket).
3) Several wire-like objects like metal shavings (confirmed on the X-rays 1978).
4) Particles of fabric, red silk, blue linen, plain cotton, plain wool, pink nylon.
5) Artist’s pigments, iron oxide, vermillion, madder(red), ultramarine(blue), orpiment(yellow).
6) Pollens not covered with a calcium layer (backside-pollen have this layer).
7) Mineral deposits.

Photo 1. Max Frei taking samples 1978

But what Dr, Frei was particularly looking for, because as a botanist by training, with his greatest expertise palynology, were the grains of pollens. For, as he knew, every pollen grain, although so minute, has a hard outer shell, the EXINE, which can survive literally tens of thousands to millions of years. And as he also knew, each grain differs quite markedly from the next, according to the type of plant it has come from. This means, that if you can identify the type of plant from which a pollen has originated, you can tell at least something of the terrain in which it grew, be it a temperate, desert or tropical climate.

In 1973, Frei used, as mentioned before, adhesive tapes to remove dust samples from various locations on the Shroud and analyzed this dust using a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope. He successfully identified 49 species of pollens, among them from plants typical of the desert regions around the Jordan valley, and specifically adapted to live in soils with the high salt content, found almost exclusively around the Death Sea. Frei also found pollens from plants that he identified as indicating that the Shroud had spent some time in a terrain with steppe-type vegetation. This seemed to suggest to him Turkey, and particularly the more easterly parts of the Anatolian region (Edessa). Frei made some trips to Turkey and Israel to collect plants and pollens from different regions there.

In 1978, Dr Frei removed additional samples from the Shroud and was also given samples from the silver receptacle that the Shroud had been stored in. He successfully identified an additional 8 species, bringing the total up to 57 species, from the Jerusalem area, the Dead Sea area, the Negev desert, Constantinople and the Anatolian steppe of Turkey. Only 17 of the 57 species on the Shroud grew in France or Italy, so practically all the rest were of non-European origin. It is of interest, that one of the pollens found on the Shroud derives from the Syrian Christ thorn, Paliurus SPINA-Christi mill, one of the plants believed to be used in the fabrication of the helmet of thorns.

PALYNOLOGY:

In order to understand the significance of these findings, a brief review of the field of Palinology (study of pollen) will be given. It was Lennart von Pos (1884-1951), a German geologist, who first set forth the basic principles of pollen analysis in his studies of past environments.

He set forth the following basic characteristics:
a) Various plants produce huge quantities of pollens, a pine tree may produce 100 billion pollen grains.
b) The outer walls of pollens (ESINA, EXINA), are extremely durable, surviving for hundreds of millions of years.
c) All pollen of plants of the same species have the same general shape but are different between species.

Photo 2. Different Pollen

Photo 3. Examples of Different Pollen

Photo 4. Examples of Different Pollen

Photo 5. Pollen

Close to 5% (4,95%) of wind-born pollens fall back to earth within a mile in practically all plants, except for a few that travel up to 30 miles.
Pollens vary in size from ten to two hundred thousandths of a millimeter (one inch, equals 25 millimeters), and they vary in shape from spherical to spiral and are irregular to smooth in appearance.
A protective membrane called the ESINA is present and is very resistant to chemical action, accounting for their excellent preservation under adverse conditions.
Pollens mingle in the atmosphere, are carried by air masses, and fall back to the earth: when they fall in lakes they settle in layers.
Pollens have been used in the forensic sciences to identify suspects in various crimes and to trace movements of individuals, living or dead.

It is of interest that many of the pollens on the Shroud have been found embedded as microfossils in the mud at the bottom of the Dead Sea and Lake Gennesareth by Israeli
Scientists (also of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands). Frei also found that none of the pollens were glued to the cloth or were covered with tempera, adding strong evidence against the Shroud being a painted fake.

That Frei genuinely obtained hundreds of pollens with his sticky-tape sampling (by pressing the tape deep into the cloth) is beyond doubt. In July 1988, thanks to the generous cooperation of his widow Frau Gertrud Frei-Sulzer, at the Hotel Thalwiller Hof in Switzerland, his collection was handed over to the US-based pro-Shroud Group ASSIST. Eight days later there was a Shroud workshop of study of the pollen at The Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, chaired by the Academy’s Head of botany, Dr. Benjamin Stone, and Max Fei’s sticky-tape samples, as just brought over from Europe, were formally and collectively studied by Dr, Walter McCrone, Dr. Alan Adler and others under the auspices of ASSIST.

All present at this meeting were able to view what was on each slide via a microscope specially linked to two video monitors, and not only did there emerge on these slides much of the same detritus as on the STURP tapes, but also hundreds of pollens and a surprising proportion of plant parts and floral debris, suggesting that actual flowers were laid on the Shroud at some time during its history. ASSIST’s Paul Maloney, who subsequently attempted to inventory these pollens observed:

“For example, on the tape which Frei took from the blood-flow from the heel, I have made a quick count of at least seven pollen. And seven were found in a quick count of the tape from the blood-flow across the back. But such quick counts do not really tell the story. My nearly completed photo-inventory of a tape from the dorsal “side-strip”, and the one from the blood-flow down the anatomical left arm, holds more than 160 pollens (bouquets of, flowers around the arms and hands as observed by Avinoam Danin), and one from near the forehead of the Man on the Shroud shows more than 275 pollen. (due to the presence of Anthemis-like or Matricaria-like flowers?? from the family of Asteraceae, Prof. Avinoam Danin and Dr. Petrus Soons)”. End quote.

