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past feature
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Jesus or
Jacques?
Controversy over the origins of the Turin
Shroud, which many religous followers
believe contains the "negative" image of
Jesus Christ, remains following
radio-carbon dating measurements by mass
spectrometry more than a decade ago that
dated the cloth to the medieval
period.
Now Bradford
University scientists claim that
accelerator mass spectrometry results
prove the face on the turin shroud is that
of priest Jacques de Molay whose followers
helped Scotland win independence from
England in the 14th century.
"The scientific facts leave me in no
doubt," says Dr Lomas, a physicist who now
lectures in Information Systems. "The
cloth was used to wrap Jacques de Molay,
the leader of a monastic order known as
the Knights Templar. "For a start, the
radiocarbon dates fit. Also, de Molay was
neither dead nor resurrected.
Scientists argue that the person in that
shroud had to be alive to produce the
image. Lomas maintains the image on the
shroud was created through a process known
as the Volckringer effect, where heat,
sweat, acids and oxygen-free radicals
scorch the cloth. A paper recently
published by Dr Mills from Leicester
University appears to back up this theory.
It shows how extreme conditions, such as a
body under torture, force oxygen atoms
apart to give off pinpricks of atomic
energy.
"In stable conditions oxygen atoms are
bonded in pairs," says Lomas, "but lactic
acid being released from muscle tissue
under extreme stress would cause an
unstable reaction. The marks on the shroud
are pixelated - thousands of dots scorched
on the cloth."
It appears that the victim in the shroud
had been nailed up with his right arm over
his head and his left arm thrown out
sideways. According to the blood flow on
the lower arms of the image, and a
dislocated thumb and right shoulder. Lomas
believes the victim in the shroud was
crucified by nailing him to a door which
was slammed open and shut.
As for de Molay, there is no recorded
mention of the shroud until it was
publicly shown for the first time in 1357
in the French town of Lirey by the widow
of Geoffrey de Charnay. His uncle had been
a Templar and had been burnt to death
together with Jaques de Molay in1314. "De
Molay was accused of denying the divinity
of Christ so it's logical that they
wouldhave subjected him to a re-enactment
of the suffering of Christ - including a
copycat crucifixion," says Lomas.
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