Posted on 04/26/2017 2:52:31 AM PDT by NYer
In an interview with RCF Liège, the numismatist Agostino Sferrazza addressed the old question on the coins that cover the eyes of the Man of the Shroud. According to his conclusions, these pieces must have been coined in the days of Pontius Pilate, circa the year 29. This could constitute an additional proof of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin.
Back in 1976, the hypothesis of the presence of coins covering the eyes of the Man of the Shroud was first introduced, thanks to a 3D projection of the mysterious image. In it, scientists note the presence of small bulges on the ocular orbit bones which wouldn’t match any possible morphological particularities. The hypothesis states these might have been leptons: small coins of low value that were common in Palestine in Roman times.
These initial observations were pushed further. Using advanced technologies, researchers have tried to identify drawings and inscriptions on these alleged coins. On the disc covering the right eye, apparently a “lituus” (a curved augural staff used in Roman religion) can be observed. On the disc over left eye, we find a sacrificial cup. Those who refute the authenticity of the are expected to also refute this theory quite vigorously, suggesting that those who want the Shroud to be dated to the time of Christ are “willing themselves” to see the imprint coins where only simple interwoven textile fibers are to be found.
But these refutations can be contrasted with further evidence. Besides the drawings, researchers have managed to read the letters UKAI in the coins. This is thought to be the visible part of the word “TIBERIOUCAIKAROS,” Greek for Tiberius Caesar; that is, Emperor Tiberius. This would be a strong indication that these coins are comparable with other currencies from the Roman era, and might indeed be pieces that were being used at the time of Jesus’ Passion.
In his interview with RCF Liège, Agostino Sferrazza supports the theory of the authenticity of the pieces and dates them to the time of Pontius Pilate. This theory is based on the images produced by computer scientist Nello Balossino, an associate professor at the Turin Faculty of Sciences, who succeeded in bringing out an image of the sacrificial cup on the right eye of the Man of the Shroud. According to Agostino Sferazza, there is no doubt: these pieces were indeed coined in 29 AD.
This article was originally published in Aleteia’s French Edition.
Faith alone is enough
The shroud is likely a creation of Da Vinci. Who, along with being no friend of The Vatican. Was also quite the practical joker and experimented with Optics.
Interesting stance, given that the only place in scripture the words “faith alone” occur, they are preceded by the words “not by”.
Back to the shroud, its authenticity makes little difference to me one way or the other, but radiocarbon dating is nearly worthless. It is a data point, not the whole story.
Optics alone cannot explain the image.
You can get a close approximation of the image, but that’s easy- in fact there is a close approximation right here on this web site (the picture)
I thought that had been determined years ago.
Bump
Then again I wonder if this is a hoax is it possible that whoever made the shroud had access to coins that were found during Roman times?
One wonders. Me? I don't need a burial rag to tell me that Jesus Christ is lord.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/30/shroud-turin-display/2038295/
And how did Da Vinci do it?
No, it dates the pieces of linen used to patch the burned areas. A patch was tested, not the shroud itself. Big difference.
‘Palestine’ is a convenience term for a region in the Middle East.
Whether use of the word was common in Jesus’ time is not part of this story. The modern use of ‘Palestine’ or Palestinian’ has become a political term.
As usual with “new exciting earth shattering find” articles, there’s never a picture. Did a search and couldn’t find any picture that gave anywhere near a half way clear view. Can’t find a picture that even shows there are coins.
I believe that this Shroud was created so that the Image would cause the world to wonder. What better time to show it than right now when so many are so conflicted about God?
Carbon testing measures the ratio of C14 to C12. The shroud of turin was in a fire. That distorts the carbon ratio.
I don’t know if coins were used in the Jewish burial rites at the time. Perhaps some FReeper could chip in.
I did some poking around and found this.
“It all began at NASA in 1978. At this time researchers Jackson, Jumper and Stephenson wanted to test the capacities of their VP8 new computer, specially for three dimensional extrapolation, so they submitted the face on the shroud for analysis. The image obtained, now famous, distinctly revealed two circular protrusions on the eyelids. The experts immediately made a connection with an ancient custom which advocated the placing of coins on the eyes of the dead to keep them closed. Archaeological excavations have confirmed this tradition. Skeletons from the first and second century C.E. have been found with a coin in each eye-socket at Jericho and at En Boqeq.”
Source:
http://www.numismalink.com/fontanille4.html
Thank you for this post: Shroud of Turin coins may finally have been identified
“Please ignore the carbon 14 testing which dates the actual shroud to 1260–1390 CE.”
Please ignore that the carbon testing was not performed on the Shroud itself, but on a medieval patch.
“So silly...”
You can’t Alinsky the Shroud.
If it is real, I tend to think it is, then it highly suggests Devine intervention in creating the image. (Proof of Jesus deity) - You think atheists aren’t interested in that?
Just one miracle or example of Devine intervention utterly destroys the atheist world view. (Actually, demonic intervention does too.) Athiests can have nothing supernatural.
A similar, inexplicable image is that of the Blessed Mother on the tilma of Juan Diego.
1. It has qualities that are humanly impossible to replicate.
What’s more, experts in infrared photography, studying the tilma in the late 1970s, determined that there were no brush strokes, as if the image was slapped onto the surface all at once.
2. People say it’s just a painting, yet the tilma has outlived them all, in time and in quality.
One of the first things skeptics say about the image is that it somehow has to be a forgery or a fraud. Yet in every attempt to replicate the image, while the original never seems to fade, the duplicates have deteriorated over a short time. No scientific explanation is possible for the fact that, “the original tilma was exposed for approximately 116 years without any kind of protection, receiving all the infrared and ultraviolet radiation from the tens of thousands of candles near it and exposed to the humid and salty air around the temple.”
3. The tilma has shown characteristics startlingly like a living human body.
In 1979, when Callahan, the Florida biophysicist, was analyzing the tilma using infrared technology, he apparently also discovered that the tilma maintains a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the same as that of a living person.When Jose Aste Tonsmann, a Peruvian ophthalmologist, conducted a study, one of his tests involved examining the eyes on the tilma at 2,500 times magnification. With the images of the magnified eyes, the scientist was reportedly able to identify as many as 13 individuals in both eyes at different proportions, just as the human eye would reflect an image.
It appeared to be a snapshot of the very moment Juan Diego unfurled the tilma before the archbishop.
4. It appears to be virtually indestructible.
In 1785, a worker was cleaning the glass encasement of the image when he accidentally spilled strong nitric acid solvent onto a large portion of the image itself.The image and the rest of the tilma, which should have been eaten away almost instantly by the spill, reportedly self-restored over the next 30 days, and it remains unscathed to this day, aside from small stains on the parts not bearing the image.
It also survived a bomb blast
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