As Walter McCrone for one, was bound to concede, Max Frei had quite genuinely obtained the pollen he claimed. The one serious question raised by professional pollen analysts was, whether he really could make the identification of the individual pollen down to species level that he appeared to have done in a list of 57 different plant species, all apparently identified by him, as published by an associate after his death in January 1983. What is known of Max Frei is, that his as yet unpublished manuscript (1975) includes description by him of a special procedure that he had developed, for removing pollen grains from sticky-tapes, apparently enabling him to study individual specimens in much greater detail, and with much greater ease, than had hitherto been possible. He gave an interview with La Gazeta del Popolo in Turin on March 8th, 1976 and in 1978 a presentation in the Segundo Congreso Internazionale de Sindonologia in Turin and another interview on March 2nd, 1976 in La Stampa, Turin.
The almost complete sticky-tape collection of Dr. Max Frei, was acquired by Dr. Alan Whanger of Durham, North Carolina, USA, from ASSIST and was in his possession in his home. (The Whangers are the founders of CSST). I personally have studied some of these tapes in the basement of his home in Durham.
After the death of Alan Whanger, the collection was donated to Tom D’Muhala in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. and is still in his possession.

Photo 6. Alan Whanger and Father Guerra research tapes

Photo 7. Image of part of one sticky tape

Photo 8. Image of part of one sticky tape

AVINOAM DANIN IN HIS BOOK: “BOTANY OF THE SHROUD “ (2010) writes:

“Continuing research on the collection of the sticky-tape samples taken from the Shroud in 1973 and 1978 by Dr. Max Frei was facilitated by the recent availability of new advanced microscope equipment. The work was done by reviewing several, but not all, of the Frei sticky-tape slides at the end of June 2001, by palynologist Prof. Dr. THOMAS LITT at his laboratory at the Institute of Palynology of the University of Bonn, Germany. Prof. LITT wrote in his report:
“The images produced by light microscopy (interference contrast) and by confocal laser-scanning microscopy show clearly that waxes are preserved and cover the structure and sculpture of the pollen grains. This is the reason why I cannot make a precise identification of the pollen at the genus level, even less at the species level. However, with a high probability, I can exclude that the pollen I have seen on the sticky-tapes belong to Gundelia tournefortii”.
It was felt in previous examinations of the tapes by light microscopy, that the most common type of pollen grain could be identified as Gundelia tournefortii, a thorn from the sunflower family. Thus, the pollen grains according to Prof. LITT do not assist us at present as geographical indicators as definitely as do the floral images which are on the Shroud. (Research: pollen on the front of the head Anthemis?).
GIOVANNI RIGGI: MINERAL DEPOSITS ON POLLEN FROM THE BACKSIDE OF THE SHROUD.
There is one further finding which has come to light, which still concerns the pollen, but which also takes us into yet another variety of extraneous material on the Shroud’s surface: MINERAL DEPOSITS. The well-known Turin micro-analyst GIOVANNI RIGGI, during his analysis of the materials that he had vacuumed from the Shroud’s underside, reported coming across pollen among these, which he did not have the expertise to identify, but among which he noticed an approximately fifty percent proportion that would not have been identifiable by Dr. Max Frei, since they had on the surface a thick, calcium-rich mineral covering, coating all their otherwise distinctive features. So, it was a surprise to Riggi, when he was shown the slides of some 160 pollen, that ASSIST’s Paul Malloney had photographed from the Frei tapes, all but one of these appeared free of any such coating. Frei had taken his samples from the Shroud’s image side (front) and Riggi had vacuumed his pollen from its underside (back), i.e. the side which had theoretically, laid in contact with the stone tomb.

The strong implication had to be, that the Shroud’s underside (back-side), had been effected by once having lain on some calcium-coated surface in a way, that the body-image side (front side) had not , raising the question, could this mineral coating have come from the rock of a tomb in Jerusalem?

IN A RECENT CONFERENCE HELD IN VALENCIA ON THE HOLY SHROUD, the work of MARZIA BOI, a researcher at the University of the Balearic Islands, caught attention. Boi is an expert in palynology. (her work was published by the Vatican Insider).
Boi said: “The pollen on the Shroud, which until now have been linked only to the geographical origin of the relic, also contains traces of the oils and ointments applied to the body as well as to the Shroud. This has an ethnic-cultural significance because they have to do with funerary practices at the time. These pollen particles, which are indestructible in time, are a snapshot of funeral practices 2000 years ago, and show the herbs and spices used to preserve the body. The oleaginous substances have allowed the pollen to be fixed, impregnated and hidden in the fabric itself, like invisible witnesses of an extraordinary event”.
Traditional Hebrew rites in use at the time required the application of oils and perfumed ointments on the body as well as the funerary shroud.

Boi also analyzed previous pollen studies conducted on the Shroud. For instance, Max Frei, the renowned Swiss Palynologist, left valuable documentary accounts of his work. Examination of the pollen with instruments far more sophisticated than 30 years ago led Boi to correct some identifications made by Frei.

The most significant correction has to do with the pollen identified by Frei as coming from Gundelia tournefortii, one of 23,000 species in the world, belonging to the Asteraceae family, and which grows in the mountain deserts of Asia Minor. In 1999, two Jewish scholars, Avinoam Danin and Baruch, published a book called “Flora of the Shroud” in which they confirmed that the Gundelia pollen was the most abundantly represented in the Shroud and even hypothesized that the crown of thorns was from a Gundelia plant. (Danin retracted these findings later).

Marzia Boi disagrees (like Prof. Litt in 2001 before her), and says that based on her electron-microscope examination of the pollen, it comes from Helichrysum, which she finds the most abundant pollen found on the Shroud (29,1%).

