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Joe Nickell
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Inquest on the Shroud of Turin: Latest Scientific Findings Paperback – July 1, 1998

by Joe Nickell (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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This authoritative book about the controversial "shroud" of Turin, claimed to be the burial cloth of Jesus, presents overwhelming evidence that the cloth is actually the creation of a clever medieval artist.

From the earliest known document that mentions the shroud - a letter from a 14th-century Catholic bishop reporting that the artist had confessed - Joe Nickell traces the historical, iconographic, pathological, forensic, and physical and chemical investigations of the purported relic. He details the microchemical tests that revealed artists' pigments on the image and tempera paint in the areas claimed to be bloodstains.

Working with a panel of distinguished scientific and artistic experts, the author links the reported medieval confession and the scientific proof of pigments by demonstrating that the much-touted "photographically negative" image can actually be convincingly simulated by means of an artistic technique employed in the Middle Ages.

Inquest on the Shroud of Turin has all the elements of a good detective story as well as of an expertly presented judicial inquiry. Nickell notes the fact that few scientists with the requisite skills have examined the cloth (generally, those who did became skeptics). He concludes that this is one of the many suspicious circumstances in the cloth's known history of seven centuries.

The so-called "shroud" of Jesus can only be traced to about 1355, when it surfaced at Lirey, France. For the thirteen centuries from the reputed death of Jesus of Nazareth until that date, there is no evidence that his burial garments were preserved or that the "shroud" was in existence.

Even readers who do not believe in so-called holy relics will be fascinated by Nickell's methodical uncovering of the truth about the cloth. However, nothing in this book attacks the faith of Christians.
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  1. Print length
    184 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Prometheus
  4. Publication date
    July 1, 1998
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1573922722
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1573922722
  8. Lexile measure
    1510L
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joe Nickell has been called "the modern Sherlock Holmes" and "the real-life Scully" (from the X-Files). He has been on the trail of mysterious creatures and phenomena for four decades. Since 1995 he has been the world’s only full-time, professional, science-based paranormal investigator. His careful, often-innovative investigations have won him international respect in a field charged with controversy. He is the author of numerous books, including most recently Tracking the Man Beasts; Real or Fake? Studies in Authentication; and Adventures in Paranormal Investigation. Among his other books are Psychic Sleuths, Looking for a Miracle, and Secrets of the Supernatural. See www.joenickell.com for more.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prometheus; Subsequent edition (July 1, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 184 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1573922722
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1573922722
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1510L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

