Coins over the eyes #32: The evidence is overwhelming that the Turin Shroud is Jesus' burial sheet!

COINS OVER THE EYES #32
Copyright © Stephen E. Jones[1]

This is part #32, "Other marks and images: Coins over the eyes," of my series, "The evidence is overwhelming that the Turin Shroud is Jesus' burial sheet!" For more information about this series, see the "Main index #1" and "Other marks and images #26." See also "2.6. The other marks (5): Coins over eyes" and Three-dimensional #20. Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated.

[Main index #1] [Previous: Flower & plant images #31] [Next: Problems of the forgery theory A-Z]

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Other marks and images #26
6. Coins over the eyes #32

Introduction There are images of a coin over both eyes of the man on the Shroud[2].

[Above (enlarge)[3]: Computer enhanced three-dimensional face of the man on the Shroud by Prof. Giovanni Tamburelli[4] (not by by a VP-8 Image Analyzer). Note the small, round, raised, object over each eye (see below). As we shall see below, they are the same size and shape as a lepton coin issued only by Pontius Pilate (r. AD 26-37), the Roman governor of Judaea who condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion (Mt 27:1-2; 11-26; Mk 15:1-15; Lk 23:1-5; 13-25; Jn 18:28-19:16). Note that these small, round, lepton coin size, three-dimensional objects really were over the eyes of the man on the Shroud.]

Paul Vignon 1902: inverse relationship between Shroud cloth-body distance and image intensity[5] In 1902 French biologist Paul Vignon (1865-1943) [Right [6].] observed:

"Some emanation from the body has acted on the linen, and since the hollows on the Shroud are less vigorously reproduced than the raised portions it must be admitted that this something worked with less intensity in proportion as the distance from the body increased ... it is indeed hard to determine with what rapidity the unknown action took place between the body and the Shroud; the main point is that we can assert that the action diminished in proportion as the distance of the body from the Shroud increased" (his emphasis)[7].

That is, a correlation existed between light and dark on the Shroud image and those parts of the cloth that would have been closest to and farthest from the body respectively[8].

Paul Gastineau 1974: the Shroud image is three-dimensional Vignon's erstwhile friend [9] Antoine Legrand (1904-2002) [Left [10].], asked French engineer Paul Gastineau for a way to demonstrate that the Shroud image was 3-dimensional[11]. So in 1974 using a photomechanical apparatus he had invented, Gastineau

[Above (enlarge): "Three-dimensional reproduction of the Face, which is more akin to the bas-relief than photography. It was a Frenchman, Paul Gastineau, who realized it, by a process of his invention, in April 1974"[12]. See 05Feb17b. Note that Gastineau's photomechanical method of obtaining a 3-D image from a photograph of the Shroud face was two years before and completely different from Jackson and Jumper's 1976 VP-8 Image Analyzer method (see below), yet it produced the same result. Which can only mean that the Shroud man's image really does contain three-dimensional information! Also note the small, round (within the limitations of Gastineau's moving stylus on `wax' process), raised, object over each eye which Gastineau evidently did not notice.]

proved that the Shroud image was three-dimensional, two years before Jackson and Jumper using a VP-8 Image Analyzer also discovered it (see next).

VP-8 Image Analyzer 1976: the Shroud image is three-dimensional In 1974 US Air Force captain and physicist John P. Jackson met Eric Jumper, also an Air Force captain and aerodynamics engineer[13] at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico[14]. From an intensive study of the 1931 photographs of Giuseppe Enrie (1886-1961), they confirmed Vignon's observation that the darkness, or intensity, of each part of the image varies in direct proportion to how far that part of the body would have been from the that part of the Shroud which covered it[15]. Early in 1976, Jackson consulted Bill Mottern (1924-2015), an image enhancement specialist at Sandia Laboratories, to see one of their one of their machines, a VP-8 Image Analyzer which translated an image's darkness into vertical relief, for example in photographs of the Moon, could test Vignon's hypothesis that the Shroud image is three-dimensional[16]. They were evidently unaware that Gastineau had beaten them to it two years earlier[17], because it was not published until 1983 and that in an obscure French cultural-religious journal[18]. On 19 February 1976 Jackson handed Mottern a three-by-five-inch transparency of a Shroud negative to be displayed on a Sandia Laboratories' VP-8 Image Analyzer[19]. Jumper would have accompanied Jackson but he had to

[Above (enlarge):

"The Shroud image's three-dimensional characteristics, as revealed by the VP-8 Image Analyzer in February 1976. Here the face and body appear in sculpted relief, framed by the two lines of scorches from the chapel fire of 1532"[20].

Note that the scorches from the 1532 fire appear three-dimensional but that is because the VP-8 automatically converts lighter shades as vertically higher, irrespective of whether they are in reality.]

baby-sit that night[21]. Which shows that they were not expecting much from the occasion, but they were wrong:

"Jackson handed over an ordinary three-by-five-inch transparency of the Shroud ... Mottern set this up in the machine and casually flipped the switches. The next moment he and Jackson gaped astonishedly at the result. On the television screen to which the image analyzer was linked was the Shroud figure, seen ... in perfect three-dimensional relief"[22].

VP-8 Image Analyzer 1976: there are coins over the eyes That same year, 1976, Jackson and Jumper bought their own VP-8 Image Analyzer and it was installed in Jumper's house by electronics engineer Peter M. Schumacher [Right [23].], who since 1972 had been building and installing them[24]. In Schumacher's own words:

"In about 1976, I delivered and installed a unit at the home of Captain Eric Jumper, USAF. Captain John Jackson, USAF, was present. I dutifully installed the system, and verified the calibration. I then trained Jumper and Jackson in the operation of the system. What happened next was extraordinary to me ... Jackson placed an image of the Shroud of Turin onto the light table of the system. He focused the video camera of the system on the image. When the pseudo-three-dimensional image display ... was activated, a `true-three-dimensional image' appeared on the monitor ... This result from the VP-8 had never occurred with any of the images I had studied, nor had I heard of it happening during any image studies done by others. I had never heard of the Shroud of Turin before that moment. I had no idea what I was looking at. However, the results are unlike anything I have processed through the VP-8 Analyzer, before or since. Only the Shroud of Turin has produced these results from a VP-8 Image Analyzer ..."[25].