This is followed by three other plant genera, Cistaceae, Apiaceae and Pistacia, in the amount of 8,2%, 4,2% and 0,6% respectively. She says: “I can see that what was believed to be Anemone pollen, actually comes from Pistacia (Avinoam Danin found images of many Pistacia all over the Shroud). I identify pollen from Ridolfia segetum as coming from a plant called Helichrysum which is part of the Asteraceae family.
( Cistaceae= Family and Cistus criticus= Species: Apiaceae= Family and Ridolfia segetum= Species: Anacardiaceae= Family and Pistacia lentiscus-atlaniticus-palaestina= Species: Asteraceae= Family and Helichrysum= Species ).

“All these genera employ insect-borne pollenization, not airborne. This means that the shroud had to have a direct contact with the plants or with their products used in the funerary preparations. And the list shows those plants that were most used as the basis for the funerary rites of the time. The identified pollen species make it clear that oils and ointments were applied to the Shroud and probably also to the body that it enclosed”.

The leaves, fruit and bark of the Pistacia genus yielded a balsam that was used for ointments. But Helichrysum produced an oil of excellent quality which was used to anoint both the bodies and their burial shrouds. Boi says: “The use of this oil in ancient funerary rites is documented in many countries from the Middle East to Greece.

She concludes: “The dominant pollen species found in the Shroud are the image of a funeral rite used 2000 years ago in Asia Minor. They come from plants which are the components of the most precious oils and ointments at the time and which have remained extraordinarily sealed in the fabric……The correct identification of the Helichrysum pollen, which was erroneously said to be Gundelia, confirms and authenticates the importance of the person for which the Shroud was used”.

MAX FREI TAKES SAMPLES FROM THE SUDARIUM OF OVIEDO on invitation of Monsignore Ricci, who had studied this fabric.
The conclusion of Max Frei was that he found pollen of six species of plants coinciding with the ones found on the Shroud. Two of these were characteristic for Palestine and others that were not found on the Shroud, came from the North of Africa. The Sudarium did not contain species of the region of Turkey and the rest of Europe, which would indicate a different route for the Sudarium than the Shroud coming to Europe.

Collecting samples of the dust on the Sudarium by means of an adjustable pump with slight suction, the palynologists of EDICES, who did investigations on the Sudarium, have indicated the presence, among other things, of pollen of three fundamental types: Quereus (oak), Pistacia palestina (mastic tree, terebinth tree), and Tamarix (tamarind tree, salt cedar),as possible geographical indicators of the presence of the Sudarium in Palestine.
The other pollens that have been identified, clearly indicate a flora characteristic of the Mediterranean region. A total of 141 pollens and 10 spores include such types as alder, juniper, oak, olive, pine, black poplars, sagebrush, nettle, terebinth, bramble, tamarind, salt cedar, thistle, clover, garlic, chestnut and willow. It is considered that 99% of the taxons correspond to Mediterranean vegetation, including Palestine, and 1% to Atlantic vegetation. It has therefore been concluded that the route followed by the Sudarium is clearly through the Mediterranean region, whose typical forest is composed of oak and scrub oak. The traditional odyssey of the cloth, as mentioned in the historical documents, was first from Jerusalem to Alexandria, and then across the Mediterranean Sea to Spain, a voyage that corresponds perfectly to the pollens found on the relic.

The vegetation in Palestine is typically Mediterranean; The Palestinean thicket has the name of ”batha”, with the presence of the kermes oak accompanied by the terebinth tree. Certain trees and bushes, such as the pines, poplars, alders, savins and junipers, are all Mediterranean and also found in Palestine. The willows are trees and bushes typical of the corridor forests that border the rivers and are widely cultivated in gardens and used since ancient times to make different types of baskets. The chestnut belongs to the Atlantic vegetation, found in Spain in the humid northern zone. Its presence on the cloth indicates its safekeeping once in Oviedo.
The presence of aloe and myrrh has been positively identified on the cloth, as well as residues of beeswax, vegetal wax, and conifer resin. The aloe appears in greatest quantity in the areas in which there is more blood, and appears on top of this blood, which means that it was applied to the cloth after the stains were formed. Aloe and myrrh are aromatic substances that were believed to be capable of preserving the body after death. They were used in the burial rituals of first century Palestine, and John mentions that Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe to the tomb to anoint Jesus (John 19:39). Evidence of dust from the explosion of 1934, in which the Holy Chamber was destroyed, was also positively identified. There is also a small stain from silver paint, possibly used to repair the frame at some point during the history of the cloth in Oviedo., and lipstick from a kiss given by one of the faithful.

MAX FREI COLLECTION OF STICKY-TAPES:

In 1994 Alan and Mary Whanger established in North Carolina a nonprofit organization entitled: “COUNCIL FOR THE STUDY OF THE SHROUD OF TURIN (CSST).
They wrote a book together: “THE SHROUD OF TURIN, An adventure of Discovery “
(ISBN: 1-57736-079-6)

I will quote from their book:
“People are wondering how the FREI COLLECTION became available to CSST. After Dr. Frei’s death, Mrs. Frei wanted to get his materials in the hands of some group, who might be able to complete his work and get his manuscript published. She loaned four of the slides to research archaeologist Paul Maloney, Projects Director of Association of Scientists and Scholars International for the Shroud of Turin (ASSIST), and later offered to make the entire collection available through Maloney to ASSIST. Because, at the time, Alan and I were members of ASSIST and had some part in arranging the transfer, we traveled with Maloney and a small group to Zurich in 1988 to effect the transfer. Through unforeseen events, the entire Frei Collection was transferred to our personal custody in 1993 while we were still members of ASSIST. We retain custody of Frei Collection, but have made it available to CSST for study.
(NOTA: After the death of Alan Whanger, a couple of years ago, the Frei Collection was donated to Tom D’Muhala in Raleigh, North Carolina, and he is now in the possession of this precious collection).
We quote the Whangers again: “ When CSST received the Frei Collection, the Whangers considered the most urgent area of research that CSST would undertake ( with the help of some individuals with specialized skills), would be the microscopic examination, digitization, and documentation of the twenty seven (27) sticky-tape slides taken in 1978 that form the core of the research materials known as the Frei Collection. You may remember that Dr. Max Frei took sticky-tape samples from the Shroud which he affixed to glass microscopic slides, and from those slides he identified many pollens. In the Frei Collection, there are two sets of slides, one set taken in 1973 and the other in 1978. Frei removed individual pollens from some of the 1973 slides in order to study them more carefully, but the 1978 slides are still intact. No invasive studies can be done on those slides until they are meticulously and completely documented. The research equipment that CSST now has, will permit complete micro-documentation and retrieval by computer digitization.

