Investigating the color of the blood stains on archaeological cloths: the case of the Shroud of Turin

A. Di Lascio; P. Di Lazzaro; P. Iacomussi; M. Missori; D. Murra

doi:10.1364/AO.57.006626

Investigating the color of the blood stains on archaeological cloths: the case of the Shroud of Turin

A. Di Lascio, P. Di Lazzaro, P. Iacomussi, M. Missori, and D. Murra

Applied Optics
Vol. 57,
Issue 23,
pp. 6626-6631
(2018)
•https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.57.006626

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A. Di Lascio, P. Di Lazzaro, P. Iacomussi, M. Missori, and D. Murra, "Investigating the color of the blood stains on archaeological cloths: the case of the Shroud of Turin," Appl. Opt. 57, 6626-6631 (2018)

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Table of Contents Category
- Spectroscopy
Optics & Photonics Topics
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The topics in this list come from the OSA Optics and Photonics Topics applied to this article.
Previously assigned OCIS codes
- Excimer lasers (140.2180)
- Absorption (300.1030)
- Spectroscopy, visible (300.6550)
- Color, measurement (330.1710)

About this Article
History
- Original Manuscript: April 4, 2018
- Revised Manuscript: July 6, 2018
- Manuscript Accepted: July 10, 2018
- Published: August 2, 2018

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Abstract

The unique reddish blood stains on the archaeological cloth known as the Shroud of Turin caught the attention of several scholars, who proposed different hypotheses to explain the unusual blood color. To date, just a few hypotheses have been tested experimentally, and the results are debatable. In this paper, we test the strength of two hypotheses (namely, the presence of carboxyhemoglobin and the long-term influence of ultraviolet light on high-bilirubin blood) by the spectral reflectance of the blood stained regions on the Shroud and by color analyses of ultraviolet irradiated high-bilirubin blood stains on linen. The relevance of these simple methods to the study of stained textiles is discussed.

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Possible Cause of the Reddish Color of the Blood Stains on the Shroud	Proposed By	Experimental Data
Pigments (red ochre, vermilion, alizarin)	McCrone [8]	McCrone (1980) [8]. Analysis of sub-micrometer particles from adhesive tapes. Data available.
Saponaria officinalis	Rogers and Arnoldi [9]	Soran (1977).Blood stains+saponaria claimed still reddish after 25 years. Data and pics not available.
Free bilirubin bound with albumin	Adler [10]	Goldoni et al. (2000) [11] Svensson (2010) [12].Negative results with both free and non-free bilirubin. Data and pics available.
Bilirubin + UV	Goldoni et al. [11]	Goldoni et al. (2000) [11] Positive results. Pic available. Data not available.
Carboxyhemoglobin	Baima Bollone et al. [13]	Kearse (2017) [14].Negative results on blood stains 12 days old. Data and pics available
Pigments/dyes added to blood	van der Hoeven [15]	Fanti and Zagotto (2017) [16]. Analysis of sub-micrometer particles from encrusted linen fibers and dust. Data available.

	2013	2017
Hue	$166.6 \pm 3.1$	$165.2 \pm 3.2$
Saturation	$8.1 \pm 0.9$	$8.7 \pm 0.5$
Lightness	$167.6 \pm 2.6$	$169.6 \pm 1.7$

REDNESS and Yellowing of Blood Stains	1 Day After Irradiation	4 Years After Irradiation	Variation Versus Time	Variation Versus Not Irradiated
Redness of non-irradiated blood stains	$0.68 \pm 0.04$	$0.61 \pm 0.05$	− 10.3%	–
Redness of laser-irradiated blood stains	$0.76 \pm 0.05$	$0.62 \pm 0.06$	−18.4%	$+ 1.6 %$
Redness of lamp-irradiated blood stains	$0.78 \pm 0.07$	$0.74 \pm 0.05$	−1.3%	$+ 21.3 %$
Yellowing of non-irradiated blood stains	$2.28 \pm 0.14$	$2.22 \pm 0.16$	−2.6%	_
Yellowing of laser-irradiated blood stains	$2.42 \pm 0.19$	$2.28 \pm 0.19$	−5.8%	$+ 2.7 %$
Yellowing of lamp-irradiated blood stains	$2.42 \pm 0.21$	$2.46 \pm 0.16$	$+ 1.7 %$	$+ 10.8 %$

Possible Cause of the Reddish Color of the Blood Stains on the Shroud	Proposed By	Experimental Data
Pigments (red ochre, vermilion, alizarin)	McCrone [8]	McCrone (1980) [8]. Analysis of sub-micrometer particles from adhesive tapes. Data available.
Saponaria officinalis	Rogers and Arnoldi [9]	Soran (1977).Blood stains+saponaria claimed still reddish after 25 years. Data and pics not available.
Free bilirubin bound with albumin	Adler [10]	Goldoni et al. (2000) [11] Svensson (2010) [12].Negative results with both free and non-free bilirubin. Data and pics available.
Bilirubin + UV	Goldoni et al. [11]	Goldoni et al. (2000) [11] Positive results. Pic available. Data not available.
Carboxyhemoglobin	Baima Bollone et al. [13]	Kearse (2017) [14].Negative results on blood stains 12 days old. Data and pics available
Pigments/dyes added to blood	van der Hoeven [15]	Fanti and Zagotto (2017) [16]. Analysis of sub-micrometer particles from encrusted linen fibers and dust. Data available.

	2013	2017
Hue	$166.6 \pm 3.1$	$165.2 \pm 3.2$
Saturation	$8.1 \pm 0.9$	$8.7 \pm 0.5$
Lightness	$167.6 \pm 2.6$	$169.6 \pm 1.7$

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