Shroud of Turin and the Resurrection of Jesus : Carbon 14 Dating
 

Clues From Vanillin - Something Was Wrong in the Carbon 14 Dating

This page is best understood by first reading the page, Failure in Radiocarbon Dating the Shroud of Turin.

Chemical analysis of the lignin of the flax fibers on the Shroud of Turin did not test positive for vanillin. If the Shroud was medieval, it should have. Vanillin disappears slowly from the lignin in flax fibers and all of it has disappeared.

But the carbon 14 sample vicinity was an exception.  This indicated that the cloth was much older than the carbon 14 dating sample area and that the carbon 14 sample area was certainly chemically different. 
 

Average Storage Equating to Constant in Celsius Average Storage  Equating to Constant in Fahrenheit Age Indicated by a conservative 95% loss of Vanillin
25 °C 77 °F 1319 Years
23 °C 73 °F 1845 Years
20 °C 68 °F 3095 Years
From the article in Thermochimica Acta: "A linen produced in A.D. 1260 would have retained about 37% of its vanillin in 1978. The Raes threads, the Holland cloth [shroud's backing cloth], and all other medieval linens gave the test for vanillin wherever lignin could be observed on growth nodes. The disappearance of all traces of vanillin from the lignin in the shroud indicates a much older age than the radiocarbon laboratories reported."

 

Earlier Clues

Other Clues

 



Madder root dye and gum on fibers. This is clear
 evidence of careful mending intended to be imperceptible.

Chemical Differences

 Carbon 14
 Sample
Area		 The Rest
of the
 Shroud
Madder Root Dye Yes No
Alum Mordant Yes No
Plant Gum Complex with Dye Yes No
Cotton Fibers Yes No
Spliced Threads Yes No
Vanillin in Lignin Yes No


Cotton fibers coated with gum, something only
found in the carbon 14 sample area


Spliced thread in carbon 14 sample area