The information will be stored in photographic film, video, Jaz drive, and optic disks. This is the first step. After that CSST will be open to further research of Frei Collection materials, by ourselves and others.

I have mentioned earlier that many pollens are on the Frei tapes. The slides contain a wealth of other materials also: plant parts, such as fragments of petals, leaves and bracts; anthers from blooms; fibers from the Shroud, some of them charred; blood shards (hollow coatings of dried blood that had covered fibers), and many extraneous objects from the Shroud’s varied locations and exhibitions. The Frei Collection is the richest, in terms of amounts and variety of materials, of any of the materials that were collected at the time of the 1978 research project, that still have not been adequately studied…………”
END QUOTE WHANGERS.

Photo 9. Collection Frei sticky tapes, Durham

JANICE BENNETT SUDARIUM OF OVIEDO, relationship with the SHROUD of TURIN: TEXT OF POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

A presentation made at the First International Conference on the Shroud of Turin, Panama City, Panama, June 30-July 1, 2012, which summarizes the conclusions of the research conducted by the Spanish Center for Sindonology, Valencia, Spain, since 1989.

A linen cloth popularly known as the “Holy Face” or “Holy Sudarium” has been preserved in the Cathedral of Oviedo since the ninth century. According to tradition, this linen cloth covered the head of Jesus after the Crucifixion. It was taken to Spain in a chest of relics to escape destruction during the Persian invasion of Jerusalem at the beginning of the seventh century. Until the scientific investigations conducted in the last 25 years by the Spanish Center for Sindonology, based in Valencia, Spain, little was known about this cloth and how it may have been used.

Saint John mentions the sudarium of Christ when he describes what he and Saint Peter saw in the empty sepulcher where they had buried Jesus on Friday evening: “When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth (sudarium) that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” (John 20:6-7). Since 1988 scientists have sought to answer the following questions: Is the Sudarium of Oviedo the cloth mentioned in the Gospel of St. John, and is this cloth related forensically with the Shroud of Turin?

In spite of overwhelming evidence supporting the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, carbon dating tests in 1988 assigned a date between 1260 and 1390 for the cloth of the relic. The Shroud was immediately proclaimed fake, as if the world had thrown away the 99 pieces of supporting evidence and kept the only one that apparently denied its authenticity. It was reported that the Shroud must have been the work of a medieval forger, perhaps Leonardo da Vinci, although no one could explain how an artist might have formed an image, that, hundreds of years later, scientists are still unable to adequately explain.

That same year—1988—the Spanish Center for Sindonology, an organization based in Valencia, Spain, received official permission from the Archbishop of Oviedo to examine the relic in Oviedo known as the Sudarium of the Lord.

Their objective was to prove that both the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo covered the same crucifixion victim, thus disproving the carbon dating results on the Shroud. They also wanted to determine if this crucifixion victim could have been Jesus of Nazareth.

The Spanish Center for Sindonology is a non-profit association that was founded in 1987, whose purpose is the study and dissemination of the Shroud of Turin, along with any matter directly or indirectly related to it. Its investigative team is formed by more than 30 specialists in science, language, theology, and other related disciplines. Its scientific investigations on the Sudarium of Oviedo are ongoing and have resulted in two International Congresses, held in 1994 and 2007.

The Sudarium of Oviedo is a small, rectangular linen cloth, about 34 by 21 inches (85.5 x 52.6 cm) and is therefore much smaller than the Shroud of Turin, which measures 14.3 x 3.7 ft. (4.4 x 1.1 meters). The Sudarium is dirty, stained, and wrinkled, with a large number of bloodstains, that are clear brown in color, with a “washed-out” appearance. It has absolutely no material value, other than the tradition that it covered the head of Jesus after the Crucifixion.

The Shroud of Turin is an example of a funerary linen in the time of Jesus. It was an expensive linen cloth that has an unusual herringbone weave. The Sudarium of Oviedo, on the other hand, is a small, linen cloth with a simple taffeta weave. The name sudarium is derived from the Latin word for sweat (sudor). In ancient manuscripts, the word refers to aprons, towels, napkins, handkerchiefs and turbans.

When Monsignor Giulio Ricci, a famous Italian Shroud scholar (now deceased), saw the Sudarium for the first time, he was impressed by the similarities between the bloodstains of the Sudarium and those that can be seen on the Turin Shroud. Msgr. Ricci was the first to suggest a connection between the two cloths, and his studies have contributed important information on the similarities between the two burial cloths and how the face cloth was used. Msgr. Ricci’s model of the crucified Christ shows how he believed the Sudarium would have wrapped the head of Jesus while he was still on the cross.
The obverse side of the Sudarium of Oviedo is the side that is currently exposed to the public three days each year. It is mounted in a silver frame without glass or a protective covering. The reverse side is the side that scientists believe, actually touched the face. It is dirtier, and its stains are more intense in color. It is covered with micro-scabs of blood from wounds on the head. The reverse side of the Sudarium is currently hidden because the linen has been sewn to a supporting cloth that has been tautened on a wooden stretcher. The cloth is covered with a silver frame. This photograph of the reverse side was taken after the relic was unstitched from its supporting cloth for scientific study.

