Copyright © Stephen E. Jones[1]
Baima Ballone, P. #12
This is "Baima Ballone, P.," part #12 of my Turin Shroud Encyclopedia. For more information about this series, see part #1 and part #2. Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated.
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Baima Ballone, P. Prof. Pierluigi Baima Ballone (1937-) [Below right (original)[2]], is a former surgeon[3], coroner[4] and Professor of Forensic Medicine at the Univers-ity of Turin[5]. He was also Director of the Centro Internazionale di Sindonolologia (International Centre of Sindonology) [6] and later its Honorary President[7].
In the early 1960s (as Baima Ballone revealed in 1979[8]) soon after Willard F. Libby (1908-80) in 1960 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of radiocarbon dating[9], Libby sought permission to radiocarbon date the Shroud[10]. As the scientific adviser to Don Piero Coero-Borga (1924-87), the Secretary of the International Centre of Sindonology, Baima Bollone conducted a lengthy correcpondence with Libby[11]. But Libby's early method required 200 grams (7 ounces) of the Shroud to be destroyed, which Baima Bollone calculated would be 870 square centimetres (12 x 12 inches)[12] and so Libby's request was refused[13].
In 1973, as presumably one of Turin's 11-member Commission on the Shroud, Baima Bollone removed for analysis bloodstained threads from the Shroudman's feet (see below)[14]. Then in 1978, in conjunction with STURP's examination of the 
Shroud, but independent from it, Baima Bollone
[Left (enlarge)[15]: Prof. Baima-Bollone extracting a bloodstained thread from the Shroud during the 1978 examination.]
removed bloodstained threads from the small of the man's back (see below)[16].
In May 1981 Baima Bollone confirmed by the presence of heme/porphyrin that there was blood on the threads that he had removed from the Shroud in 1978[17]. In August of that year STURP 
chemist Alan D. Adler (1931-2000) independently confirmed the presence of blood on different Shroud samples taken also in 1978[18]. Baima Bollone and his colleagues then used fluorescent human antibodies to demonstrate that it was human blood on the threads from the soles of the two feet (B12c and B12d)[19].
In 1982 they reported that the blood on the Shroud threads from the sole of the left foot (B12d) was type AB[20].
[Right (original with key): Grid map of the Shroud with red arrows pointing to areas B12c (sole of the right foot), B12d (sole of the left foot) and C9d, the "belt of blood" around the small of the Shroudman's back, from where Baima Bollone took his 1973 and 1978 samples[22].]
At the 1981 Bologna Congress, Baima Bollone reported that he had found traces of the spices myrrh and aloes on bloodstained threads which he had taken from the feet of the Shroudman in 1973[23]. This is significant because John 19:39-41 records that:
"Nicodemus ... came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes ... [and] ... they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews"[24].
Prof. Baima Bollone reported in 1985 that the bloodstains on the Sudarium of Oviedo ("the face cloth [soudarion] that had been on Jesus' head" - Jn 20:7[25] [See 27Apr21]) are also type AB[26].
In 1995 Prof. Marcello Canale of the Institute of Legal Medicine, Genoa successful extracted from bloodstained threads from the Shroudman's feet, provided by Prof. Baima Bollone, an ancient specimen of blood[27]. By Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Prof. Canale isolated a long strand of human male DNA, which however had been contaminated by both male and female DNAs[28].
Kearse and Heimburger wrote approvingly of Baima Bollone's Shroud blood results (my emphasis):
"SEM-EDX gives the relative elemental composition. When one compares these results with those obtained by Baima Bollone, there is a very good match with `actual blood'. This is also true for the TS [Turin Shroud] blood, except for calcium and iron. Bollone’s `TS blood' does contain much more calcium and iron than expected for actual blood. ... it is possible that the calcium (and iron) excess found in the `TS blood' spectrum is due to the high amount of calcium and iron bounded to the underlying fibers ... In any case (except for calcium), there is no doubt that the EDS spectra of blood material coming from blood areas of the Turin Shroud show the same elemental composition than that of actual blood. Not only are all of the expected elements present, but also their relative amounts are consistent with that of blood. In addition, no peak corresponding to species not pertaining to blood was found (for example Hg peak of cinnabar) [as claimed by McCrone]"[29].That Baima Bollone and Adler each found, independently, by different methods, that the bloodstains on the Shroud are real, human blood, is yet another disproof of the medieval forgery theory, for reasons including (see 03Jun17): • No known medieval or earlier artist used blood to depict blood"[32]. • Artists use long-lasting colours[33]. but blood quickly loses its red colour and darkens from brown to black as its haemoglobin progressively becomes methemoglobin[34]. The Shroud blood's red colour is due to bilirubin, which occurs in the blood of a person who had suffered severe trauma, as Jesus had[35]. • Blood dries too quickly for an artist to paint with it[36]. • To paint the Shroud's bloodstains with real, human blood, a medieval forger would have needed access to a continuous supply of fresh human blood[37]! And finally, • There would have been no point in a medieval forger painting the Shroud's bloodstains with human blood because none of his contemporaries could have known if the blood was real or not[38]!