A close-up of the Shroud face in three-dimensional relief on their VP-8 Image Analyzer unexpectedly revealed to Jackson and Jumper that

[Above (enlarge)[26]: The Shroud face on the VP-8 Image Analyzer, showing the images of small round, button-like objects over the eyes (see below and above).]

[Above: Close-up extract of the above photo of the Shroud face on the VP-8 Image Analyzer. The object over the left eye (apparent right in this negative) is less distinct[27].]

over the man's eyes there were small, round, raised objects resembling buttons[28]. After considering the alternatives, Jackson and Jumper concluded that the images of button-like objects over the man's eyes were what they appeared to be - solid objects resting on the eyelids[29]. And since the objects were both nearly circular, about the same size and flat, Jackson and Jumper proposed that they were coins[30]. They consulted Shroud historian Ian Wilson who confirmed that several Jewish bronze lepton coins are about the same size and

[Above (enlarge): "Pontius Pilate Reverse Lituus ... LIZ Crucifixion Prutah 30-31AD (Rare)"[31]. As we shall see, this dilepton coin with its rare `question mark' lituus (astrologer's staff), which was struck by Pontius Pilate in AD 30-31, matches the image of the coin over the right eye of the man on the Shroud. And Jesus was crucified by order of Pontius Pilate in AD 30!]

uneven round shape as the button-like images, including a lepton struck by Pontius Pilate (see above) in AD 30-31[32]

In 1977 Jackson and Jumper were both transferred to the US Airforce Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado as Instructors[33]. There they met Ken Stevenson, an Instructor in English at the Academy[34]. In that same year, 1977, Jackson and Jumper convened a conference on the Shroud back in Albuquerque[35], at which they presented a paper, "The Three Dimensional Image on Jesus' Burial Cloth"[36], which included their discovery of coins over the eyes of the man on the Shroud. Stevenson edited the proceedings of the 1977 Albuquerque conference[38]. From attendees to the 1977 conference "The Shroud of Turin Project (STURP)" was formed[39]. In 1978 an article coauthored by Jumper, Stevenson and Jackson, "Images of Coins on a Burial Cloth?" was published in The Numismatist[40]. Included in the article was the thickness of the objects, between 1-5 mm and their average diameter, about 14 mm[41]. Also included in the article was a VP-8 Image

Analyzer photograph [above (enlarge)] with the relief adjusted to more clearly see the button-like objects over the eyes[42]. The article also contained a positive photograph of the Shroud face with a Pontius

Pilate lepton superimposed over each eye [above (enlarge) [43]].

Giovanni Tamburelli 1978: computer enhancement confirmed the Shroud image is three-dimensional and there were coins over the eyes In 1978 Giovanni Tamburelli (1923-90), a professor of electrical communications at the University of Turin[44], after seeing Jackson, et al.'s three-dimensional images from poor-quality photographs of the Shroud, commenced computer processing of higher quality Shroud photographs[45]. By Fourier transformation[46] computer processing of photographs of the Shroud face [Below (enlarge)[47]] at the Centro Studi e Laboratori Telecomunicazioni (CSELT) in Turin[48], Tamburelli independently confirmed that the

Shroud image is both three-dimensional[49] and that there are coins over the eyes[50]. However, Tamburelli was unable to determine whether the object over the left eye was a coin and so he interpreted it as a "wrinkled clot on the left eyelid"[51]. After Prof. Tamburelli's death in 1990 his work was continued by a University of Turin team supervised by Prof. Nello Balossino[52].

Francis Filas 1979: found a coin's design and inscription over the right eye In 1979, Fr Francis Filas (1915-85)[53], Professor of Theology at Loyola University of Chicago"[54], while looking at an enlargement of the Shroud's face image on an Enrie 1931 sepia print, happened to notice a design over the right eye[55]. Filas had presented a paper at the 1977 Shroud conference where Jackson, et al. reported they had found what might have been images of coins over the eyes of the man on the Shroud[56] (see above). Filas showed the print to Michael Marx, a Chicago numismatist, who examined the right eye under his magnifier and confirmed the presence of four Greek capital letters in a curve, which appeared to be "ECAI"[57]. The letters were tiny - only 1/32 inch or 1.3 millimeters high[57a]. Filas obtained F.W. Madden's "History of Jewish Coinage and of Money in the Old and New Testament" (1864)[58]. Filas was aware that Ian Wilson had suggested that the size and shape of Jackson, et al.'s button-like objects over the man's eyes fitted several coins from the time of Pontius Pilate, so he consulted the catalogue of all Pontius Pilate coins in the British Museum[59]. Filas and Marx came to the conclusion that the "E" was actually a "U" and so the four letters they could detect over the right eye of the man on the Shroud were "UCAI"[60].

Filas theorised that the letters "UCAI" were part of the inscription "TIBEPIOUKAICAPOC" ("Of Tiberius Caesar") or of the abbreviation "TIOUKAICAPOC" ("Of Caesar") with the "C" being an alternative spelling of "K"[60a]. Another numismatist, Bill Yarbrough, in 1979 gave Filas a Pontius Pilate lepton coin which matched that which is over the

[Above (enlarge): Pontius Pilate lepton with "UCAI" variant of usual "UKAI", given to Filas in 1979 by numismatist Bill Yarbrough[61]. This coin's lituus is in the shape of a reversed question mark which, as we shall see, cannot be the lepton coin which was over the right eye of the man on the Shroud!]

right eye of the man on the Shroud (or so Filas thought-see below) and its inscription was the abbreviation "TIOUKAICAPOC"[62].

