Scientists at Oxford University have determined the Shroud of Turin, said to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, is a fake, the Evening Standard reported Friday.
The newspaper said radiocarbon dating tests prove the shroud was made in about 1350 A.D. The 14-foot cloth, kept in Turin Cathedral, bears the image of a bearded, crucified man.The Evening Standard gave no attribution for its report but quoted Richard Luckett of Magdalene College, Cambridge University, as saying: "I think that as far as seems possible the scientific argument is now settled and the shroud is a fake.
"I suppose there will be certain people who will never want to believe it, but it seems unlikely these tests could be 1,300 years out," Luckett was quoted as saying.
Tests also were made at the University of Arizona in Tucson and the Federal Polytechnic in Zurich, Switzerland. All three institutions agreed to keep their findings secret to enable the Catholic Church to announce the results in September or early October.
Professor Luigi Gonella in Turin, the liasion between Cardinal Anastasio Ballestrero of Turin and the three laboratories, said Friday he had received no word from Oxford and was "amazed" by the report.
Gonella said Oxford scientists made blind-tests on three samples.
"They were asked to date the three samples, not to determine which of them belongs to the shroud," he said.
Gonella confirmed the Oxford experiments were completed, but he said the results wouldn't be released until after scientists from the three laboratories had met to coordinate them.