"No singular type of test in the evaluation of bloodstains is above error. Each test can result in a false positive. Each test can result in a false negative. It is the sum of the collective evidence of chemical and immunological data that convinced Dr. Baima Bollone (and Heller and Adler) that the `bloodstains' were composed of real blood. Although modern tests are typically more sensitive than many previous methods, the basic one-two approach for the detection of blood is still in use today: chemical testing for the identification of heme/hemoglobin, followed by immunological testing to identify the species from which the blood originates, and if desirable, the blood group and subgroup"[30].
"Baima Bollone would [did] summarize in 2000 that, `In effect everyday haematological diagnostic investigations have allowed us to ascertain the incontrovertible presence of human blood, with all its characteristics, on the Shroud [...] All this proves and confirms that on the Shroud there are effectively real and complete bloodstains, conserved in their various components'"[31].
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. "Pierluigi Baima Ballone `2015 a new investigation of the shroud," Castello Angioino, 18 July 2015. [return]
3. Kearse, K. & Heimburger, T., 2013, "The Shroud Blood Science of Dr. Pierluigi Baima Bollone: Another look at potassium, among other things," Shroud of Turin files, Wordpress.com. [return]
4. Lisa, E., 2019, "Baima Bollone, my whole life for the Shroud," La Stampa, 18 September, Translated by Google. [return]
5. Wilson, I., 1990, "Recent Publications," BSTS Newsletter, No. 27, December 90/January 1991, p.15; Gove, H.E., 1996, "Relic, Icon or Hoax?: Carbon Dating the Turin Shroud," Institute of Physics Publishing: Bristol UK, p.74. [return]
6. Wilson, 1990, p.15; Gove, 1996, p.74. [return]
7. Wilson, 1990, p.15. [return]
8. Baima-Bollone, P., 1979, "Why Hasn't the Shroud Been Dated with the Carbon-14 Test?," Stampa Sera, Turin, 17 September. [return]
9. Sox, H.D., 1988, "The Shroud Unmasked: Uncovering the Greatest Forgery of All Time," Lamp Press: Basingstoke UK, p.82; Wilson, I., 1998, "The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence that the World's Most Sacred Relic is Real," Simon & Schuster: New York NY, p.180; Gove, 1996, p.69. [return]
10. Baima-Bollone, 1979; Sox, 1988, p.82; Wilson, 1998, p.180; Gove, 1996, p.69. [return]
11. Sox, 1988, p.82; Gove, 1996, p.69. [return]
12. Sox, 1988, p.82; Gove, 1996, p.69; Wilson, 1998, p.180. [return]
13. Sox, 1988, p.82; Wilson, 1998, p.180. [return]
14. Fanti, G. & Malfi, P., 2015, "The Shroud of Turin: First Century after Christ!," Pan Stanford: Singapore, p.251. [return]
15. Wilson, I. & Schwortz, B., 2000, "The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence," Michael O'Mara Books: London, p.74. [return]
16. Baima-Bollone, P. & Zaca, S., 1998, "The Shroud Under the Microscope: Forensic Examination," Neame, A., transl., St Pauls: London, pp.20-21; Wilson, 1998, p.89; Fanti & Malfi, 2015, p.179. [return]
17. Morgan, R., 1982, "Some Italian Scientific Results," Shroud News, No 12, pp.6-10, 6-8; Morgan, R.H., 1983, "The Blood on the Shroud," Shroud News, No. 20, November, pp.4-9, 6; Petrosillo, O. & Marinelli, E., 1996, "The Enigma of the Shroud: A Challenge to Science," Scerri, L.J., transl., Publishers Enterprises Group: Malta, p.208; Baima-Bollone & Zaca, 1998, p.20; Baima Bollone, P., 2000, "The Forensic Characteristics of the Blood Marks," 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.209-218, 212. [return]
18. Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.208; Baima-Bollone & Zaca, 1998, p.20; Antonacci, M., 2000, "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence," M. Evans & Co: New York NY, p.28. [return]
19. Baima Bollone, P., Jorio, M. & Massaro, A.L., 1983, "Identification of the Group of the Traces of Human Blood on the Shroud," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 6, March, pp.2-6, 3; Marinelli, E., 1985, "Italian National Shroud Congress 1984," Shroud News, No. 27, February, pp.6-9, 8; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.210; Iannone, 1998, p.66; Wilson, 1998, p.89; Antonacci, 2000, p.28. [return]