About the author

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Joe Nickell

Joe Nickell

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Joe Nickell has been called "the modern Sherlock Holmes." Since 1995 he has been the world's only full-time, professional, science-based paranormal investigator. His careful, often innovative investigations have won him international respect in a field charged with controversy.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
16 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Stephen P. Gaddis
5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, skeptical analysis of the image on the cloth
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019
Verified Purchase
Clear scientific analysis of the nature of the relic, the speculations about how it could have been created. Takes apart the strange rationalizations for the image, traces the actual known history of the cloth and applies modern chemical tests to the brown stains and "blood". I've read too many absurd explanations (i.e. Da Vinci's supposed invention of photography, which he then promptly forgot) that avoided real questions or answers.
One person found this helpful
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EDWARD LOPEZ
5.0 out of 5 stars Religious beliefs are irrational lacking common sense.
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2024
Joe Nickell could simply have quoted The New Testament which does not mention a shroud, it says a separate face cloth..
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C. Hintz
5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing like a little science to despell religious ignorance.
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2013
Verified Purchase
I have followed the shroud scam for almost 3 decades and this book really puts it to rest. It's a painting -- an ikon -- got it?
3 people found this helpful
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J. Carruthers
4.0 out of 5 stars Sindonology meets critical review
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2003
Let me resurrect an old cliche & say that "Inquest on the Shroud of Turin" is good news and bad news. The good new is that several of the chapters are very strong, providing compelling reasons to discount the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin as the burial cloth of Jesus. I think the most enlightening chapter was at the beginning of the book & dealt with the provenance of the shroud. It was clear from its origin in 1355 that the cloth was a fraud. The early provenance shows that the only medieval contemporaries who did not discount the shroud as a fake were those who were profiting from displaying it to pilgrims in return for alms. Bishop Pierre D'Arcis wrote an investigation report stating that the shroud is a painting, & this fact was attested to by the artist who painted it. Even the pope discounted its authenticity when he issued a bull directing it could only be displayed as a "representation" and not as an authentic relic. It is amusing to think that the medieval mind had clearer insight into the shroud's bona fides than many modern minds.
Another strong chapter is the one that deals with the research of Walter McCrone. (...) In any event, McCrone concludes the shroud bears traces of paint pigment (as predicted by the provenance) & that proteins on the shroud are not blood but rather the paint medium tempra. What do you call a piece of cloth with paint pigment & paint medium on it? McCrone and Nickell conclude that it is a painting (as one might expect).
Now for the bad news: "Inquest" suffers from several weaknesses. Many of the chapters become lost in technical detail which I think detract from the strength of the overall argument. Why make a subtle argument when there is an obvious argument to be made that is more compelling? Also, I noted one occasion where Nickell placed emphasis where he should not & the result was misleading. Nickell states that according to the New Testament, the body of Jesus was buried according to Jewish custom, & therefore the body must have been washed. The truth is that the New Testament does NOT say the body was washed. This whole line of reasoning should have been left out in my opinion since it is misleading & detracts from the overall argument.
Another weakness is that the book has not been updated since the Carbon 14 tests were published showing that the shroud is only 700 years old. This makes the cloth about the same age as the provenance indicating it is a fake. A new chapter would tie all this together quite nicely.
Other reviewers have criticized Nickell for his lack of credentials as a scientist. If they had read the book more carefully (or at all), they would have noted that this book is clearly presented as a collaborative effort with technical specialists. Not only did Nickell consult on research, some whole chapters are ghost written by his collaborators. Another criticism is that the shroud could not be a painting since there is no brush strokes & no directionality. In spite of what other reviewers have said, these matters are addressed in the book. There are no brush strokes because the artist didn't use a brush. Furthermore, Nickell does discuss how paint could be applied without an indication of directionality. Read the book for more details.
Finally, there is one interesting argument Nickell touches on but does not develop. The image of the face on the shroud shows evidence of fresh bleeding from scalp wounds. Nickell points out that there should be no blood because the body was washed. An alternative observation is that when a person dies, the heart stops, blood pressure drops to zero, & lividity begins to set in. A dead body simply does not bleed (at least not like the fresh stream of blood seen on the face of the shroud). Hypothetically, if the shroud were indeed the burial cloth of Jesus, it means that he did not die on the cross, but that he was taken down while still alive. No death on the cross means no resurrection, & this conclusion would turn Christian theology on its head. It appears that this one observation would give the faithful plenty of reason to reject the authenticity of the shroud, rather than defend it.
19 people found this helpful
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Paige
1.0 out of 5 stars Talk about an agenda…
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2022
How sad to see that people are still reading —and believing— this book and others of its ilk. The facts seem not to matter to those who are determined to find that the shroud is a fake. I’d recommend checking out what Barry Schwortz has to say about it. Mr. Schwortz, who is Jewish, was the National Geographic photographer who documented the 1978 analysis of the shroud and has since documented the newer studies on his own website. One finding? The “blood” on the shroud IS ACTUALLY TYPE AB BLOOD!
So skip this book; it’s way out of date and was dubious to begin with.
3 people found this helpful
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Historiograf
2.0 out of 5 stars a cunningly written propagandistic book
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2009
In his Shroud book Joe Nickell, alias James Randy, has cleverly managed to mask his strong antireligious bias, in order to give his "inquest" an air of scientific detachment, while applying at the same time consequently the classical recipe of evidence picking.
From these tactics a book has resulted which, unfortunately, is bound to impress the uninformed and easily satisfied, who will not be aware of how selective Nr. Nickells evidence is.
Yet, a REALLY sceptical reader should be able to detect here and there some of the clues which indicate that there is something inherently wrong with Mr. Nickells way of arguing.
For instance, when the author puts forward the ridiculous claim that a technically and artistically very deficient pilgrims medallion PROVES "that the imagery (on the Shroud) was formerly much stronger than the faint sepia image of today". A simple glance at a picture of it would reveal to anybody how preposterous that claim is. Is it perhaps for just that reson we do not find any picture of the medallion in this book?
The whole of the historical argumentation of Mr. Nickell is based on one single piece of evidence, the famous letter of Bishop d'Arcis from 1389, which he flatly states to be beyond any doubt, although the evidence of that document is not corroborated by any other source of that time. Where has gone all the scepticism of Mr. Nickell who, normally, does not believe one word of what a bishop says??
Worse than Nickells feigned naivity is the obvious fact that he has systematically eliminated all the evidence present in his own sources (Ian Wilson, Thomas Humber) that went against the reliablity of the said document, evidence which has since been strengthened by additional discoveries, just as has been the disproval of Nickells claim of "thirteen centuries of silence" before the appearance of the Shroud in France in the mid 14th century. Quite a number of gaps of evidence have been filled, apparently unknown to Mr. Nickell. In his update chapter to the original book he has not seriously discussed any of the important new evidence, preferring instead to confine himself to topics for which he has an easy answer ready.
On the very same line is situated the "refutation" by both Nickell and his main contributor, John F. Fischer, of the evidence put forward by the STURP experts Heller and Adler: Quite a number of important observations made by these two are simply not addressed. Since they have published their main paper under the auspices of the Canadian Forensic Society, wouldn'it have been logical for the FORENSIC SPECIALIST Fischer to submit his alleged thorough refutation of their work to te same institution, where it could have peen presented in a proper scientific context? Has HIS OWN WORK perhaps not been that perfect und comprehensive, after all?
Needless to say that Nickells shroud imitations are as unconvincing as are those of all the other people, mostly situated in the same ideological corner as Mr. Nickell (and probably also Mr. Fischer), who have produced similar work, which they all claim to be entirely convincing. These alleged proofs of an artistic origin of the Turin Shroud are in reality miles away from the original and resemble far more the well known numerous bad Shroud copies made from the 16th century onwards which, sometimes, are still - quite dishonestly - presented as "competing medieval shrouds". At least from this particular fantasy argument Mr. Nickell seems have to refrained in the present book (though he has made use of it on other occasions). The said fake shrouds have also something else in common: for reasons which are quite easy to guess, their authors content themselves with showing only - if any at all - small sized pictures of them, never anything more detailed, let alone micro-photographs, such as STURP has made available in the context of their 1978 enquiry of the Turin Shroud, which alone would allow any proper insight. Nor have they allowed their imitation shrouds to be examined close at hands by their opponents.
In the case of Mr. Nickell who is always so prompt in accusing others of wanting to deceive, such an attitude is particularly unsatisfactory indeed.
8 people found this helpful
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Anonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2016
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This is an excellent book--rational and scientific.
One person found this helpful
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