Exploration of the Face of the Turin Shroud. Pollens Studied by SEM Analysis

Abstract

We studied by SEM-EDX analysis the pollens on the Face of the Turin Shroud. A total of ten pollen grains were found; they were photographed, characterised and analysed. Three of them (pollens p6, p7 and p10) belong to Ceratonia siliqua, the carob tree; one of them (pollen p1) belongs to Balanites aegyptiaca (the palm tree of the desert), and another one (pollen p9) belongs to Cercis siliquastrum (the Judean tree). These three plants have their geographical distributions in the Near-East; that is indicative of a Palestinian origin of the Turin Shroud. Two pollen grains (p3 and p4) belong to Myosotis ramosissima. Probably myositis flowers were deposited later on the Turin Shroud, as reverence for this venerable and symbolic object.