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It is hard to know. Estimates generally range from 5'9" to 5'11".
One reason is that we don't know how flat the body is on the cloth. If the image
is anatomically correct -- and it seems to be -- we know that the knees are bent
and the head is tilted forward as though resting on a pillow (outside of the
cloth). Another reason is that we don't really know the size of the cloth at the time
the image was formed. How much has it changed over the years due to stretching
or shrinking? It has been held aloft, nailed up for display, rolled up, folded.
It has been exposed to sunshine and dampness. It was seared in a fire that was
doused with water. During a restoration effort in 2002 it was stretched with
weights and steamed to remove wrinkles. By some estimates the length of the
cloth was increased by eight centimeters during the restoration. |
The
scientific study of the Turin shroud is like a microcosm of the
scientific search for God: it does more to inflame any debate than
settle it.”
It is
simply not known how the ghostly image of a serene, bearded man was
made.”
Scientist-Journalist Philip Ball Nature, that most prestigious of scientific journals, that once had bragging rights to claim that the Shroud was fake, responding to new, peer-reviewed studies that discredit the carbon 14 dating and show that the Shroud could be authentic. WHAT WE KNOW IN 2005
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