The Turin Shroud bears DNA from many people, plants and animals

DNA analysis has revealed a wide range of animal, plant, and human material contaminating the Turin Shroud, adding complexity to the narrative of this enigmatic relic believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion 2000 years ago.

The shroud, measuring 4.4 meters in length and 1.1 meters in width, is among the most renowned and debated Christian artifacts. It was first recorded in France in 1354, and for nearly 500 years, it has been housed at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.

In 1988, researchers employed radiocarbon and accelerator mass spectrometry dating methods to determine that the shroud was created between 1260 and 1390, ruling out the possibility that the figure depicted on the cloth was Jesus. However, some Christian scholars still challenge this medieval dating.

In 2015, Gianni Barcaccia at the University of Padova, Italy, and his team analyzed samples collected from the shroud in 1978 and initially proposed that the cloth might have originated in India.

Currently, Barcaccia, who declined an interview for this article, has spearheaded a new study reexamining the 1978 samples. His team discovered that the shroud contains a vast assortment of medieval and modern DNA.

The genetic material sources include domestic cats and dogs, farm animals like chickens, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and horses, as well as wild animals such as deer and rabbits.

The researchers also identified traces of fish species, including grey mullet, Atlantic cod, and ray-finned fishes, along with marine crustaceans, flies, aphids, and arachnids such as dust and skin mites and ticks.

Among the plant species whose DNA was found on the shroud are carrots, various wheat varieties, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes—plants thought to have been introduced to Europe after explorers ventured to Asia and the Americas.

However, pinpointing the exact timing of these plant and animal contamination events proved impossible.

The team also uncovered human DNA from numerous individuals who have interacted with the shroud, including the 1978 sampling team. “The Shroud came into contact with multiple individuals, thereby challenging the possibility of identifying the original DNA of the Shroud,” they noted.

Nearly 40 percent of the human DNA on the shroud is from Indian lineages, which, according to Barcaccia and his colleagues, “could have resulted from historical interactions or the Romans importing linen from regions near the Indus Valley.”

“The DNA traces found on the Shroud of Turin suggest the potentially extensive exposure of the cloth in the Mediterranean region and the possibility that the yarn was produced in India,” the researchers wrote.

Anders Götherström at Stockholm University in Sweden stated that the previous research dating the shroud to the 13th century is generally accepted by the scientific community. “While there is some debate around the 1988 radiocarbon dating, most researchers consider it sufficiently robust,” he commented.

Götherström remains skeptical about the hypothesis that the cloth may have originated from India, asserting, “I still see no reason to doubt that the shroud is French and from the 13th-14th century.”

“The shroud has a history of its own as an important relic, and that history may be more interesting than a legendary origin… without scientific support,” he added.