20. Baima Bollone, P., et al., 1983, p.5; Morgan, 1983, pp.7-; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.210; Baima-Bollone & Zaca, 1998, pp.22-23; Iannone, J.C., 1998, "The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence," St Pauls: Staten Island NY, p.67; Wilson, 1998, p.89; Antonacci, 2000, p.28; Wilson & Schwortz, 2000, p.76. [return]
22. Baima Bollone, P., et al., 1983, p.2; Baima Bollone, 2000, p.212; Kearse & Heimburger, 2013. [return]
23. Morgan, 1982, pp.8-9; Foley, C., 1982, "News & Activities Around the World ... Bologna, Italy, Nov. 27-29, 1982," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 2, March, pp.36-39, 36; Bollone, P., et al., 1983, p.2; Morgan, 1983, p.6; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, pp.205-206; Baima-Bollone & Zaca, 1998, p.24; Iannone, 1998, p.87; Rogers, R.N., 2008, "A Chemist's Perspective on the Shroud of Turin," Lulu Press: Raleigh, NC, p.43; Baima Bollone, 2000, p.213. [return]
24. Iannone, 1998, pp.86-87. [return]
25. Guscin, M., 1996, "The Sudarium of Oviedo," BSTS Newsletter, No. 43, June/July; Guscin, M., 1998, "The Oviedo Cloth," Lutterworth Press: Cambridge UK, p.9; Bennett, J., 2001, "Sacred Blood, Sacred Image: The Sudarium of Oviedo: New Evidence for the Authenticity of the Shroud of Turin," Ignatius Press: San Francisco CA, p.144. [return]
26. Guscin, 1996; Tornielli, A., 2015, "Stains on the Sudarium of Oviedo coincide with those on the Shroud," Vatican Insider, 2 May. [return]
27. Wilson, I., 1996, "News From Around The World," BSTS Newsletter, No. 42, January, pp.4-5, 5; Baima Bollone, 2000, p.214; Fanti & Malfi, 2015, p.299. [return]
28. Wilson, 1996, p.5; Baima-Bollone & Zaca, 1998, p.23; Wilson, I., 2000, "`The Turin Shroud - past, present and future', Turin, 2-5 March, 2000 - probably the best-ever Shroud Symposium," BSTS Newsletter, No. 51, June; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.250; Fanti & Malfi, 2015, pp.299-300. [return]
29. Kearse & Heimburger, 2013. [return]
30. Ibid. [return]
31. Baima Bollone, 2000, pp.211 & 213; Kearse & Heimburger, 2013. []
32. Heller, J.H., 1983, "Report on the Shroud of Turin," Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston MA, p.142; de Wesselow, T., 2012, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection," Viking: London, p.104. [return]
33. Heller, 1983, p.142; de Wesselow, T., 2012, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection," Viking: London, p.104. [return]
34. Adler, A.D., 1986, "The Origin and Nature of Blood on the Turin Shroud," in Adler, A.D. & Crispino, D., ed., 2002, "The Orphaned Manuscript: A Gathering of Publications on the Shroud of Turin," Effatà Editrice: Cantalupa, Italy, pp.59-66, 60-61; Scavone, D.C., 1989, "The Shroud of Turin: Opposing Viewpoints," Greenhaven Press: San Diego CA, p.54; Wilson, 1998, p.85; Antonacci, 2000, p.29. [return]
35. Adler, 1986, p.61; 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.100; Adler, A.D., 2000b, "Chemical and Physical Characteristics of the Bloodstains," in Adler & Crispino, 2002, pp.129-138, 129; Adler, A.D., 2000c, "Chemical and Physical Aspects of the Sindonic Images," in Adler & Crispino, 2002, pp.10-27, 21; Antonacci, 2000, pp.28-29; Baima Bollone, 2000, p.217; Wilson & Schwortz, 2000, p.76; Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.64; Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, p.61; de Wesselow, 2012, p.105. [return]
36. de Wesselow, 2012, p.104. [return]
37. Adler, A.D., 1999, "The Nature of the Body Images on the Shroud of Turin," in Adler & Crispino, 2002, pp.103-112, 105; Adler, 2000b,p.134; Adler, 2000c, p.21; de Wesselow, 2012, p.104. [return]
38. de Wesselow, 2012, p.104. [return]
Posted: 15 May 2021. Updated: 4 August 2021.
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