Obituary: Paul C. Maloney (April 9, 1936 - August 27, 2018)

© Stephen E. Jones[1]

This is my obituary of Paul Maloney, split off from my August 2018 Shroud of Turin News.

Paul C. Maloney (April 9, 1936 - August 27, 2018)[2]. Paul Clifton Maloney[3] [Below (enlarge)[4].] was an archaeologist[5], specialising in the Near East[6]. Maloney was a professor of Anthropology, Archaeology and Near Eastern Studies at Vennard College in Iowa and United Wesleyan College in Allentown, Pennsylvania[7]. He was at one time the Director of Ancient Near Eastern Researchers[8]. Maloney was the founder and Director of ASSIST (Association of Scientists and Scholars International for the Shroud of Turin)[9].

Maloney supported the pollen on the Shroud findings of Max Frei (1913-83). In 1983 Maloney sent Israel's leading pollen expert, Prof. Aharon Horowitz of Tel Aviv University, a copy of Frei's 1982 article in Shroud Spectrum International[10]. Horowitz replied stating that Frei's materials and conclusions lead him to believe that Frei's work was sound, that the spectrum of the pollens on the Shroud as identified by Frei was comparable to those of Israel[11], and he agreed with Frei that the pollen on the Shroud was not contamination by wind transport[12]. Maloney then invited Horowitz to join ASSIST which he did[13]. It was Maloney who first approached Prof. Avinoam Danin (1939–2015) in the early 1980s asking him to evaluate Frei's Shroud pollen findings[14]. This was the first that Danin had heard of the Shroud[15]. Danin agreed on the condition that the pollen grains be determined by a pollen morphology specialist expert in the pollen of the Middle East[16]. But the frequency of correspondence and practical steps along this path decreased until they ended completely and Danin forgot about it[17]. It wasn't until 1995 that Danin heard about the Shroud again when Alan and Mary Whanger visited him in Jerusalem [see 05Jun18] [18].

In 1988 ASSIST acquired from Frei's widow twenty-seven sticky tapes on which were Frei's pollen samples from the Shroud[19] [Below (enlarge)[20].], together with the manuscript of Frei's pollen research which he had been on the point of publishing at the time of his death in 1983[21]. At a workshop on the study of the pollen at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, leading anti-authenticist Walter McCrone (1916-2002) affirmed that the pollens collected by Frei were indeed from the Shroud[22].

By photographing under a microscope the pollen on one of Frei's Shroud tapes and moving the microscope stage in tenths of a micrometre squares, Maloney discovered that there were hundreds of pollen grains per square centimetre on the Shroud[23]. Dr. A. Orville Dahl (1910–2003), professor emeritus of palynology at the University of Pennsylvania, proposed that the unusually high number of floral pollen types on the Shroud had been laid down on it in a liturgical context[24]. So Maloney, noting that Dr. Alan D. Whanger (1930-2017) had identified the images of 27 Spring flowers on the Shroud [see 06Apr13 and 05Jun18], proposed that the early church had commemorated Jesus' Spring death and burial [see "AD30"] in an Easter ceremony by laying Palestinian Spring flowers on the Shroud[25].

Maloney also pointed out that the high number (more than 275) of pollen grains found on tape 6Bd near the forehead [Left (enlarge)[26].] implies a longer exposure to the air and a liturgical setting[27]. This supports Ian Wilson's theory that as the Image of Edessa (the Shroud "doubled in four" = tetradiplon), the face of the Shroud was exposed while the rest of the cloth was hidden[28].

One discovery alone of Maloney's proved beyond reasonable doubt that Frei's identification of Shroud pollen was non-fraudulent (as alleged by anti-authenticists[29]) and largely correct:

"Carefully examining one of the Frei slides, researcher Paul Maloney discovered a cluster of many pollens from the same plant. These pollens were identified by palynologist Dr. A. Orville Dahl as Cistus creticus [native to Israel and the Mediterranean[30]]. (see below) ... Years earlier, Frei had identified pollens from this same plant on his sticky tape slides. At the time he took the sticky tape samples, he was unaware of the images of flowers on the Shroud, but it so happened that the tape Maloney was observing had been taken over the center of the same Cistus creticus flower that Alan had already identified. Thus Frei, Maloney with Dahl, and Alan, all working separately and at different times and using different methods, found the presence of Cistus creticus on the Shroud"[31]!

[Right (enlarge): Location of flower parts on the Shroud (frontal)[32]. The Cistus creticus flowers are located at "(2)".]

In 1993, due to Maloney's ongoing health problems (chronic fatigue syndrome[33]) the Frei pollen collection was formally handed over by ASSIST to the Whangers' CSST (Council for Study of the Shroud of Turin)[34].

In 1998 at a symposium in Dallas, Texas, Maloney gave a landmark one-hour presentation on the history of Shroud research conducted over the past 100 years[35, 36].

As an archaeologist Maloney was critical of Turin's unilateral decision to reduce the number of radiocarbon dating laboratories from seven, using two different methods, to three using the one AMS method [see 11Dec17] [37].

See also: "Paul C. Maloney - Obituary," Centre Daily Times, Quakertown, PA, 31 August 2018.

