30095
Accession Number
7234
Title Of Article Chaper
Microscopical study of the Turin Shroud. III
Title Of Journal Book
The microscope
Volume
29
Issue
1
Pages
19-38
Collation
20 p.
Reference Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references
Language Of Text
English
Literature Type
Serial
Literature Level
Analytic
Abstract
Additional microanalyses of yellow to red pigment-medium agglomerates (PMA) from Shroud tape 3-CB, a blood image area, confirm the presence of iron oxide and add the important new information that vermilion (mercuric sulfide), an artist's pigment popular for centuries, is present in significant amounts on the Shroud. The scanning electron microscope shows the paint layer on a typical fiber, and elemental maps of the same fiber show heavier concentrations of iron in the areas showing heaviest paint medium. Analyses of 11 additional PMA particles by electron microprobe show iron and/or mercury (associated with sulfur) in amounts related to the depth of red color. The red pigment particles in one red PMA were identified by electron diffraction as vermilion; a second red PMA yielded x-ray diffraction lines for vermilion, iron oxide (hematite), and calcite. Finally, a highly sensitive microchemical test was successful in finding mercury in a single red PMA from the Shroud. These data support the conclusion of the Bishop of Troyes, Henry of Poitiers, who said in the 1350's that the Shroud had been cunningly painted, the truth being attested by the artist who had painted it. A radiocarbon date can now best confirm or deny the conclusion reached. See 18-839 and 18-840. -- AATA
pub_id
30095