What options for future scientific study of the Shrouds history and image were lost as a result of the “restoration” of 2002?
>> Return to: Shroud of Turin Story [Answer for this question is the same as for The 1532 fire and image properties] Although the fire of 1532 nearly destroyed the Shroud, it created opportunities for many types of chemical studies. We would never use the same destructive methods of observation on an undamaged relic, but misadventure gave us many unexpected options. The important fact is that, before the restoration, we could look at the chemistry of specific locations on the Shroud where scorches intersected image, blood, serum, and water stains. The restoration destroyed much chemical information at those intersections. If the image had been painted or retouched, some foreign materials had to be added to the cloth. The pigments and vehicles (e.g., the ochers, realgar, orpiment, mosaic gold, glair, gums, and glues) would have been subjected to a violent “chemical test” during the fire. The temperatures, temperature gradients, pyrolysis products, and water used to extinguish the fire w