The Sudarium of Oviedo has been venerated in the Cathedral of Oviedo, located in the northern region of Asturias, Spain, since the ninth century. According to many ancient manuscripts, it was brought there from Jerusalem in a chest filled with many relics. The Cathedral of Oviedo has several interior constructions that were built when the city was founded, predating the Gothic period when the main body of the Cathedral was built. The most important is the Holy Chamber that has safeguarded the Reliquary or Treasury since King Alphonsus II had it built in 812 A.D. as part of his palace. It was destroyed in an explosion in 1934, just before the Spanish Civil War, but was reconstructed several years later from the original stones. After the explosion, the Sudarium was found unharmed in the rubble, and the other relics have been restored, including the chest.

King Alphonsus II was responsible for building the Holy Chamber to safeguard the relics in 812 A.D. The room was later incorporated into the Gothic Cathedral that was begun in the 14th century. This King also built the first church at Santiago de Compostela to protect the remains of Saint James the Apostle, after they were discovered around 818 A.D. The Holy Chamber houses the silver-plated chest in its interior, surrounded by a diverse collection of relics. These relics came to Asturias shortly after the Muslim invasion of Spain in 711 A.D. and were first hidden on a mountain known as Monsacro for about fifty years. The Sudarium of Christ was among these relics, which also include two symbols of the Reconquest of Spain, the Cross of Angels and the Cross of Victory. According to tradition the Cross of Angels was made by angels to adorn the Holy Chamber. A soldier named Pelayo carried the Cross of Victory at the Battle of Covadonga in 722 A.D. This was the first decisive battle of the Spanish Reconquest after the Muslim invasion of Spain eleven years earlier.
The Arca Santa or Holy Chest, is a large chest made of oak, craved with an adz, a primitive tool, similar to a chisel. According to the LIBRO GOTICO, an ancient document found in the Cathedral’s archives, the chest was constructed by disciples of the Apostles and was taken from Jerusalem to Egypt in the second decade of the seventh century, when Chosroes II, king of Persia, persecuted the Christians in Jerusalem and destroyed the churches. It was silver-plated in 1113 A.D. at the order of King Alphonsus VI, the first king to open the chest and inventory its contents.

Because of its lack of material value, the only reason this linen was kept and venerated for centuries in a cathedral is because, according to tradition, it wrapped the head of Jesus after his crucifixion. The belief that this relic was used during Christ’s passion and death led to a liturgical rite specific to the Cathedral of Oviedo. Benediction with the Holy Sudarium was first done from a balcony made for that purpose, and it continues to take place from the main altar on three dates every year: Good Friday, and September 14 and 21, the first and last days of the Jubilee of the Holy Cross.

During the Middle Ages, many pilgrims traveling to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of Saint James the Apostle are safeguarded, also visited Oviedo. Because of their devotion to relics, they crossed the northern mountains, called the Picos de Europa, in order to visit the Cathedral of Oviedo named San Salvador. In fact, Oviedo’s relics were the reason that the pilgrims chanted this refrain: “He who goes to Santiago and not to Salvador, visits the servant, and not the Lord”.

As mentioned, the person who discovered the Sudarium in recent years was the Italian priest Monsignor Giulio Ricci, now deceased, who was formerly Director of the Center for Sindonology in Roma. At his request. Max Frei, a Swiss botanist and criminologist, took samples of pollen from the Sudarium in 1979, in order to do a comparative analysis with the pollens found on the Shroud of Turin. At least nine of the sixteen species of pollen found on the Sudarium grow in Palestine, a point of comparison with the Shroud of Turin. In contrast, species of plants from Anatolia and Constantinople found on the Shroud do not appear on the Sudarium. The Sudarium contains pollen from the north of Africa, however, indicating that both linens originated in Palestine, but followed different historical routes.
Pier-Luigi Baima Bollone, a professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Turin and former Director of the International Center for Sindonology, was instructed by Mgrs. Ricci to carry out the first analysis of the substances found on the Sudarium. He indicated the possible classification of the blood as belonging to the group AB. This result was repeated in 1993 by hematologist Carlo Goldini and by the Spanish Center for Sindonology.

As a result of the studies done by Mgrs. Ricci, Max Frei and Baima Bollone, in 1989 the Cathedral of Oviedo granted the Spanish Center for Sindonology official permission to carry out a complete, multi-disciplinary study of the Sudarium. Their objective has been twofold: to determine if the linen in Oviedo is the historical sudarium of Jesus Christ, as tradition affirms, and to determine if it wrapped the head of the same person as the Shroud of Turin. They have used the same techniques employed in forensic investigations, including many types of photography: infrared reflection, ultraviolet light, transparency, and lateral illumination.

Scientists have determined that the Sudarium is made of linen with a “Z” twist, the most common type of weave in the Roman Empire. It has a taffeta texture, the simplest type of weave, and it does not have selvages on any of its edges, or any dye. The linen has a large number of defects, such as loops, loose basting stitches, and the crossing of parallel threads of the woof, indicating that the cloth was made on a vertical loom with weights, and that it is very old, likely from the first century.

Substances found on the cloth include post-mortem and vital blood, inorganic particles such as sand and silica and a large number of organic particles such as fungi, plant spores, remains of insects and grains of pollen. The alarming presence of fungi led to a study that concluded that the colonies are not currently active.

Remains of dust from the explosion of the Holy Chamber are present, drippings of wax, possibly from the liturgical use of the relic, and a few red stains of lipstick that possibly originate from a kiss given during an exposition to the faithful. One possibility is that it took place during the rededication ceremony after the Holy Chamber was reconstructed, which was presided over by General Franco and his wife. There are also two rectangular, parallel marks that penetrate the weave, left by a rectangular container saturated with silver paint, probably to repair the frame.

