PREFACE
In sending the Acts of the Congress to press it is our sad duty to
remember
one of the guest speakers, whose competence in the fields of physics and
chemistry and whose unusual critical capacities, tempered by a brusque
bonhomie and an uncommon sense of humour, were important in maintaining a
high level of science and understanding at this meeting.
We must unfortunately here commemorate the sudden demise of Professor Alan
Adler, Emeritus Professor of the Western Connecticut State University.
With
experimental data and original research he has contributed in a
fundamental
way to the study of the Shroud. His death leaves a void which it is
difficult to fill as he had worked for a long time as a chemist with sure
specialist competence on the question of the formation of the Shroud image
and on the nature of the blood marks. His reports published here are among
the last scientific works he wrote. But he is particularly remembered here
for his precious activity as Member of the International Committee for the
Conservation of the Shroud. In this capacity he always worked with
generosity, acumen, competence, rigour and fidelity according to the motto
³Amicus Plato, magis amica Veritas².
For all these reasons as Presidents of the Congress, and with the
unanimous
agreement of all the Scientific and Organising Committee of the Congress,
we
have considered it our duty to dedicate the volume ³The Turin Shroud,
past,
present and future² to his memory. This edition is faithful to the
contributions of all those who participated at the Congress and
subsequently
sent us the written text of their contributions. The Scientific Committee
has neither selected nor censured any of these works in the belief that
the
thought of each contributor should be faithfully reported. At times the
presentations sparked off further discussions in which many of those
present
participated. There is a recording of these debates which is not reported
here due to lack of time, as for various reasons we wish to publish the
Acts
as soon as possible. Among these is the service that publication renders
to
specialists, so that they can have an objective knowledge of the state of
the art unmediated by unauthorised synthesis preceding publication.
The scientific level of the Congress was good on the whole and comparable
to
that of International Congresses on the physical or human sciences. We
trust
therefore that this volume is an acceptable representation of current
knowledge on the Shroud. New experimental results obtained directly from
the
Shroud cloth do not appear in this book, with the exception of the
recovery
and partial validation of Frei Sulzerıs original preparations. Instead
working hypotheses are proposed in the fields of physics, chemistry and
biology, new eidomatic applications, and wide-ranging historical and
archaeological studies. Obviously the debate between the human sciences
and
the physical sciences has presented the usual asperities, usually among
specialists whose methodologies and criticisms follow different models of
reference. Despite this, the climate of cordial collaboration and the
common
desire to give a qualified contribution to knowledge on the Shroud, also
with the aim of optimising its conservation, allowed everyone at the end
of
the work to agree on common conclusions that we report here below.
The Symposium guaranteed a multi-disciplinary approach to the four
proposed
themes, with results that open up prospects of future research.
The state of the art allows us to confirm that the body image of the
Shroud
is certainly not a painting, as is demonstrated by already well-known
chemical, physical and computer evidence. The most strongly supported
hypothesis backed by analytical data is that it is due to the superficial
oxidation/dehydration of the cellulose fibres. This is a question of great
interest which is open to future research.
The existence of blood marks has likewise been confirmed by very precise
analytical results which are already known in the literature.
The historical data emphasise the great importance of obtaining more
information about the period preceding Jeoffroy I di Charnyıs possession
of
the Shroud.
With regard to the question of the dating and origin of the Shroud, new
findings from original Frei-Sulzer material confirm the presence of
botanical traces which are significant as geographical indicators of the
Israel-Jordan area.
Different evaluations exist regarding the results of the radiocarbon
dating,
with various prospects of future research.
We hope that the scientific-technical and historical-humanistic areas will
find an interface of collaboration in the due independence and respect of
the different methods.
A series of experiments specifically directed at improving our knowledge
for
the purposes of conservation is essential, especially in view of the
considerable development of instruments and improvements in non-invasive
analytical methods.
We therefore recommend the co-ordination of those experts interested in
the
Shroud as a subject of research and in the methods and instruments which
may
be used for this purpose.
We consider that these works provide an incentive to accept and compare
new
research proposals, with the limitation that they should be formulated
with
rigorous methodological correctness and conducted with the absolute
guarantee of conservation without damage to the Shroud cloth. The
presidency
of the Congress wishes to point out that research proposals respecting
these
standards should be sent to the Exposition Committee not later than 30
October 2000.
Finally, we wish to thank His Excellency Monsignor Severino Poletto,
Archbishop of Turin and Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud, for his
interest
in the works of the Congress and for inviting all the participants at the
Congress to a private exposition of the Shroud in the morning of 3 March
2000. We also wish to thank the Diocese Committee for Exposition 2000 for
their faith in the Scientific Committee of the Congress and their
effective
collaboration in its organisation; our warmest thanks to the Public
Authorities Committee and to the Diocese Committee for the Exposition and
Jubilee 2000 for their financial support of our Congress.
Silvano Scannerini and Piero Savarino
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