The Challenge of the Shroud by Mark Oxley

The “Shroud of Turin” is one of the most studied and, given its Christian connection, “controversial” artifacts.

There are numerous papers published on the subject and many books attempt to collate that material. Some focus on a particular aspect—for example, medical—whilst others take a broader approach by covering multiple disciplines.

I have not read every single paper or book published, but one of the better books that attempt to provide a broader picture is The Shroud: Fresh Light on the 2000-year-old Mystery by Ian Wilson, published in 2010 and intended as a “complete update” of his 1978 book. This book is about 470 pages in total with the main text at about 380 pages, which is not short.

A shorter but still comprehensive book is The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin by Mark Oxley, first published in 2010. This book is about 330 pages in total with the main text at about 280 pages. The text is organized into 5 parts, spanning 20 chapters, including the introduction and conclusion.

Oxley’s approach to the topic is that of a “qualified scientist, an amateur historian and a believing Catholic”. His science degrees included physics and chemistry. The author relies on no few experts. Amongst others, Wilson’s work is an influence as well as that of Barrie Schwortz. The latter was the official photographer/videographer of the 1978 STURP team and founder of shroud.com. Schwortz sadly passed away on 21 June 2024.

Setting aside the introduction and conclusion, the 3 parts that are the core of the text are:

• Part 2 – “The Shroud and History” (containing 8 chapters)

• Part 3 – “The Shroud and the Crucifixion” (containing 4 chapters)

• Part 4 – “The Shroud and Science” (containing 6 chapters).

The history covered in Part 2 is partly speculative given the gaps, particularly in the early centuries. Like Wilson, Oxley discusses the possibility of the Shroud being in Edessa. The author also discusses other image cloths at Constantinople before the Shroud’s arrival in Lirey, France.

Part 3 covers Jesus Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion in detail as well as Jewish burial customs, and how the images on the Shroud correspond to that. Included in this part is the imprint of Pilate’s coin on the subject’s eye.

There is also a chapter on another artifact, the Sudarium of Oviedo, that does not have an image imprint and is sometimes confused for the Shroud. The cloth was used to cover the head of the subject in transit to the place of burial. The author covers the main scientific observations regarding the sudarium. For example, the blood is probably human and of group AB, the subject suffered pulmonary oedema, and myrrh and aloes were probably sprinkled over the cloth.

Part 4 covers the scientific observations of the Shroud, starting with those of medical doctor and professor of anatomy Yves Delage who studied the Secondo Pia’s photographs from 1898. Along with Paul Vignon and three other scientists, Delage concluded that the image is not painted and is of a dead human male.

From there, the author discusses later observations. For example, the image contains 3D information and contains no “directionality”.

A chapter is dedicated to the dating of the Shroud, discussing what is conveniently not mentioned by skeptics—that is, the limitations of carbon-dating, particularly due to “bioplastic” coating. There is also the possibility of the test sample not being of the original material as it is known that repairs were made over the centuries.

The author concludes with two chapters about the two hypotheses on how the image may have been formed: radiation, and chemical and contact. Although partly speculative, the discussion is interesting and goes to show that it is very difficult to form such an image.

There is clearly no consensus among scientists as to how the image on the Shroud may have been formed. No single hypothesis or explanation seems to account for it. One set of observations seems to rule out all theories based on radiation processes; other observations seem to support such theories.

On balance, this is a good book that takes a broad approach. The text is easily accessible and, given the amount of material available, is still quite brief without lacking in substance. For those who want a relatively quicker read than Wilson’s The Shroud, this book is recommended.

Despite being significantly shorter than Wilson’s book, there are some historical points by Oxley that the former does not focus on. And given the author’s background in the natural sciences, he at times discusses scientific points in more detail. On a related note, the author’s scientific mindset is also apparent in how the entire book and each chapter are structured.

The layout design is not bad. The font size and line spacing are sufficient. The paragraph spacing can actually be reduced slightly as it does not match the aforementioned. The text needs better copyediting as there are minor inconsistencies. Overall, it is still a well-written text that is easy to read.

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