There are about thirty types of pollen grains, three of which indicate that the Sudarium was in Palestine, and the rest clearly indicate a flora belonging to the Mediterranean region. Those that indicate a presence in Palestine are QUERCUS (holm oak and kermes oak), PISTACIA PALESTINA (mastic tree and terebinth tree) and TAMARIX (tamarind tree and salt cedar).

The analysis of the white particles found on the linen was especially difficult, and they were finally identified as particles of resin of aloe and myrrh. The presence of aloe is important because it was used in ancient Jewish culture as a blood preservative. The Gospel of John says that Nicodemus came to the tomb bringing a mixture of aloes and myrrh weighing one hundred pounds. The aloe is attached to the red corpuscles and lies on top of them, indicating that it was applied to the cloth after it was already stained with blood.

The Sudarium has a multitude of wrinkles and scientists sought to answer when and why each wrinkle was formed. Linen is a type of cloth that, if not ironed, preserves its wrinkles forever. For that reason, scientists were able to obtain valuable information about how the Sudarium had been used and kept throughout its entire history. There are a number of perforations, related to the formation of the stains and the original use of the linen. Some of these were produced when the Sudarium was fastened to the head of the deceased, using sharp instruments that scientists believe were pinned to the beard and hair. They have a truncated conical nature, and appear in pairs, indicating the possibility that thorns were used. An oval hole is also seen on the linen, very possibly caused by a candle, because there is evidence of a singe and wax.

Dr. Villalain Blanco, a Spanish criminologist and forensic physician, directed the blood study to determine the nature of the stains and how they were formed. The techniques were carried out in the laboratories of criminology and forensic biology at the Schools of Forensic Medicine in Madrid and Valencia. Dr. Blanco found that the cloth was folded back on itself, because it could not completely wrap the head, most likely due to the raised position of the right arm that was still fastened to the cross. The stains penetrated the second layer, leaving a mirror image. The presence of micro scabs of blood on the reverse side of the cloth, especially on the left reverse, led the scientist to affirm that this surface was in direct contact with the flow of the blood, because the linen acts as a filter. The stains on the obverse side were within the fold, and the surface right reverse was farthest from the source of the blood.

Denominations were given for each bloodstain. Because the cloth was folded, there is a mirror image of the group of central stains, formed by post-mortem blood flowing from the nose and mouth after death. It is composed of blood and pulmonary serum in the proportion one to six, which is the reason for the “washed-out” appearance. Pulmonary edema is characteristic of crucifixion victims. The stain above it corresponds to the forehead, formed after the body had been taken down from the cross and placed on the ground. The butterfly wings stain is located where the hair was pulled back in a pigtail. The corner stain is from a wound on the back, composed of vital blood. The diffuse stain is found on the part of the linen that covered the hair on the left side of the head. It has been duplicated when bloodstained hair was placed on a linen cloth and a solution of diluted blood was added. Stains from puncture wounds are on the part of the cloth that covered the back of the head, composed of vital blood that flowed before death had occurred. The cloth was applied to these wounds about 60 minutes after they had bled, or one hour after the person had died. When death occurs, wounds stop bleeding, but the opposite is true for post-mortem blood produced during violent death from asphyxiation. It does not coagulate.

The bloodstains correspond to a human head. The principal stain was in contact with the face and appears inverted as in a mirror. The principal stain is composed of three groups of superimposed stains. A trapezoidal stain surrounds the nose and mouth, which scientists believe was formed by the pressure of a closed fist that was exerting pressure on the nose in order to contain the flow of blood. Stains in the shape of fingers also appear, formed in a similar way when the body was being moved. Outlines of the features have been drawn so that one can see the shape of the nose and the mouth.

The trapezoidal stain was one of the last to be formed, because it only appears on the first two surfaces of the cloth. It is believed that the finger-shaped stains were formed when the body was being moved to another location, in an effort to suppress the flow of blood from the nose and mouth.
It is important to remember that the bloodstains on the Sudarium were formed on a three-dimensional face and appear on a flattened cloth. It is therefore necessary to eliminate the extra two centimeters formed by the base of the nose to see how the stains conform to a face. With high contrast photography, the point of the nose can be seen, as well as the outside of the nasal cavities that are marked by an accumulation of blood. The nose is eight centimeters long, with an extra two centimeters from the base of the nose.

The lower part of the principal stains was formed with the body in a vertical position. The body had to have been in a vertical position for one hour in order to form the quantity of liquid found on the cloth (20 cc), with the right arm raised, and the head inclined 70 degrees forward and 20 degrees to the right. This position requires that both arms were suspended in the form of a cross, because otherwise the head could not have been inclined to the right. The feet had to have been fastened, because otherwise death would have occurred in 15 or 20 minutes, not enough time to produce the amount of liquid on the linen. This is the posture of crucifixion and the way Jesus is normally portrayed on the cross. From the areas of vital blood present on the linen, on the head, shoulders and back, it can be said that the Man of the Sudarium was first scourged and then crucified.

According to scientific conclusions, the upper part of the principal stain was formed by the force of gravity. Without changing the position of the arms, the body was placed in a lateral right prone position, with the head still bent 20 degrees to the right and the forehead resting on a hard surface. This position was maintained for one more hour. This means that the body was taken down and laid in a horizontal position, almost face down. After one hour, the body was moved, while someone’s left hand tried to contain the flow of bloody serum from the nose and mouth with pressure. The move was completed in about five minutes. A model demonstrates how scientists believe the linen wrapped the head while the body was still on the cross.

Once the obstacle that prevented wrapping the head completely was gone, the linen was unfolded and wrapped around the entire head as a type of hood that was still fastened to the hair with sharp objects. It was knotted toward the upper back of the head. Jorge-Manuel Rodriguez, President of the Spanish Center for Sindonology, demonstrated the second position of the cloth at the Second International Congress on the Sudarium, held in Oviedo in April 2007.

