Twice, in the last few months, some rather ill-informed authenticists have turned their attention to Dan McClellan, a biblical scholar with a PhD from Exeter University, and his discussions of various claims made by popular popularisers of the authenticity of the Shroud. McClellan’s podcasts are around 5 to 15 minutes long, and consists of a […]
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The myth of Indian provenance for the Shroud of Turin The latest paper on Shroud DNA triggered a mass of newspaper headlines to the effect that the Shroud could have originated in India, in spite of it’s clearly saying that the Indian DNA claimed to be present in a previous study could not be verified. […]
[Update 9 July 2026. The article reviewed below has been published as an Open Access paper in Scientific Reports, with the title ‘DNA signatures preserved in the official 1978 sample collection of the Shroud of Turin.’ It seems to be completely unchanged.] Gianni Barcaccia and his team, who published an interesting exploration of some DNA […]
Some months ago I was distorted into a ranting AI caricature by an over-assertive authenticist, which I thought was quite funny at the time. Its creator has since used it again in a more spiteful context, but one bad apple does not necessarily spoil the barrel – unless it is left to rot, when it […]
[Almost everything below derives from the book by Prof. Andrea Nicolotti, Il Processo Negato, which I would translate loosely as “Verdict suppressed.” Quotes from the primary sources adduced are taken from that book, which has not been translated into English. Almost all the documents are transcribed in full in the book’s 59 appendices, and most […]
Guy Powell’s podcast is usually one of the more sensible platforms for authenticists to present their points of view, and this year’s parade has so far been worth anybody’s attention, be they authenticist or medieval in inclination. However, the latest invitee, making his second appearance on the show, is in a different class. This is […]
The latest serious contribution to authenticist proselytisation on the internet comes in the form of a series from Bible Interact, ‘Biblical Archaeology from the Ground Down,’ hosted by Drs George Sparks and David Graves, both eminent in the field of biblical archaeology, and with practical experience of investigative techniques.1 They invited Justin Robinson, coin specialist […]
[The Markwardt Hypotheses is the new name for a series previously called The Antioch Hypothesis, as we have left Antioch far behind, and Jack Markwardt has more than one hypothesis to explain how the shroud of Christ became the Shroud of Turin.] In another remarkable four hour tour-de-force,1 Jack Markwardt has reviewed every possible flawed […]
In a recent podcast with Mike Creavey,1 Bob Rucker reiterated his hypothesis that the Shroud was irradiated with neutrons, which explains how the radiocarbon dating could be wrong. His explanation, as ever, was clear and apparently compelling, and, most importantly, easily capable of being falsified – as indeed, I have no doubt, it will be […]
Emanuele Filiberto Pingone (1525 – 1582) Filiberto Pingone, Baron de Cusy, was one of the most senior members of the Court of Savoy. Born and brought up in Chambéry, he trained as a lawyer and rose to become senior legal advisor and court historiographer to Duke Emmanuel-Philibert whose busy reign included regaining and consolidating Savoyard […]