[Graymatter]

Swordmaker, I thank you for taking the time to enlighten me, no pun intended. I remain a bit dense ;) about the fine details, but after all, what is there is there. And while some of it, e.g. the long fingers, looks very typical of medieval style, there is no disputing the realistic quality of the balance of it. I think it impossible that anyone deliberately crafted that image---which leaves some natural process, not excluding the hand of God. But I still wonder if it wasn't embellished somewhere along the way. Particularly I wonder that after 2k years and a serious fire, the blood stains are so vivid.

Like most people I suppose, I conclude that a 3-d human figure was present and if it wasn't Jesus, that would be stranger than if it were.

I also wonder, in passing, how the shroud happened to go completely flat over the body---I assume it did from the overall lack of image distortion---at the moment the image was transferred. One would think that handling the sheet in any way would be unnecessary to effect the presumed phenomenon of resurrection. But apparently that's what happened, the sheet went flat.

Incidentally, I wonder if the shroud has been thoroughly examined for hairs or micro particles of flesh in the blood stains. That would be a lot easier than trying to figure out what caused the image.

Again, thanks for the time you're taking to answer questions on this thread. It is much appreciated!

[Swordmaker]

Incidentally, I wonder if the shroud has been thoroughly examined for hairs or micro particles of flesh in the blood stains. That would be a lot easier than trying to figure out what caused the image.

Yes, Gray, it has. Several times. In 1978 the Shroud of Turin Research Project was allowed nine days of unfettered access to the shroud and minute examination of every detail was done... down to microscopic levels. Sticky-tape samples were taken from every area of the Shroud. Most blood stains were left undisturbed but samples were taken from each area.

Last year, a SECRET, ill-advised restoration was done to the Shroud that horrified most people associated with Shroud research. The patches over the missing burned areas and the Holland Cloth backing were removed. The charred peripheries of the burned areas were (AGGGHHH!) "TRIMMED" to prevent a mythical "growing of the char." In that "restoration" the Shroud was "cleaned" by the application of steam and vacuuming. All residue recovered was bagged in plastic baggies labeled with the area it came from, then the Shroud was (Oh, the horror of it) STRETCHED to remove the ancient wrinkles and fold pleats (those wrinkles and pleats were part of its HISTORY, you arrogant idiots!)by the means of pulling on the Shroud with lead weights and more steaming. This means that much of the in situ data has been destroyed and placed in baggies preventing its in situ examination. Finally, a new (well years 50 years old is newer than the Holland Cloth) backing was basted on and the patches were left open but carefully basted to the backing cloth. The one upside is that the contents of the baggies (including the charred trimmings) MAY be someday available for study.