The Shroud of Turin contains DNA from many people, plants and animals

DNA analysis has identified a vast array of animal, plant and human material contaminating the Shroud of Turin, complicating the story of the mysterious relic that is reportedly the cloth that Jesus Christ was wrapped in after his crucifixion 2,000 years ago.

The 4.4 meter long and 1.1 meter wide shroud is one of the world’s most famous and controversial Christian artefacts. Its first documented location was in France in 1354, and for almost half a millennium, it remained in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.

In 1988, researchers used radiocarbon and accelerator mass spectrometry dating techniques to determine that the shroud was made sometime between 1260 and 1390, excluding the possibility that the person imprinted on the cloth could be Jesus. However, some scholars of Christianity contest the Shroud’s dating back to the late medieval period.

In 2015, gianni barcaccia at the University of Padua, Italy, and colleagues analyzed material collected from the remains in 1978 first suggested The fabric may have originated in India.

Now, Barccia, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has led a new study reanalyzing the 1978 material. He and his team found that the shroud preserved a huge diversity of medieval and modern DNA.

Sources of genetic material include domestic cats and dogs, farm animals including poultry, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and horses, and wild animals such as deer and rabbits.

The team also found traces of some fish species, including gray mullet, Atlantic cod and ray-finned fishes. Marine crustaceans, flies, aphids, and arachnids such as dust and skin mites and ticks were also identified.

Some of the most common plant species whose DNA was preserved on the Shroud are carrots and various wheat species, as well as peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes – plants likely brought to Europe after the explorers began traveling to Asia and the Americas.

However, it was not possible to determine the exact timing of these plant and animal contamination events.

The team also found human DNA from several individuals who have handled the shroud, including the 1978 sampling team. They write, “The shroud came into contact with multiple individuals, making the possibility of identifying the original DNA of the shroud challenging.”

About 40 percent of the human DNA found on the shroud is from Indian ancestry, which “may have resulted from historical interactions or the Romans importing linen from areas near the Indus Valley”, Barccia and colleagues report.

“The DNA traces found on the Shroud of Turin suggest possible widespread exposure of the fabric to the Mediterranean region and the possibility that the thread was produced in India,” the team writes.

anders gotherstrom Stockholm University in Sweden says earlier research puts the Shroud’s age at 13th The century is generally accepted in the scientific community. “Although there is some debate over the 1988 radiocarbon dating, most researchers consider it sufficiently robust,” he says.

Gotherstrom does not agree with the suggestion that the textile may have originated from India. “I still see no reason to doubt that the shroud is French and dates from the 13th-14th century,” he says.

“The Shroud has its own history as an important relic, and that history may be more interesting than a mythological origin… without scientific support.”