Notes:
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to extract or quote from any part of it (but not the whole post), provided the extract or quote includes a reference citing my name, its title, its date, and a hyperlink back to this page. [return]
2. "Paul C. Maloney," Visitation & Funeral Information, Naugle Funeral and Cremation Service, Quakertown, PA, 7 September 2018. [return]
3. "Proceedings of the Board of Regents," University of Michigan Ann Arbour, July Meeting, July 14 and 15, 1960, p.1235. [return]
4. Ibid [return]
5. Minor, M., "Paul C. Maloney," in Minor, M., Adler, A.D. & Piczek, I., eds., 2002, "The Shroud of Turin: Unraveling the Mystery: Proceedings of the 1998 Dallas Symposium," Alexander Books: Alexander NC, p.15. [return]
6. "Advisor to the School of Botany: Paul Maloney," Academic Advisors, Shroud University, Shroud of Turin Education Project: Peachtree City, GA, 2014. [return]
7.Ibid. [return]
8. Morgan, R., 1984, "The New Group - ASSIST," Shroud News, July, p.11; Crispino, D.C., 1984, "News & Activities Around the World," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 10, March, pp.43-44, 44; Borkan, M., 1995, "Ecce Homo?: Science and the Authenticity of the Turin Shroud," Vertices, Duke University, Vol. X, No. 2, Winter, pp.18-51, 48. [return]
9. Wilson, I., 1983, "Overseas News and ACCSST," BSTS Newsletter, No. 6, September/December, p.6; Wilson, I., 1984, "X-Ray Photographs, ASSIST and The Atlanta Center," BSTS Newsletter, No. 7, July , pp.4-5, 5; Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.96. [return]
10. Frei, M., 1982, "Nine Years of Palinological Studies on the Shroud," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 3, June, pp.2-7. [return]
11. Petrosillo, O. & Marinelli, E., 1996, "The Enigma of the Shroud: A Challenge to Science," Scerri, L.J., transl., Publishers Enterprises Group: Malta, p.204; Iannone, J.C., 1998, "The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence," St Pauls: Staten Island NY, p.20; 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.77. [return]
12. Wilson, 1983, p.6. [return]
13. Ibid. [return]
14. Danin, A., 2010, "Botany of the Shroud: The Story of Floral Images on the Shroud of Turin," Danin Publishing: Jerusalem, Israel, p.10. [return]
15. Ibid. [return]
16. Ibid. [return]
17. Ibid. [return]
18. Ibid. [return]
19. Dayvault, P.E., 1998, "The Frei Collection Digitization Project," Originally presented at the Third International Congress on the Shroud of Turin, Turin, Italy, June 6, 1998, in Minor, Adler & Piczek, 2002, p.215; Wilson, I. & Schwortz, B., 2000, "The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence," Michael O'Mara Books: London, p.82; Guerrera, 2001, p.96. [return]
20. Schafersman, S.D., 1998, "Unraveling the Shroud of Turin," Approfondimento Sindone, Vol. 2. [return]
21. Wilson, I., 1989, "Paris - The Symposium Scientifique," BSTS Newsletter, No. 23, September, pp.2-7, 3-4; Wilson & Schwortz, 2000, p.82. [return]
22. Guerrera, 2001, p.96; Maloney, P.C., 2014, "Walter C. McCrone and the Max Frei Sticky Tapes of 1978: A Background Study," July 14. [return]
23. Maloney, P.C., 1999, "A Contribution toward a History of Botanical Research on the Shroud of Turin," in Walsh, B., ed., 2000, Proceedings of the 1999 Shroud of Turin International Research Conference, Richmond, Virginia, pp.241-266, 250; Guerrera, 2001, p.96; Maloney, 2014. [return]
24. Maloney, P.C., 1990, "The Current Status of Pollen Research and Prospects for the Future," ASSIST Newsletter, Vol. 2., No. 1, June, pp.1-7, 5; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, pp.204-205; Maloney, 1999, p.264; Maloney, 2014. [return]
25. Wilson, 1989, p.4; Maloney, 1990, p.5; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.205; Maloney, 1999, p.264; Maloney, 2014. [return]
26. Baima Bollone, P., and Gagli, A., 1984, "Demonstration of Blood, Aloes and Myrrh on the Holy Shroud with Immunofluorescence Techniques," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 13, December, pp.2-8, 2. [return]
27. Maloney, 1990, p.6. [return]
28. Ibid. [return]
29. Nickell, J., 1994, "Pollens on the 'shroud': a study in deception (Shroud of Turin)," Skeptical Inquirer, June 22 (no longer online); Schafersman, 1998. [return]
30. Danin, A., Whanger, A.D., Baruch, U. & Whanger, M., 1999, "Flora of the Shroud of Turin," Missouri Botanical Garden Press: St. Louis MO, p.16; Danin, 2010, p.54. [return]
31. Whanger, M. & Whanger, A.D., 1998, "The Shroud of Turin: An Adventure of Discovery," Providence House Publishers: Franklin TN, pp.78-79; Whanger, A., 1996, "Pollens on the Shroud: A Study in Deception," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 97, September, pp.11-18, 17. [return]
32. Danin, A., 2003, "Contribution of the Plants in Determining the Authenticity of the Shroud," Flora of Israel Online. [return]
33. Morgan, R., 1996, "Update from Paul Maloney, USA," Shroud News, No 99, December, pp.18-19, 19. [return]
34. Whanger & Whanger, 1998, p.128; Wilson & Schwortz, 2000, p.82. [return]
35. Piczek, I., 1998, "Planning for the Shroud of Turin in the 21st Century: Meeting in Dallas, Texas, November 6-8, 1998," BSTS Newsletter, No. 48, December. [return]
36. Maloney, P.C., 1998, "Researching the Shroud of Turin: 1898 to the Present: A Brief Survey of Findings and Views," in Minor, Adler & Piczek, 2002, pp.16-47. [return]
37. Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.51. [return]

Posted 9 September 2018. Updated 20 April 2022.