P. E. Damon and colleagues' Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin, published in Nature in 1989, reports the results of independent accelerator mass spectrometry dating carried out by three laboratories, Arizona, Oxford and Zurich, on a sample of the Shroud's cloth, calibrating the material to 1260-1390 CE at 95 percent confidence, a range consistent with a medieval rather than first century origin. Its strength is that it is a peer reviewed paper in one of the most rigorously reviewed general science journals, with three independent laboratories cross checking each other's results using an agreed protocol. Its limit, openly debated since publication, is that critics have challenged the sampling location and possible contamination of the specific patch tested, so while the 1989 dating itself is not in serious scientific dispute, whether that single sample fairly represents the whole cloth remains contested.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
P. E. Damon and colleagues' Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin, published in Nature in 1989, is a peer reviewed paper in one of the most rigorously reviewed general science journals, reporting three independent laboratories cross checking each other's results, treated at the top tier. NotesThree-laboratory AMS study (Arizona, Oxford, Zurich); calibrated 1260-1390 CE at 95% confidence.
Citation
AuthorP. E. Damon et al.
PublisherNature (vol. 337, pp. 611-615)
Publication Year1989
URLhttps://www.shroud.com/nature.htm
Source Typejournal
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Turin, Cities This source names Turin directly: "Damon and colleagues' Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin, published in Nature in 1989, reports the results of independent accelerator mass spectrometry dating carried out by three..."
Zurich, Cities This source names Zurich directly: "laboratories, Arizona, Oxford and Zurich, on a sample of the Shroud's cloth, calibrating the material to 1260-1390 CE at 95 percent confidence, a range consistent with a medieval rather than first..."
Claims Backed By This Source (22 claims)
This source backs 22 claims across the atlas. As facts: 12 well-attested, 2 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 4 holds. Plus 4 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
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- Sources, 10 claims: 8 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Artifacts & Relics, 4 claims: 1 scholarly debate, 2 holds, 1 general references.
- Sacred Sites, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Articles, 2 claims: 2 well-attested.
- Custodians & Museums, 2 claims: 1 scholarly debate, 1 general references.
- Cities, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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