Blood Wounds on the Shroud
Scourge Wounds
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Roman scourge
public domain photo
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Over 130 bloody wounds in groups of two or three and in a pattern that runs parallel and diagonally across body exist on the Shroud dorsal image: on the back, buttocks, and legs but not the arms, which would be tied around a post to immobilize the victim. [Antonacci 2000, 18]
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Close examination reveals dumbbell-shaped wounds indicating the Roman flagrum having small metal or bone fragments tied to the ends of leather thongs. [Antonacci 2000, 18]
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This type of scourge is not typical of any other culture except Roman, so this is consistent with a first century date.
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The whipping is documented in the Christian Gospel accounts: Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15.
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Evidence of biologic nanoparticles of creatinine on the Shroud implies that the body was under extreme duress: torture.
Wrist Wounds
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Medieval artistic renderings of Jesus’ crucifixion show nails through the hands, but nails there would not support the weight of a body. Rather, Romans drove the nails through the wrists—through the Space of Destot. This is substantiated by an extant skeleton of a crucified individual, in which a spike is still present through his wrist. Unlike artwork, the Shroud correctly shows blood stains on the left wrist of the frontal image, while the right wrist is hidden by the left wrist. [Antonacci 2000, 24]
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This explains why the corpse’s thumbs are not visible: a medial nerve injury (nail) would cause thumbs to flex inward.
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Would a 13th century forger have known the above physiological facts, considering the typical, traditional artistic renderings?
Foot Wounds
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A single spike was driven through both feet: one placed over the other foot to incapacitate the legs. This allowed the crucified person to painfully “stand” on the spike to allow the person to breathe temporarily, because the weight of the body on the arms made breathing difficult—threatening asphyxiation. [Antonacci 2000, 22]
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This could explain why one leg of the Man of the Shroud seems shorter than the other.