See "Probability," "Log/E Interpretations Systems," "Haralick report," "Dr Alan Whanger" and "Polarized Image Overlay" in my post of 10May13 that Filas really did discover there was a lituus design and inscription letters matching that of a Pontius Pilate lepton coin over the right eye of the man on the Shroud. I am almost finished writing about the coins over the eyes in my book my book in progress, "Shroud of Turin: Burial Sheet of Jesus!" (see 06Jul17, 03Jun18, 04Apr22, 13Jul22 & 8 Nov 22) and now I am sure that Filas was right and Moroni was wrong! But I don't have the time to update this web page. My reasons why Filas was right and Moroni, as well as Tamburelli and Balossino, were wrong about the lituus on the lepton coin over the right eye being in the shape of a question mark, when it is the shape of a backwards question mark, will be in my book! But as we shall see next, Filas misinterpreted which Pontius Pilate lepton coin it was.

Mario Moroni 1988: correctly identified coin over right eye Italian numismatist Mario Moroni in 1988 identified on the actual linen of the Shroud over the right eye a lituus shape similar to a question mark[63]. And as Moroni has correctly pointed out, that and

[Above (enlarge): Comparison of right eye of Enrie's sepia negative photograph of the Shroud face (left)[64], showing what appears to be the letter "A" (red arrow) but its slightly open vertices means it is actually the lower part of a "K" (Greek kappa; the front curve of a lituus (orange arrow); the handle of the lituus (yellow arrow) and the mark of the pliers that held the hot coin while it was being struck (blue arrow)[65]; with Moroni's diagram of the lituus as a question mark shape on a photographic negative of the Shroud (right)[66]. Seeing is believing! The tiny, 1/32 of an inch (1.3 millimeters) high[67] letter "A" (actually "K") above can be clearly seen (the image has not been enhanced or manipulated by me), except by those who are willfully blind [see 10May13]. See future below on this being yet another problem for the forgery theory.]

the fact that a negative photograph of the Shroud shows a lituus with a question mark shape, means the lituus on the coin that made the image over the right eye of the Shroud must also have had the shape of a question mark[68] (see below). This is the opposite of Filas' "UCAI" coin's reversed question mark lituus (see above).

[Above (enlarge): Illustration how, since the lituus on Enrie's negative photograph is in the shape of a question mark (left), then the positive lituus image on the right eye of the Shroud must be a reversed question mark shape (centre). Which in turn means that the lepton coin which made the imprint on the Shroud must be in the shape of a question mark (right). Readers can verify this for themselves by clicking on the above illustration, printing it, and cutting out each of the three circles with their `lituus' question marks. Place the "Coin lituus" circle over their right eye with the printing side uppermost to represent the coin face close to the Shroud. Then facing a light, superimpose the "Shroud right eye" circle over the "Coin lituus" circle with the two printing sides facing each other, to represent the Shroud over the coin. It will be seen that "Shroud right eye" reversed question mark matches the "Coin lituus" question mark. Then the "Enrie negative" lituus must be a question mark because it would be laterally inverted from the "Shroud right eye" reversed question mark. This simple experiment proves that Filas (and Whanger) used the wrong coin to compare with the object over the Shroud's right eye[69].]

Moroni has found five examples of a dilepton with a lituus shaped like a question mark[70], which were struck by Pontius Pilate in AD 29-31[71] (see below). Moroni also claimed that because Filas wrongly thought the lepton coin's lituus was a reversed question mark shape, he mistook what was the curved end of the lituus for a letter "C" when in reality there is part of a letter "K" next to the "A", making the four letters "UKAI", which is part of the inscription "TIBERIOUKAICAROC" ("of Tiberius Caesar")[72].

[Above( enlarge): Pontius Pilate AD 29 dilepton with rare reversed lituus shaped like a question mark[73].]

Left eye: Julia lepton AD 29? The object over the left eye, unlike

[Above (enlarge)[74]: Left eye area on Enrie negative sepia photograph of the Shroud. As can be seen (when enlarged), there may be a design on the object over the left eye, but unlike the coin over the right eye, there is no letter visible to the unaided eye. See also there may be an object over the left eyebrow (see below).]

that over the right eye[75], is not recognizable by the human eye[76]. Nevertheless, Filas on the evidence of three short curving lines that spread away from each other, on an enlargement of a 1931 Enrie photograph of the Shroud face, suggested that the object over the left eye was also a Pontius Pilate coin known as the Julia lepton, which was

[Above (enlarge)[77]: Julia lepton with three barley sheaves on one side (reverse) and a simpulum (Roman sacrificial vessel) and letters meaning "Tiberius Caesar" and "LIS" = AD 29 on the other side (obverse)[78].]

had the design of a sheaf of barley instead of a lituus[79] and was minted only in AD 29 in honor of Julia, the mother of Tiberius Caesar[80]. When Dr. Alan D. Whanger (1930-2017) applied his Polarized Image Overlay technique to a copy of Filas' photograph he claimed to found 73 points of congruence between the left eye image and a Julia lepton[81]. But see 02Jan18 on Whanger's points of congruence being subjective. And it is questionable that Whanger claimed the same 73 points of congruence with different lepton coins over the right and left eyes, despite the latter not being visible to the unaided eye[82]! Moreover, as previously mentioned, Prof. Tamburelli was unable to identify the object over the left eye by his computer enhancement technique[83]. As can be seen above a vertical and a horizontal line cross over the left eye. The horizontal line is a fold in the cloth and the vertical line is a prominent thread[84], so it may be that the features of a coin over the left eye are no longer visible due to stretching of the fabric[85].

