Author(s)

Gérard Lucotte

Institut d’Anthropologie Moléculaire, Paris, France.

We have studied by optical microscopy and by SEM-EDX some metallic particles of gold and silver adhering to a sample of the Turin Shroud. A total number of eighteen particles (and sub-particles) containing these two elements were characterized in details. Three of them (e49, b22 and h28-0) are parts of gold scales, and six (l38-1, 2, 3, 4, 7’ and 12) are micro-grains of a gold powder. The three a23-1, 2 and 3 sub-particles are the metallic parts of a spot of painting. The e27 particle (of electrum) is possibly some part of a coin of a Byzantine money; possibly also, the m10 particle could be parts of a billion (a coin of money used during the Roman Antiquity).

Turin Shroud, SEM-EDX Analyses, Gold and Silver Particles, Electrum, Billion

Lucotte, G. (2022) Gold and Silver Particles on the Turin Shroud, Studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Elemental Analysis. Archaeological Discovery, 10, 262-281. doi: 10.4236/ad.2022.104009.