Shroud of Turin, claimed to be Jesus’ burial cloth, contaminated with carrot and red coral DNA
The Shroud of Turin, which some claim is the burial cloth of Jesus, contains the DNA of several people, as well as a wide range of other species, including carrots, melons and red coral.
Some of the DNA traces suggest there is influence from India, which could mean the fabric originated there, researchers say in a new study.
Probably a fake
The famous shroud moved across Europe for centuries, but the first documented mention of the shroud was in Lirey, a village in northern France, in 1354, and even then there were debates over whether it was an authentic relic of the era. crucifixion. The rectangular cloth measures 14.4 feet by 3.6 feet (4.4 meters by 1.1 meters) and bears the faint image of a man and numerous stains, some of which are believed to be blood.
The strongest evidence for the age of the shroud comes from a carbon dating analysis made in 1989which places the creation of the shroud between 1260 and 1390, firmly in the medieval period. And last year, work revealed that the human image on the shroud likely resulted from the fabric being placed on a bas-relief sculpture.
Some Christian scholars still believe that the Shroud is authentic and dates back 2,000 years. Yet there is no evidence that the multi-shaft looms needed to make the type of cloth intended for the shroud existed in Europe, India, or the Levant region 2,000 years ago.
“These structures require a four-shaft loom invented in the Middle Ages [in Europe],” Andrea Nicolottia historian at the University of Turin who was not involved in the work, told Live Science.
Analyze DNA
In 2015, Gianni Barcacciaprofessor of genetics and genomics at the University of Padua in Italy, and colleagues suggested that the The Shroud of Turin could have been made in Indiabased on genetic analysis of samples collected from the shroud in 1978.
More powerful genomic techniques are now available, so Barcaccia and his colleagues performed new DNA and metagenomic analysis on the 1978 samples to determine which species the DNA traces came from. The research has been published on the preprint server bioRxiv March 22 and has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers discovered human DNA that appeared to come from several people, one of whom was the person who collected the samples in 1978. Bacterial species made up 10 to 31 percent of the DNA. Barcaccia’s team noted the presence of Mediterranean red coral DNA (Corallium rubrum), which suggests “Mediterranean origins or transit through Mediterranean regions”.
Even if the coral came from a particular location, that doesn’t mean the shroud was there too, Nicolotti noted. “The red coral is perhaps reminiscent of the Sea of Palestine,” he said, adding that there was a much more likely scenario for how the coral ended up on the shroud. “It makes me think of coral crucifixes and rosaries, or reliquaries which we know were placed in contact with the fabric.”
Barcaccia’s team found that cats and dogs made up about 44 percent of the animal DNA, but there were also traces of chickens, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, deer and rabbits. Additionally, there were slight traces of skin mites, ticks, and an assortment of fish.
We are convinced that this diversity of animal and plant species identified highlights the significant environmental contamination of the shroud which probably occurred over the last centuries, notably following the voyages of Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus.
Gianni Barcaccia, professor of genetics and genomics at the University of Padua in Italy
Plant species were also richly represented. Carrot DNA provides approximately 31% of the plant’s DNA. But there was also DNA from wheat, corn, rye, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, melons or cucumbers and peanuts, as well as traces of herbs, bananas, almonds, walnuts and oranges.
Some of these plants may reflect typical agricultural practices in Europe and the Mediterranean, the study authors write, but some of these plants, such as bananas, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes, were introduced to Europe primarily from the Americas in the 16th century and later. And the carrot’s DNA is genetically similar to that of cultivars derived from orange carrots originally grown in Western Europe between the 15th and 16th centuries, suggesting relatively recent contamination, Barcaccia told Live Science by email.
“We are convinced that this diversity of identified animal and plant species highlights the significant environmental contamination of the shroud that likely occurred over the past few centuries, particularly following the voyages of Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus,” he said.
Notably, some species historically associated with the Mediterranean region were absent.
“The vast array of animal and plant material does not appear to be indicative of a particular environment, but I note the absence of olives, dates, pomegranates, camels and of course myrrh and aloe,” Hugh Fareyan independent researcher who runs a blog called The Medieval Shroud and was not involved in the work, told Live Science by email.
I try to imagine how many people must have touched the shroud, all the instruments used by American scientists in 1978, and even who could have touched and made the brushes which were periodically used to dust the shroud,
Andrea Nicolotti, historian at the University of Turin
Human DNA can be transferred to an object with or without contactand it is the same with the DNA of other animals and plants, so many traces could have ended up on the shroud due to its public exhibitions in medieval towns. “All the vegetables remind me of the market which is 100 meters away [330 feet] from the square where public exhibitions took place for centuries in Turin, or from the dust of Chambéry when the Shroud was displayed along a tree-lined avenue,” Nicolotti said.
The researchers dated a few threads of the shroud, one between 1451 and 1622 and the other between 1642 and 1800. These dates correspond to when the shroud was repaired in 1534, shortly after it was damaged by fire, and to further conservation work in 1694, the team noted.
It’s important to note that none of the new findings contradict the definitive carbon dating analysis done in 1989, Nicolotti said.
However, what is more controversial is Barcaccia and colleagues’ interpretation that nearly 40% of the human DNA found on the shroud comes from Indian lineages, suggesting “the possibility that the thread was produced in India.”
Nicolotti does not think the shroud likely came from India and remains convinced it is a forgery originating in medieval Europe, as the carbon dating from 1989 suggests. He is also not surprised that a range of human DNA was found on the cloth.
“I try to imagine how many people must have touched the shroud, all the instruments used by American researchers in 1978, and even who may have touched and made the brushes used periodically to dust the shroud,” he said.
Barcaccia, G., Migliore, NR, Gabelli, G., Agostini, V., Palumbo, F., Moroni, E., Nicolini, V., Gao, L., Mattutino, G., Porter, A., Palmowski, P., Procopio, N., Perego, UA, Iorizzo, M., Sharbel, TF, Bollone, PB, Torroni, A., Squartini, A., & Achilli, A. (2026). DNA traces on the Shroud of Turin: metagenomics of the official 1978 sample collection. bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory). https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.19.712852