Jean-Philippe Fontanille However, Canadian Pontius Pilate coins specialist Jean-Philippe Fontanille[86], by his own undocumented image extraction process, from a colour photograph of the Shroud face in a French magazine, Dossiers d'Archéologie[87],

[Above (enlarge)[88]: Right and left eye enhancements of a Shroud colour photograph, compared with a Pontius Pilate lepton, by Jean-Philippe Fontanille. Note that the lituus in Fontanille's right and left eye images is horizontal, not vertical.]

claimed to have extracted an image of a lituus and lettering (albeit unreadable) of a Pontius Pilate lepton over the left eye[89]. But, as can be seen above ("Left Eye Coin: Enhanced" top right), the lituus of Fontanille's left eye coin is horizontal, not vertical, as is Fontanille's extraction of the image of a Pontius Pilate lepton over the right eye[90]. There are questions about the suitability of the colour photograph Fontanille used[91], and although he claimed his image extraction method was scientific, Fontanille has never provided details, nor allowed independent verification, of it[92]. And as can be seen above, Fontanille's image and letter identifications showed the coins placed horizontally across the eyes on the Shroud, not vertically as identified by Filas, Tamburelli and Moroni[93]. And since it can be seen above that the lituus shape in the object over the right eye is vertical, not horizontal, Fontanille's identification must be rejected as obviously wrong!

Left eyebrow: Julia lepton AD 29? In 1996 Professors Pierluigi Baima-Bollone [Left (original) [94].] and Nello Balossino of the University of Turin announced that on the arch of the left eyebrow [see below] they had detected by three-dimensional enhance-ment the outline of a coin later identified as a lepton simpulum, or Julia lepton, struck by Pontius Pilate in AD 29[95]. They also claimed to have detected the inscription "TIBERIOU KAICAROC" ("of Tiberius Caesar")[96] followed by the three letters "LIS" which means "sixteenth year", where L stands for year, I for 10 and S for 6[97]. That is, the 16th year of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (r. AD 14-37), which corresponds to the AD 29[98]. There is no issue to be resolved (as I originally thought)

[Above (enlarge): Enlargement of object over the left eyebrow of the Shroud showing a simpulum which is the major feature of a Julia lepton[99].]

between Filas and Whanger who claimed to see over the left eyelid of the man on the Shroud evidence of the sheaf of three barley ears side (obverse) of a Julia lepton, and Baima-Bollone and Balossino who claimed to see evidence of a simpulum over the left eyebrow which was on the other side (reverse) of a Julia lepton. It is possible that there were three disciples who buried Jesus: Joseph of Arimathea (Mt 27:57; Mk 15:43; Lk 23:50 & Jn 19:38); Nicodemus (Jn 19:39) and the self-effacing Apostle John, whose account reads like that of an eyewitness (only John mentions Nicodemus) and there were three new lepton coins laid on Jesus' eyes area as part of a first-century Jewish burial ritual[100].

Image formation In 1982 Dr Alan Whanger showed an overlay of the Filas coin and the computer enhancement of the right eye area to STURP member, the late Alan D. Adler (1931-2000), Professor of Chemistry at Western Connecticut State University[101]. Prof. Adler realised that he was seeing a clue to the image formation[102]. The image over the Shroud's right eye was only of the high points and rough spots of the coin, which is a characteristic corona discharge[103]. The electrical energy is then discharged as ionized streamers from irregular or elevated areas of the object rather than from smooth surfaces[104]. In corona discharge, ionizing electrical energy spreads over the surface of any object in the electrical field, whether it be flesh, hair, cloth, metal, etc[105]. Whanger then contacted Oswald Scheuermann (1933-2019), a high school physics teacher in Germany who had experimented with corona discharge on plants (see 06Apr13). Whanger sent Scheuermann a lituus lepton, and Scheuermann returned a piece of linen bearing a corona discharge image of the lepton (see below), which was similar to that over the right eye on the Shroud[106].

[Above: Image of Pontius Pilate lituus lepton imprinted on linen by Oswald Scheuermann using corona discharge[107.] ]

Objections • Devout first century Jews wouldn't follow the pagan practice of placing coins over the eyes of their dead The pagan Greeks placed coins in the mouths of their dead to pay the mythical ferryman Charon to carry their souls across the River Styx to Hades[108]. But the Jews had no such belief, and placing coins on their dead for that reason would have been anathema to them[109]. However, it was a Jewish custom to close the eyes of their deceased and the placement of coins over their eyelids was a practical way of keeping them shut[112]. The lepton was actually a Jewish coin, even though minted by the Romans[113], and since it was acceptable as a Temple offering (the "widow's mite" of Mk 12:41-44, Lk 21:1-4 KJV), ")[114], it bearing no idolatrous image of the Emperor, there would be no religious reason for Jews not to use leptons to ensure the eyes of their dead remained closed. And Jewish skulls have been found with at least one coin over their eye sockets or inside their skulls[115]. But coins inside the skull can only have fallen through from the eye sockets as coins in the mouth would fall out of the skull[116]. In 1970, at at `En Boqeq, a second-century excavation in the Judean Desert, a skeleton of a man who had been buried in about AD 133 was found with silver coins placed over both his eye sockets[117]. Since the area was a zone south of Jerusalem where Jews were permitted after the Bar Kokhba revolt of AD 132, it is likely the man was a Jew[118]. In 1979, Jewish archaeologist Rachel Hachlili reported that she had found in a Jewish community cemetery[119] outside of Jericho dated from the first century BC to the first century AD, skulls with coins inside them[120]. One skull contained two bronze coins of Herod Agrippa I (r. 41-44). In another tomb a bronze coin of Herod Archelaus (r. 4 BC-AD 6) was found in a damaged skull and a coin of Jewish king John Hyrcanus II (r. 67-66 BC was found in the same tomb[121].

