As debate rages over the scientific veracity of proving the Shroud of Turin is actually the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, another relic has been drawing attention as the possible head cloth of Christ with an image that actually matches that on the famous Shroud. After falling into disrepute, the authenticity of the Shroud may have been substantiated by a new study that dates the hallowed back 2,000 years, the Daily Mail reported Monday.
But the head cloth of Christ, known as the Sudarium of Oviedo, and housed in a Spanish cathedral might actually be an exciting “discovery” by itself in addition to proving that the Shroud is real.
The Sudarium of Oviedo is also known as 'the Shroud of Turin 2' and some who have studied it believe that the image on the cloth – which may have been used to wrap after his death on the cross – is a match for the one on the Shroud and would have been used in the burial procedure.
A sudarium is literally a sweat cloth, used to clean a deceased person’s face from sweat and blood. Unlike the Shroud, the relic in Spain does not bear a discernible face but merely obvious stains.
The Bible, in John 20:6-7, describes how Jesus was wrapped in both a shroud and head covering. The head cloth has a meandering history that says it was recovered by Christian pilgrims in Palestine in 614 and presented to the bishop of Seville. The Sudarium has markings that appear to be remarkably similar to the image on the Shroud.
The person covered by the cloth is the same (AB) as that determined by testing the fabric of the Shroud. The length of the nose is the same in both cases.
In 1984, Dr Alan Whanger of Duke University placed the Shroud over the head cloth and noted “130 points of congruence between the shroud and the facecloth. We feel this is hard evidence that both were in contact with the same person,” the Mail noted.
The exact age of the cloth is unknown and subject to debate. Although its existence is confirmed by historical documents as dating to the ninth century, a radiocarbon test suggests the item is as old as 700. But radiocarbon dating can be rendered inaccurate by foreign substances being present on the material and this might apply to the head cloth as well. Researcher Cesar Barta has said that oils could have contaminated the cloth and produced a false reading, the Mail reported.
