Pollen and floral images on the Shroud that originate in the Middle East suggest the cloth was in Israel at sometime in its history. This new evidence throws serious questions into the carbon dating debate already under fire from recent chemical analysis.
Below is an abstract of findings, press release, articles and an interview from Professor Avinoam Danin, world's leading authority on the flora of Israel and author of seven books on the subject:
Science Daily Press Release
http://www.shroud.com/danin.htm
http://www.shroud.com/danin2.htm
http://www.shroud.com/pdfs/daninx.pdf – (Complete paper, 8 pages)
Interview with Shroud pioneer, Dr. Alan Whanger and Dr. Avinoam Danin
Slide Presentation of Avinoam Danin's work
The Origin of the Shroud of Turin from the Near East as Evidenced by Plant Images
Avinoam Danin
Department of Evolution, Systematics, and Ecology
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel
Introduction: The Shroud of Turin, the traditional burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth, has been kept in the city of Turin (Torino), Italy, since 1578. It is made of fine linen 4.35 m long by 1.1 m wide, bearing the full-length front and back images of a crucified man and many other less-conspicuous images.
Methods: Photographs of the Shroud taken in 1898, 1935, and 1978 were studied for the images seen on them. They were compared to plant images known in the Near East. Direct verification of the findings was carried out in 2000 during a special conference in Turin.
Results: a. Geographical. Among hundreds of plant images discovered, those of three species were used as geographical indicators. The boundaries of the distribution areas of Zygophyllum dumosum, Gundelia tournefortii, and Cistus creticus overlap among Jerusalem and Hebron.
b. Chronological. An assemblage of eight species clearly observed on the Shroud bloom in the Spring months of March-April. A comparison of blood-stain morphology on the Shroud and on the Sudarium of Oviedo, Spain led my colleagues to conclude that both linen were used to enshroud the same man. The Sudarium and therefore the Shroud of Turin existed already in the 8th century.
C. Natural preservatives. Images of hundreds of fruits of 2-3 species of Pistacia were discovered on the Shroud. It is assumed that they were added as "burial spices" and need further investigations.
Conclusions: Plants inserted between the linen and the enshrouded crucified man, indicate that the event took place in the Spring months March-April, at the vicinity of Jerusalem before the 8th century.