• The coins and are merely random patterns in the Shroud's weave Filas answered this objection with two points. First, the Shroud has been inspected and:

"Such inspection fails to reveal anything like intelligible patterns. Granted, fanciful and imaginary forms seem to show up, looking like swans or capital or cursive letters in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin form, even apparent faces with two eyes and a mouth. But nowhere does all this add up to a combination of intelligibility that reflects deliberate spelling and rational composition."[122].

Whanger, who has spent many years examining Shroud photographs in great detail, agrees with Filas in this[123].

Filas' second point is that, as we saw above, the probability of the combination of the lituus and the four letters "UCAI" (or "UKAI") to occur by chance over an eye of the man on the Shroud, in the correct order and curving around the lituus as it does on a Pontius Pilate lepton, is about 1 chance in 10 with 42 zeroes after it[124]. This applies even though Filas was wrong about which letters they were (see above), because Moroni found the corect four Greek letters "KAIC" in the correct position around a lituus on the coin over the right eye (see above). For even one Greek letter to appear over an eye of the man on the Shroud in the correct position around around a lituus is about 1 in 1.827 x 10⁶ x 6.1389 x 10⁸[125] = 1.1216 x 10¹⁵, i.e. 1 in 121 with 13 zeroes after it!

• The coins are pareidolia In a 2013 post, "The Forger and the Coins: One in a Gazillion with 13 Zeroes," Dan Porter, owner of the now closed permanently Shroud of Turin Blog, has criticised my earlier post, dismissing the evidence for the coins over the eyes of the man on the Shroud as "pure pareidolia":

"... But this is so only if you believe that the images of coins are there. I've spent years considering this question; I don't believe they're there. What people see, I think, is pure pareidolia.

But pareidolia is (my emphasis):

"...a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant ... Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds ..."[126]]

"... the imagined perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist, as in considering the moon to have human features"[127].

However, in this Porter is simply ignoring the evidence above, for example, that Jackson, et al. found on their VP-8 Image Analyzer three-dimensional `relief map' of the Shroud, images of two, round, flat objects over the eyes, which were the same size and shape of Pontius Pilate leptons (see above). And so independently by different processes did Gastineau (above) and Tamburelli (above). They did not "imagine" them-the images really are there! Even if the details on the face of those two objects could not be seen, it would still be a reasonable conclusion that they are Pontius Pilate leptons. And Porter is simply ignoring the improbability that a lituus shape and even one letter, in the correct order and angle of rotation around the lituus - both of which can be clearly seen on the Shroud (see above) `just happen' to be chance patterns in the Shroud weave, which `just happen' to be over the eye of the man on the Shroud, is of the order of 1 in 121 with 13 zeroes after it (see above)! Not to mention that the `chance patterns' are three-dimensional, round and flat! The real problem is that Porter and his anti-Shroud ilk suffer from thereisnonesoblindasthosewhowillnotseeia!

Problem for the forgery theory. (See previous three: #29, #30 & #31). This is yet another problem for the forgery theory:
• A medieval, or earlier, forger would have had to imprint the tiny letters, 1/32 inch or 1.3 mm (see above), four of which are barely visible, and the rest invisible to the naked eye, in photographic negative[128], when the very concept of photographic negativity did not exist until the early 19th century[129] (see Negative #19).
• These leptons were not identified as being coined by Pontius Pilate until the early 1800s[130], so even in the unlikely event the 14th century or earlier forger knew of these coins, he would have no reason to think they were relevant to Jesus' death.
• The Gospels do not mention coins being placed over Jesus' eyes so there would be no reason for a forger to depict them, even if he could.
• If a forger did depict coins over Jesus' eyes he would make sure they were both visible!

Conclusion • There are two round objects over the eyes of the man on the Shroud as revealed by three different methods: Gastineau's photomechanical apparatus (see above); Jackson, et al.'s VP-8 Image Analyzer (see above) and Tamburelli's computer enhancement (see above).
• These round objects are the size and shape of bronze lepton coins minted by Pontius Pilate (r. AD 26-37) between AD 29-32 (see above).
• Jews in the first century did place coins over the eyes of their dead to ensure they stayed closed.
• The lepton was acceptable to Jews as a Temple offering (see above), so there would have been no religious objection to placing lepton coins over the eyes of the Shroud man (see above)
• Even if no design and letters of a coin could be detected on the round objects over the eyes, it would be reasonable to conclude that they were Pontius Pilate leptons because they are the same size and shape of the latter.
• But as can be seen above, there is over the right eye of the man on the Shroud at least a letter "A" (or the lower part of a "K") in the correct location around a lituus being part of the inscription "TIBERIOUKAICAROC" ("of Tiberius Caesar"), which was a unique feature of Pontius Pilate leptons coin minted between AD 29-32. and Jesus was crucified and buried in AD 30 (see above)!

This is enough to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Man on the Shroud is Jesus!

Non-Christian Shroud sceptic, if you have read this far, the Shroud is objective (true whether it is believed or not) evidence that Jesus lived, suffered, died on a cross for the sins of those who put their trust in Him (John 3:16), was buried, and rose from the dead. You need to accept Jesus by praying this simple prayer right now, where you are (as I did ~54 years ago):

"Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior."

