Sir — Your article on the Turin Shroud (February 13) was 25 years out of date. Carbon dating presumes the sample being tested is uncontaminated.
The shroud had been displayed on feast days in the Middle Ages, so had become contaminated with smoke from incense, handprints, etc, hence the resulting date.
Ian Wilson, in his 2010 volume The Shroud, details work that has been done in the last 25 years using a range of new techniques and traces the owner and whereabouts of the shroud since the death of Christ and shows conclusively that it is genuine.
Rosalind Kaye, Colchester
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