This knot was the source of the wrinkles in the corner of the cloth. It is interesting that a recently discovered fifth-century manuscript mentions that the Sudarium was knotted at the top of the head. The author, Nonnos of Panopolis, was paraphrasing the Gospel of John, Chapter 20, and added this detail. After the body was moved, it was positioned face up, and the cloth was removed from the head, still knotted. It was covered with aloe and myrrh to preserve the blood, according to Jewish custom, and the set apart in the tomb.

A comparison of the Man of the Sudarium and Jesus shows that the Sudarium of Oviedo covered a man with a moustache, beard and long hair, as Jesus is always portrayed. He was tortured, likely crowned with thorns, and then crucified. Like Jesus, he died with acute pulmonary edema and was buried in a nearby tomb. There is absolutely no possibility that he could have survived the crucifixion because the blood that flowed from the nose and the mouth made breathing impossible. After dying in a vertical position, the Man of the Sudarium was placed in a right lateral prone position. Likewise, Jesus was transferred to the tomb after first being brought down from the cross, with preliminary burial preparations.

A timetable for the crucifixion, based on Scripture and the scientific studies, shows that burial was complete according to Jewish law. Jesus died at 3:00 P.M., the Sudarium was placed on his head one hour later where it remained for one more hour until the body was taken down from the cross. A sudarium was required because blood was believed to contain the person’s soul and, according to Jewish law, it was necessary to bury it along with the body. It was also forbidden to move a mutilated body without covering it first. Preliminary anointing of the body was carried out for approximately one hour as the body was prepared for transfer to the tomb. This included rewrapping the sudarium over the head, forcing the arms from the position of crucifixion due to the rigor mortis, anointing the body with aloes and myrrh, and covering the body with a cloth. According to Jewish law, washing the body was prohibited when blood flowed at death.
John is the only Evangelist who mentions two types of linens, distinguishing between the burial linens (ta othonia) and the sudarium that had been on Jesus’ head. In the case of Lazarus, John states that he came out of the tomb with his face covered by a sudarium, indicating that this linen is small. In both cases the word sudarium has a funerary use, but this was not the only use possible. First century Latin writers use the word sudarium to refer to a large handkerchief or sweat cloth, as well as towels or aprons. A sudarium was required by Jewish law and custom to cover the face of the deceased in the case of deformity. Many ancient authors relate that it was customary to cover the faces of crucifixion victims.
One early source that mentions Christ’s sudarium is the life of Santa Nino of Georgia, who died in the year338 A.D. The writer relates that Saint Peter had hidden it, but that it was not known if its whereabouts had ever been discovered. Another writer, Isodad of Merv, also refers to Saint Peter as custodian, of the sudarium. Isodad wrote his commentaries on the Gospels in the Syriac language (a dialect of Aramaic) around 850 A.D. in what is known today as Turkmenistan (north of Iran).

He wrote that they gave the burial linens to Joseph of Arimathea, but Saint Peter took the sudarium, and it was for him a crown on his head. And every time that he laid his hands on someone, he put it on his head. He obtained frequent assistance from it, just as today the leaders and the bishops of the Church put turbans on their heads and around the neck in place of that sudarium. It is stated in Acts 19:11-12 that: “ so extraordinary were the mighty deeds God accomplished at the hands of Paul that when face cloths (sudaria) that touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them “. The sudarium may have been the origin of the Bishop’s mitre and the healing cloth.

A manuscript known as San Antonino Martir, written by an anonymous pilgrim to the Holy Land in 570 A.D., mentions that there was a cave near the monastery of Saint Mark, on the other side of the river Jordan, where seven young monks lived in seven cells: they cared for the Sudarium of Christ. Many other ancient documents mention Christ’s sudarium. The LIBER TESTAMENTORUM of Bishop Pelayo is a collection of documents compiled in the seventh century. One of the documents records the transfer of the chest of relics from Jerusalem to Oviedo. It is kept in the archives of the Cathedral. The CORPUS PALAGIANUM of Bishop Pelayo is another collection that offers information on the Sudarium, along with other documents related to the first kings of Asturias. The CODEX VALENCIENNES 99, predates the LIBER TESTAMENTORUM with the history of the chest with relics, including the Sudarium, and is kept in the Library of Valenciennes, France. The GRUPO VALENCIENNES, three manuscripts found in Belgium and France, also relate the history of the transfer of the chest. The Cronica del Monje Silense was written by an anonymous monk identified with the Monastery of Silos in Spain around the year 1115 A.D. The CRONICON MUNDI was written by Bishop Lucas de Tuy before he was named bishop in 1239 A.D.
All these historical documents, from various countries and different dates, coincide in the details of the transfer of the chest of relics from Jerusalem to Spain. When the Persians conquered Jerusalem in 614 A.D., the Christians fled, carrying with them a chest filled with relics. Several documents mention that the Christians stopped briefly in Egypt, most likely Alexandria, but were forced to leave when the Persians conquered this city only two years later. By that time, the relics were already on their way to Spain, crossing the Mediterranean by boat. They entered Spain at Cartagena, stayed in Sevilla during the time of Saint Isidore, and were transferred to the capital of Toledo after Saint Isidore’s death in 636 A.D. The relics remained in Toledo for 75 years, initially in the care of Saint Ildephonsus, until the Muslims invaded Spain in the year 711 A.D.