Because the Face on the Shroud is of Him who is to be your Judge (and

[Above (enlarge): The image of Jesus' face imprinted on the Shroud at the moment of His resurrection! ("Shroud University).]

mine) on the Last Day (Jn 5:26-27; Act 10:41-42; 17:31; Rom 2:16; 2Cor 5:10; 2Tim 4:1):

"In this context, although there are many individuals who are quite happy to accept that the shroud was faked in the fourteenth century, and regard it as of supreme unimportance in their everyday lives, there are others, including myself, for whom the question `Was this what you really looked like?' simply refuses to go away. Not only is the shroud as difficult to attribute to a fourteenth-century artist as the Sistine Chapel ceiling is attributable to Van Gogh, there is not even any comfort in not being able to dismiss it in such a way. For if that face, however subjectively, seems as though it has transcended two thousand years, it is as if neither time, nor the grave, have any meaning. It bespeaks the very same questions as those that wracked the pilgrims to the Veronica: `Were those the lips that spoke the Sermon on the Mount and the Parable of the Rich Fool?'; `Is this the Face that is to be my judge on the Last Day?'"[131].

Notes
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to quote from any part of this post (but not the whole post), provided it includes a reference citing my name, its subject heading, its date and a hyperlink back to this page. [return]
2. Jackson, J.P., Jumper, E.J., Mottern, R.W. & Stevenson, K.E., ed., 1977, "The Three Dimensional Image On Jesus' Burial Cloth," in Stevenson, K.E., ed., "Proceedings of the 1977 United States Conference of Research on The Shroud of Turin," Holy Shroud Guild: Bronx NY, pp.74-94, 88-91; Jumper, E., Stevenson, K. & Jackson, J., 1978, "Images of Coins on a Burial Cloth?," The Numismatist, July, Vol. 91, No. 7, pp.1349-1357, 1354-1355; Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, pp.229-231; Filas, F.L., 1980, "The Dating of the Shroud of Turin from Coins of Pontius Pilate," Cogan Productions: Youngtown AZ, p.3; Stevenson, K.E. & Habermas, G.R., 1981, "Verdict on the Shroud: Evidence for the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ," Servant Books: Ann Arbor MI, pp.27-28, 120; Adams, F.O., 1982, "Sindon: A Layman's Guide to the Shroud of Turin," Synergy Books: Tempe AZ, p.94; Maher, R.W., 1986, "Science, History, and the Shroud of Turin," Vantage Press: New York NY, pp.53-54; Wilson, I., 1986, "The Evidence of the Shroud," Guild Publishing: London, pp.129, 133; Stevenson, K.E. & Habermas, G.R., 1990, "The Shroud and the Controversy," Thomas Nelson: Nashville TN, pp.36-37, 65-66; Moroni, M., "Pontius Pilate's Coin on the Right Eye of the Man in the Holy Shroud, in the Light of the New Archaeological Findings," in Berard, A., ed., 1991, "History, Science, Theology and the Shroud," Symposium Proceedings, St. Louis Missouri, June 22-23, 1991, The Man in the Shroud Committee of Amarillo, Texas: Amarillo TX, pp.276-277; Borkan, M., 1995, "Ecce Homo?: Science and the Authenticity of the Turin Shroud," Vertices, Duke University, Vol. X, No. 2, Winter, pp.18-51, 28; Iannone, J.C., 1998, "The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence," St Pauls: Staten Island NY, pp.9, 33-36; Whanger, M. & Whanger, A.D., 1998, "The Shroud of Turin: An Adventure of Discovery," Providence House Publishers: Franklin TN, p.23; Ruffin, C.B., 1999, "The Shroud of Turin: The Most Up-To-Date Analysis of All the Facts Regarding the Church's Controversial Relic," Our Sunday Visitor: Huntington IN, p.105; Whanger & Whanger, M., 1999, "The Real Date of the Shroud: The Visual Evidence," in Walsh, B., ed., 2000, "Proceedings of the 1999 Shroud of Turin International Research Conference, Richmond, Virginia," Magisterium Press: Glen Allen VA, pp.69-77, 74-75; Antonacci, M., 2000, "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence," M. Evans & Co: New York NY, pp.102-108; Baima-Bollone, P., "Images of Extraneous Objects on the Shroud," in Scannerini, S. & Savarino, P., eds, 2000, "The Turin Shroud: Past, Present and Future," International scientific symposium, Turin, 2-5 March 2000," Effatà: Cantalupa, pp.130-131; Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, pp.96-97; Tribbe, F.C., 2006, "Portrait of Jesus: The Illustrated Story of the Shroud of Turin," [1983], Paragon House Publishers: St. Paul MN, Second edition, pp.114-120; Zugibe, F.T., 2005, "The Crucifixion of Jesus: A Forensic Inquiry," M. Evans & Co.: New York NY, pp.235-236; Whiting, B., 2006, "The Shroud Story," Harbour Publishing: Strathfield NSW, Australia, pp.98-100; Oommen, T.V., 2008, "Shroud Coins Dating by Image Extraction," in Fanti, G., ed., 2009, "The Shroud of Turin: Perspectives on a Multifaceted Enigma," Proceedings of the 2008 Columbus Ohio International Conference, August 14-17, 2008, Progetto Libreria: Padua, Italy, pp.126-133; Oxley, M., 2010, "The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin," AuthorHouse: Milton Keynes UK, pp.175-176. [return]
