This web page presents 32 of the 46 photomicrographs that were taken by Mark Evans, helped by Barrie Schwortz, during the 1978 investigation of the Shroud of Turin by STURP (Shroud of TUrin Research Project). These photomicrographs show essential details to better understand the physical characteristic of the image on the Shroud. They are classified by their content and locations with references to the Shroud Scope. The following bird-view of the Shroud shows the locations, in green, of the photomicrographs. You can also see all 32 photomicrographs interactively by mousing over the small green rectangles on the Shroud Scope with photomicrographs selected.
The magnifications of the photomicrographs vary from 6.3x to 64x (6.3x, 14x, 32x, 50x, 54x, and 64x) and were taken at various locations on the Shroud. Please read the last section below on Determination of the Photomicrograph Locations on the Shroud of Turin about the accuracy of these locations.
In the following sections, small images of the photomicrographs with short descriptions of their content, location, and magnification are given. The small images can be enlarged by clicking them. The enlarged versions are actually 25% of the size of their original photomicrographs. For each photomicrograph we also provide direct links to their location on Shroud Scope.
The following two photomicrographs were taken at two locations near each other on the ventral side of the Shroud. The clear cloth shows the color of the linen of the Shroud without any image. The very light scorch photomicrograph shows mostly a clear cloth but with a very small amount of scorching due to the Chambéry fire in 1532.
(ME-15, 32x) | (ME-28, 64x) |
Clear thread On Shroud Scope |
Very light scorch On Shroud Scope |
The following four photomicrographs are probably the most important ones to better comprehend what makes up the image on the Shroud. One can readily see no obvious paint of any kind on the threads. How the fibrils of the threads got their color is still debated. Compare these photomicrographs to the photomicrograph of rust on the Shroud (see below) to readily see the obvious difference between the color of the fibrils that compose the image of the body and fibrils covered with an obvious substance (rust).
(ME-02, 32x) | (ME-20, 32x) |
Eye On Shroud Scope | Eye On Shroud Scope |
(ME-14, 32x) | (ME-29, 64x) |
Nose On Shroud Scope | Nose On Shroud Scope |
The major chest wound on the right side of the man of the Shroud matches the description of a lance piercing the chest. Close to the edge of the burned hole, the linen threads were heavily scorched by heat (Chambéry fire in 1532). What is seen on the following photomicrograph is scorched linen covered with dry blood from this "lance area".
(ME-01, 6.3x) |
Scorched threads with bloodstain, chest wound On Shroud Scope |
The following five photomicrographs were taken at the small of back: the first four show bloodstains at various magnifications and the fifth is over the image.
(ME-03, 6.3x) | (ME-06, 32x) | (ME-24, 54x) |
Bloodstain, small of back On Shroud Scope | Bloodstain, small of back On Shroud Scope | Bloodstain, small of back On Shroud Scope |
(ME-05, 32x) | (ME-08, 32x) | |
Bloodstain, small of back On Shroud Scope |
Image, small of back On Shroud Scope |
The following six photomicrographs were taken at the heel and foot, some with bloodstain and image. The last two images (ME-25 and ME-26) are the same but with different lighting. They clearly show the superficiality of the image on the Shroud.
(ME-17, 6.3x) | (ME-19, 32x) |
Bloodstain and image, foot On Shroud Scope |
Bloodstain and image, foot On Shroud Scope |
(ME-18, 6.3x) | (ME-16, 32x) |
Image, foot On Shroud Scope |
Image, foot On Shroud Scope |
(ME-25, 50x) | (ME-26, 50x) |
Image, heel On Shroud Scope |
Same as ME-25 but with a different lighting On Shroud Scope |
The following three photomicrographs show scorched threads at three different magnifications. Compared to image threads such as ME-02 (eye), ME-20 (eye), ME-14 (nose), ME-29 (nose), ME-08 (small of back), ME-16 (foot), ME-25 (heel), these scorched threads are much darker.
(ME-07, 6.3x) | (ME-21, 14x) | (ME-04, 32x) |
On Shroud Scope | On Shroud Scope | On Shroud Scope |
The following five photomicrographs were taken at two locations near the dorsal image of the Shroud over two water stains.
(ME-10, 6.3x) On Shroud Scope | (ME-11, 32x) On Shroud Scope | |
(ME-22, 14x) On Shroud Scope | (ME-23, 14x) On Shroud Scope | (ME-27, 50x) On Shroud Scope |
The rust stain apparently comes from a round tack used to fasten the Shroud on a wooden panel. It is interesting because it shows a major difference in appearance from the image area. The wax stain probably comes a candle, but not much wax is visible.
Wax stain, probably from a candle (ME-12, 6.3x). On Shroud Scope | Rust stain from a round tack (ME-13, 32x). On Shroud Scope |
The following four photomicrographs were taken at two locations near the dorsal image of the Shroud.
