In this Aug. 12, 2000 file photo, The Holy Shroud, a 14 foot-long linen revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, is shown at the Cathedral of Turin, Italy.(Photo: ANTONIO CALANNI, AP)
(NEWSER)<span style="color: Red;">*</span>– The mysteries of the Shroud of Turin are proving to be very stubborn in the face of modern technology. An Italian team analyzed DNA from the relic some believe is the burial cloth of Jesus but failed to find conclusive proof of its origins, the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
Independent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reports.
The testing revealed traces of people and pollen from many parts of the world, meaning it that could be a medieval forgery—or that its journey to Europe could indeed have begun in Jerusalem around 30 or 33AD. The results show that over the centuries, the shroud came in contact with many "different types of natural and anthropological environments," according to the researchers, whose study is published in the journal<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
Nature.
One find that will surprise skeptics: One of the most common snippets of mitochondrial DNA was from the Middle East. The type is "rare in western Europe, and it is typical of the Druze community, an ethnic group that has some origin in Egypt and that lives mainly in restricted areas between Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine," lead researcher Gianni Barcaccia tells
<span style="color: Red;">*</span>LiveScience, which notes that other experts consider some of the methods used unreliable.
Another find: Barcaccia says some of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>oldest DNA on the cloth was from India, meaning the shroud may have been made there. (An earlier study suggested the shroud is real—and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
was created by a huge earthquake.)
This story originally appeared on Newser:
NEWSER
DNA Tests on the Shroud of Turin Delivered Some Surprising Results
Newser<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the Web. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.
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