Strange mystery of the Turin Shroud

The mysterious Turin Shroud – supposedly the burial cloth of Jesus – became even more puzzling this week after a DNA study.

Researchers found that the shroud contains DNA from plants all over the world, by sequencing genes from pollen and dust particles.

The research suggests that the relic has travelled widely – there is DNA from India, Turkey and even America.

The researchers believe that some of the plant traces – such as the American ones – may date from after the mediaeval period.

The researchers believe that the shroud may have been made in India, before travelling via other countries such as Turkey.

‘Here we report the main findings from the analysis of genomic DNA extracted from dust particles vacuumed from parts of the body image and the lateral edge used for radiocarbon dating,’ said Dr Gianni Barcaccia of the University of Padova.

‘Among the plant species of the New World, black locust, a tree of the family Fabaceae native to Appalachia in the Eastern United States, is notable,’

‘In addition, we identified crop species largely grown by farmers and common in many agriculture systems of the Old World, including chicory, common hop, cucumber and grapevine.’