3. "Shroud of Turin VP8 3D image," Photo of Jesus.com, n.d. [return]
4. Balossino, N., 1998, "The image on the Shroud: Results of Photography and Information Technology," Neame, A., transl., St Pauls: Ireland, p.21. [return]
5. Jackson, et al., 1977, p.74; Balossino, 1998, p.19; Balossino, N., "Computer Processing of the Body Image," in Scannerini & Savarino, 2000, pp.116-117; Oxley, 2010, p.203. [return]
6. Extract from de Gail, P., 1983, "Paul Vignon," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 6, March, pp.46-50, 46. [return]
7. Vignon, P., 1902, "The Shroud of Christ," University Books: New York NY, Reprinted, 1970, p.137; de Wesselow, T., 2012, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection," Viking: London, pp.100-101. [return]
8. Adams, 1982, p.93; Schwalbe, L.A. & Rogers, R.N., 1982, "Physics and Chemistry of the Shroud of Turin: Summary of the 1978 Investigation," Reprinted from Analytica Chimica Acta, Vol. 135, No. 1, pp.3-49, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co: Amsterdam, 1982, pp.6-7; Maher, 1986, p.51; Antonacci, 2000, pp.6, 39; Balossino, 2000, pp.116-117; Tribbe, 2006, pp.130, 158; Oxley, 2010, p.203. [return]
9. Crispino, D.C.,1989, "The Paris Scientific Symposium on the Shroud of Turin," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 32/33 September/December, pp.27-32, 28. [return]
10. "Notes on Antoine Legrand," Collegamento pro Sindone, 23 October 2002. [return]
11. Crispino, 1989, p.28; Morgan, R., 1989, "The Paris Symposium - Part I of Report by Rex Morgan," Shroud News, No 55, October, pp.5-23, 17. [return]
12. Thomas, J-C., 1983, "Le plus vieux negatif photographique," Fetes et Saisons, "Le Linceul de Turin," No. 372, February, pp.10-13, 13. ("The oldest photographic negative," Festivities and Seasons, "The Shroud of Turin.") French translation by Google Translate; Crispino, D.C., 1983, "Recently Published," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 9, December, pp.27-34, 29; Gastineau, P., 1986, "A Bas relief from a Photograph of the Holy F11:49 PM 27/04/2020ace," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 18, March, pp.2-6, 2; Morgan, R., 1989, "The Paris Symposium - Part I of Report," Shroud News, No 55, October, pp.5-23, 17. [return]
13. Adams, 1982, p.93. [return]
14. Ibid. [return]
15. Adams, 1982, p.93; Petrosillo, O. & Marinelli, E., 1996, "The Enigma of the Shroud: A Challenge to Science," Scerri, L.J., transl., Publishers Enterprises Group: Malta, pp.222-223. [return]
16. Adams, 1982, p.93; Jackson, et al., 1977, p.74. [return]
17. Jackson, et al., 1977, pp.93-94. [return]
18. Thomas, 1983,p.10-13; Crispino,1983, p.29. [return]
19. Wilson, 1979, p.229. [return]
20. Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-YeaOld Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, p.82I. [return]
21. Heller, J.H., 1983, "Report on the Shroud of Turin," Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston MA, p.41. [return]
22. Wilson, 1979, p.229. [return]
23. Ruck, A. 2019, "A close encounter with the Shroud of Turin," The Catholic Register, 26 March. [return]
24. Schumacher, P.M., 1999, "Photogrammetric Responses from the Shroud of Turin," in Walsh, 2000, pp.30-31; Wilson, I. & Schwortz, B., 2000, "The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence," Michael O'Mara Books: London,pp.36-37. [return]
25. Schumacher, 1999, pp.31-32. [return]
26. Brooks, E.H., II., Miller, V.D. & Schwortz, B.M., 1981, "The Turin Shroud: Contemporary Insights to an Ancient Paradox," Worldwide Exhibition: Chicago IL, p.22. [return]
27. Borkan, 1995, p.28; Ruffin, 1999, p.107; Guerrera, 2001, pp.98-99; Oommen, 2008, p.129; Whanger, A. & Whanger, M., 1999, "The Real Date of the Shroud: The Visual Evidence," in Walsh, 2000, p.75; Zugibe, 2005, p.236; Whiting, 2006, pp.100. [return]
28. Jackson, et al., 1977, p.89; Borkan, 1995, p.28; Iannone, 1998, pp.33-34; Whanger & Whanger, 1998, p.23; Ruffin, 1999, p.105; Zugibe, 2005, p.234. [return]
29. Jackson, et al., 1977, pp.89-90; Iannone, 1998, p.45. [return]
30. Jackson, et al., 1977, p.90; Jumper, et al., 1978, p.1354; Iannone, 1998, p.45. [return]
31. BiblicalMites.com (photo no longer online). [return]
32. Jackson, et al., 1977, p.90; Wilson, 1979, p.231; Iannone, 1998, p.35. [return]
33. Jumper, et al., 1978, p.1357; Adams, 1982, p.93; Tribbe, 2006, p.122. [return]
34. Jumper, et al., 1978, p.1357. [return]
35. Tribbe, 2006, pp.121-122. [return]
36. Jackson, et al., 1977, pp.77-94; Wilson, 1979, p.231; Iannone, 1998, p.35. [return]
38. Jumper, et al., 1978, p.1357. [return]
39. Borkan, 1995, p.20; Ruffin, 1999, p.81; Tribbe, 2006, p.131; Oxley, 2010, p.207. [return]
40. Jumper, et al., 1978, pp.1349-57; Stevenson & Habermas, 1990, pp.65-66; Iannone, 1998, p.35. [return]
41. Jumper, et al., 1978, p.1354; Iannone, 1998, p.35; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.223; Baima-Bollone, 2000, p.130. [return]
42. Ibid. [return]
43. Jumper, et al., 1978, p.1355. [return]
44. Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.223; Tribbe, 2006, p.131. [return]