Burned threads (ME-32, 6.3x) On Shroud Scope | Burned threads (ME-09, 32x) On Shroud Scope |
Burned threads near patch (ME-30, 6.3x) On Shroud Scope | Burned threads (ME-31, 32x) On Shroud Scope |
The determination of the locations of the photomicrographs were done based on the information provided by Barrie Schwortz and by analyzing the content of the photomicrographs. The information provided were a table and two low resolution photographs with red markers (see below). The location of most 32 photomicrographs could be determined with certitude but not for some (see the table below for these cases).
The following two low resolution photographs of the Shroud (provided by Barrie Schwortz), ventral (first) and dorsal (second) images, show red markers, annotated with integers, where the photomicrographs were taken. There are more than 32 red markers on these photographs, although only 32 photomicrographs are presented on this web page because the author of this web page has access only to these. For some locations, several photomicrographs were taken at that same location (same red marker), because, for example, several different magnifications have been used at that location. Note the series of integers running down both photographs: It starts with 1 at the left on the dorsal image, and ends with 22 on the right on the ventral image. There are also letters from A to F on the right of the ventral image, although they are cut off, yet one can determine their location. This is a grid coordinate system used by STURP to identify locations on the Shroud during their investigation.
The locations of red markers from or near the ventral image are denoted with a 'v' and an integer (e.g., v9) whereas the red markers from or near the dorsal image are denoted with a 'd' and an integer (e.g., d8). For example, the red marker v8 (ventral image, red marker 8) is located at grid coordinate D17. The table below identifies many more red markers. In some cases, such a coordinate is not precise enough to uniquely identify a red marker which result into ambiguities. This problem made the accurate identification of the locations of the photomicrographs more difficult and in some cases not unique.
The following table gives the selected location for each photomicrograph which is based on the possible red markers, and the matching of the content of the photomicrograph with the Shroud at such a location. When several possible red markers are given, it means that the selected red marker, and consequently, the location of the photomicrograph as given by the Shroud Scope, is not certain.
Photomicrograph | Description | Grid Location | Magnification | Possible Red Markers | Selected Red Marker(s) | Shroud Scope Link |
ME-01 | Bloodstain, front chest | D15 | 6.3x | v17 | v17 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-02 | Image, eye | D13 | 32x | v2,v19 | v2 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-03 | Bloodstain, small of back | D15* | 6.3x | d3 | d3 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-04 | Scorch, close-up of ME-7 | none | 32x | d2 | d2 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-05 | Bloodstain, small of back | D14* | 32x | d3 | d3 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-06 | Dense bloodstain, small of back | D15* | 32x | d3 | d3 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-07 | Scorch | none | 6.3x | d2 | d2 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-08 | Image, small of back | D7 | 32x | d21 | d21 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-09 | Burned threads near a hole | B6-7 | 32x | d22 | d22 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-10 | Water stain | E3 | 6.3x | d12 | d12 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-11 | Water stain | E3 | 32x | d12 | d12 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-12 | Wax | F11 | 6.3x | d1 | d1 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-13 | Rust from tack | D1 | 32x | d13 | d13 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-14 | Image, nose | D13 | 32x | v3, v11, v20, v21, v22 | all | On Shroud Scope |
ME-15 | Clear cloth | C13 | 32x | v15 | v15 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-16 | Image, foot | C2 | 32x | d16 | d16 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-17 | Image and bloodstain, foot | D1-2 | 6.3x | d7 | d7 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-18 | Image foot | C2 | 6.3x | d16 | d16 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-19 | Bloodstain and image, foot | D1-2 | 32x | d7 | d7 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-20 | Image, eye | D13 | 32x | v2, v19 | v19 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-21 | Scorch, close-up of ME-7 | B9 | 14x | d2 | d2 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-22 | Image, small of back | A-B5 | 14x | d4 | d4 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-23 | Water stain | A-B5 | 14x | d4 | d4 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-24 | Dense bloodstain, small of back | C8 | 54x | d3 | d3 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-25 | Image, heel | C2 | 50x | d5, d6 | d5 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-26 | Image heel, ME-25 with a different lighting | C2 | 50x | d5, d6 | d6 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-27 | Water stain | A5 | 50x | d4 | d4 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-28 | Very light scorch | B-C13* | 64x | v18, v12, v6 | v18 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-29 | Image, nose | D13 | 64x | v3, v11, v20, v21, v22 | all | On Shroud Scope |
ME-30 | Dark brown threads near patch border | none | 6.3x | d18 | d18 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-31 | Close-up of ME-30 | none | 32x | d18 | d18 | On Shroud Scope |
ME-32 | Burned threads around two small holes | none | 6.3x | d22 | d22 | On Shroud Scope |