Saint Isidore, a doctor of the Church, was an influential figure in the early Church and was responsible for caring for the Sudarium after its arrival in Spain until his death in 636 A.D. After the Muslims defeated king Rodrigo’s army in 711 A.D., they quickly conquered Toledo, so the Christians fled to the north with their relics. According to tradition, the Holy Chest of relics was hidden in a well on the top of Monsacro for fifty years. An Arabic manuscript from 977 A.D. confirms this event, saying that “many of the Christians, leaving the cities, fled to the mountains of Asturias and carrying with them all the relics they could, they hid them underground”.

In the interior of the hermitage on Monsacro, a primitive altar has been constructed over the ancient well where, according to tradition, the Sudarium was hidden. From Monsacro the caretakers of the relics could see the sea to the north and the landscape for miles around. The relics were moved to the primitive Monastery of San Vicente in 761 until King Alphonsus II built the Holy Chamber in the year 812 A.D., which was formerly part of his Royal Palace.

King Alphonsus VI authorized the first inventory of the contents of the chest in 1075 A.D. He made the difficult trip from Toledo to Oviedo in the middle of winter with his sister Dona Urraca and Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, known as EL CID. The king was so marveled by the plethora of relics that he ordered the chest silver plated with the words, “Of the Sudarium of the Lord, and of his most precious blood”. The silver plating was carried out in 1113 A.D. and. as mentioned, was restored after it was damaged in the explosion that took place in 1934.

The chest contained many other relics, among them one of St. Peter’s sandals and a large jug from the wedding at Cana. Others were added as the chest traveled through Visigoth Spain, including the relics of Saint Ildephonsus. These relics are preserved in the Holy Chamber of the Cathedral of Oviedo. The jug from the wedding at Cana is kept in a separate place in the cathedral and is opened once a year for the veneration of the faithful.

As Monsignor Giulio Ricci first noted, the bloodstains found on the Sudarium correspond remarkably well with those on the Shroud of Turin. A simple superimposition of the photographs of the two linens, shows surprising morphological similarities.

Comparing the facial areas of both linens, the surface and shape of the nose are similar, with a length of 8 centimeters. There is swelling in the middle of the right side of the nose. The nasal cavities and wings appear as though similar pressure had been exerted on them. The right cheek shows evidence of a bruise. The position and size of the mouth coincide, with similar flows of blood along the beard from post-mortem pulmonary edema. Additionally, both linens contain the remains of aloe and myrrh, as well as pollens from plants that grow in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

The Sudarium has a number of bloodstains at the nape of the neck, which appear in the form of drops and were formed by sharp objects. Similar stains appear on the Shroud in the same position and composition. The blood type is AB

THIS ARTICLE IS THE TEXT THAT COMES WITH THE FOLLOWING POWERPOINT PRESENTATION OF JANICE BENNETT: “THE SUDARIUM OF OVIEDO” BASED ON HER BOOK: “SACRED BLOOD SACRED IMAGE, The Sudarium of Oviedo”.

POWER POINT

Photo 1. Sudario of Oviedo                                                           

Photo 2. Sudario face image

Photo 3. Drawing face image                                                   

Photo 4. Face image

Photo 5. Back of the head

Photo 6. Back of head, blood of crown of thorns

Photo 7. Conference Panama Janice Bennet, Dr. Petrus Soons, Barrie Schwartz, , Bruno Barberie                                                                                       

Photo 9. Conference Panama Janice Bennet and interpretor

This chapter shows some photographs that can shed some light on some questions that were asked during presentations of the Shroud during the last couple of years.

IMAGES OF FLOWERS ON THE SHROUD
Alan and Mary Whanger did research on the images of flowers on and around the body of the image of the Man on the Shroud and visited Avinoam Danin in Jerusalem. Danin was the leading expert on the flora of Israel and the Sinai. He continued their work and found more images of flowers and plants from Israel and the region of Jerusalem on the Shroud in the Vernon Miller UV photographs. (See the chapters of Avinoam Danin).
In different cultures it is customary to adorn the body of the deceased person with flowers. Many times, they have a special meaning, spiritual or other. The photograph shows the body of Mahatma GHANDI after his assassination and before his cremation.
So, it could be possible that it was also customary in the 1st century in Judaea to adorn the deceased with flowers.
The next photograph was made by the Whanger’s with a volunteer and shows how they thought, based on their research, how the body of Christ was adorned with flowers.
CARRYING OF A DEAD BODY.
The body of a deceased person is not easy to carry. When Jesus was taken from the cross and carried to the tomb at a distance of about 50 meters (measured in the Church of the Sepulcre) and buried according to the Jewish custom, (so tell us the Gospels), the question after presentations was: who did this ? We know that the Gospels tell us that the men that were present were the Apostle John, Nicodemus and Josef of Arimatea. It was on the eve of the Pascua, a very important Jewish festivity, and it was inconceivable that these Jewish men present would have touched the dead body of Jesus themselves, because they would have been impure and could then not participate in the Pascual celebrations. Both Nicodemus and Josef of Arimatea were members of the Sanhedrin, important citizens of Jerusalem and must have had many servants. So, the most probable scenario was that they instructed their servants what to do.
To give an example of how many people you need to carry a dead body we show the next two photographs, so the three men present could not have done this job.

JEWISH BURIAL CUSTOMS TODAY.

The next two photographs show burials in the last couple of years of two well-known rabbis in Israel.
You can see that the bodies are enshrouded, and it gives an idea of the kind of Shroud that is being used these days in Israel to bury a person, according to the Jewish burial custom.

Another photograph shows dead and enshrouded bodies in the Middle East before burial according to Muslim tradition.

Photo 1. Body Ghandi covered with flowers

Photo 2. Body Shroud with flowers according to Whangers

Photo 3. Four people carrying dead body

Photo 4. Six people carrying dead body

Photo 5. Shrouded bodies Middle East

Photo 6. Deceased Rabbi´s enshrouded body, Israel

Photo 7. Deceased Rabbi´s enshrouded body, Israel