45. "A three dimensional image," Santa Sindone, 31 July 2018. [return]
46. Balossino, 1998, pp.15-17. [return]
47. Moretto, G., 1999, "The Shroud: A Guide," Neame, A., transl., Paulist Press: Mahwah NJ, p.51; Tribbe, 2006, p.143. [return]
48. Moretto, 1999, p.51. [return]
49. Tamburelli, G., 1985, "An Image Resurrection of the Man of the Shroud," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 15, June, pp.2-6; Moroni, 1991, p.275; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.223; Balossino, 1998, p.1; Iannone, 1998, pp.34-35; Moretto, 1999, p.51; Baima-Bollone, 2000, p.130. [return]
50. Moroni, 1991, p.275; Guerrera, 2001, p.96. [return]
51. Tamburelli, G., 1982, "Reading the Holy Shroud, called the Fifth Gospel, with the Aid of the Computer," Shroud Spectrum International, March, pp.3-11, 5. [return]
52. "A three dimensional image," Santa Sindone, 31 July 2018. [return]
53. "Rev. Filas, Professor At Loyola," Chicago Tribune, February 17, 1985. [return]
54. "Obituary - Fr. Francis L. Filas, S.J.," British Society for the Turin Shroud Newsletter, No. 10, April 1985. [return]
55. Filas, 1980, p.3. [return]
56. Filas, F.J., 1977, "Ideal Attitudes Concerning Research on the Shroud of Turin," in Stevenson, 1977, pp.13-15. [return].
57. Filas, 1980, p.3. [return]
57a. Filas, F.L., 1981, "`Missing Link' Coin of Pontius Pilate Proves Authenticity, Place of Origin, and Approximate Dating of the Shroud Of Turin," News Release, Loyola University of Chicago, 1 September 1, p.5. [return]
58. Ibid. [return]
59. Ibid. [return]
60. Filas, 1980, pp.3-4. [return]
60a. Antonacci, 2000, pp.102-103. [return]
61. Filas, 1981, p.5. [return]
62. Filas, 1980, p.4. [return]
63. Moroni, 1991, p.276. [return]
64. Vignon, P., 1939, "Le Saint Suaire de Turin: Devant La Science, L'archéologie, L'histoire, L'iconographie, La Logique," Masson et Cie. Éditeurs: Paris, Second edition, plate 1. [return]
65. Moroni, 1991, pp.284-287. [return]
66. Moroni, 1991, p.286 (modified). [return]
67. Filas, 1981, p.5. [return]
68. Moroni, 1991, p.277. [return]
69. Moroni, 1991, p.286. [return]
70. Moroni, 1991, p.277. [return]
71. Moretto, 1999, p.51. [return]
72. Moroni, 1991, p.283-286. [return]
73. Moretto, 1999, p.51. [return]
74. Vignon, 1939, plate 1. [return]
75. Moroni, 1991, p.276. [return]
76. Moroni, 1991, p.291; Oommen, 2008, p.129. [return]
77. "Edgar L. Owen, Ltd," 16 October 2017. [return]
78. Madden, F.W., Fairholt, F. W. & Reidenbach, R., ed., 1967, "History of Jewish Coinage, and of Money in the Old and New Testament," [1864], Pegasus Publishing Co: San Diego CA, Revised, p.147. [return]
79. Whanger & Whanger, 1998, p.24. [return]
80. Ibid. [return]
81. Whanger & Whanger, 1998, p.26; Borkan, 1995, p.29. [return]
82. Oommen, 2008, p.129. [return]
83. Moroni, 1991, p.290. [return]
84. Moroni, 1991, p.290. [return]
85. Antonacci, 2000, p.105. [return]
86. Oommen, 2008, pp.128-129. [return]
87. Oommen, 2008, p.129. [return]
88. Fontanille, J-P., 2001, "The Coins of Pontius Pilate," Shangri-La Publications: Ithaca NY, in "The Coinage Evidence", The Holy Shroud of Turin, 19 July 2014. [return]
89. Oommen, 2008, p.130. [return]
90. Oommen, 2008, p.131. [return]
91. Oommen, 2008, p.131. [return]
92. Ibid. [return]
93. Ibid. [return]
94. "Pierluigi Baima Ballone `2015 a new investigation of the shroud," Castello Angioino, 18 July 2015. [return]
95. Moretto, 1999, p.51. [return]
96. Baima Bollone, 2000, p.132. [return]
97. Balossino, 2000, p.121. [return]
98. Balossino, 2000, p.121. [return]
99. Schiatti, L., 1998, "The Shroud: A Guide to the Reading of an Image Full of Mystery," St Pauls: Staten Island NY, p.31. [return]
100. Antonacci, 2000, pp.105, 107, 108; Moroni, 1991, p.294. [return]
101. Whanger & Whanger, 1998, p.28. [return]
102. Ibid. [return]
103. Ibid. [return]
104. Ibid. [return]
105. Ibid. [return]
106. Ibid. [return]
107. "Image produced on linen by corona discharge from lepton by Scheuermann," Council for Study of the Shroud of Turin, 29 September 1998 (no longer online) [return]
108. "Charon (mythology)," Wikipedia, 4 May 2020. [return]
109. Ruffin, 1999, p.107. [return]
112. Ibid. [return]
113. Guerrera, V., 2000, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.100. [return]
114. Jackson, et al., 1977, p.90. [return]
115. Antonacci, 2000, p.105. [return]
116. Moroni, 1991, pp.280-281. [return]
117. Ibid. [return]
118. Ibid. [return]
119. Moroni, 1991, p.278, 297. [return]
120. Antonacci, 2000, p.106. [return]
121. Ibid. [return]
122. Filas, 1980, p.9. [return]
123. Whanger, 2009, p.137. [return]
124. Filas, 1980, p.9. [return]
125. Filas, 1980, pp.11-12. [return]
126. "Pareidolia," Wikipedia, 2 May 2013. [return]
127. "Pareidolia," World English Dictionary, 2013. [return]
128. Filas, 1981, p.4. [return]
129. "Photography: History: Invention," Wikipedia, 17 May 2020. [return]
130. Baima Bollone, 2000, p.133. [return]
131. Wilson, I., "Holy Faces, Secret Places: The Quest for Jesus' True Likeness," Doubleday: London, 1991, p.189. [return]

Posted 18 April 2020. Updated 12 February 2024.