Documentary Filmmaker Offers British Museum $1 Million to Recreate Turin Shroud

A photographic negative of the shroud which shows the image embedded within in greater detail.

Documentary filmmaker David Rolfe has issued a $1 million challenge to the British Museum, offering the money in exchange for proof that the Shroud of Turin is actually a medieval hoax.

The Shroud of Turin is believed by some to be the shroud in which Jesus Christ was buried following his crucifixion.

Historical records of the Shroud date back to the 14th century, and in 1578 it was brought to Turin in Italy where it is still kept today.

The Shroud of Turin’s history is fraught with accusations of forgery, dating back to its earliest historical references, but many still believe in its authenticity, including Rolfe.

Rolfe’s 1978 film The Silent Witness investigated the Shroud of Turin, and is credited with introducing its mystery to modern audiences. The film won a British Academy Film Award for best documentary, and Rolfe was so convinced by his research into the Shroud that he converted to Christianity.

Since then, a controversial Carbon-14 test of the Shroud’s material to ascertain its age has the filmmaker questioning whether or not the test’s results should be considered definitive.

In 1988, the British Museum was asked by Church authorities responsible for the Shroud to act as independent overseers of the test and appointed Dr. Michael Tite, their Head of Research at the time, to act on their behalf.

However, according to a statement on Rolfe's website, "The British Museum stipulated five protocols they considered necessary if the test was to be conclusive. For various reasons, none of these protocols could be implemented. This should have meant that the test should not have proceeded until this state-of-affairs could be rectified. However, pressure from the C14 labs selected for the test persuaded the British Museum to proceed with the test anyway."

Despite a wealth of other evidence suggesting the Shroud could well be authentic, from that day of their damning verdict to this, the Shroud has virtually disappeared from public awareness. If the Shroud is such a crude forgery, it is reasonable to expect the British Museum to be able to replicate what this alleged medieval forger achieved and demonstrate the veracity of their conclusion in the face of this counter evidence.
To encourage them to make good on their claim, the producers of the film Who Can He Be? issue a challenge to the British Museum to replicate the image by offering a reward of US$1,000,000 (one million US dollars) if they succeed. The Shroud’s image has been analysed in detail and a very specific list of characteristics identified in peer reviewed publications and are listed below.
If the Museum takes up this challenge the producers will supply a number of linen cloths of the Shroud’s dimensions to the Museum to give them the optimum opportunity of success.
Below is the list of known and verified characteristics of the image that must be reproduced.
1. Depth of colour penetration equal to 0.2 micrometre, which corresponds to the thickness of the primary cell wall of the linen fibre. The cellulose of the medulla is colourless.
2. Half tone effect, where the shading of the image is due to the areal density of the fibres that each have the same colour, i.e., the same RGB value.
3. The fibres are uniformly coloured round their cylindrical surface.
4. The front and back images of the body show almost the same colour intensity, i.e., we cannot appreciate which image is more contrasted, front or back.
5. The images must be permanent on the linen for a period of at least one year.
6. Only known medieval techniques and substances can be used.
The producers have limited the chosen characteristics to those which can easily be attested and adjudicated by a neutral panel.
The Museum have six months from Easter Sunday, 2022 (April 17th) to either accept or decline this challenge. Upon their acceptance, the producers will place $1,000,000 in escrow pending the results.
In accepting the Challenge, the Museum will also grant the Producers the exclusive right to film for both record and dissemination the planning and execution of the process from start to finish.
The Museum has six months from the first streaming release of the film on 17th April 2022 to accept or refuse the Challenge. No response will be taken as an indication that the Challenge has not been accepted. An appeal for an extension by the Museum will be considered if it shows evidence of application to try and meet the Challenge.

Rolfe's new film, Who Can He Be?, reportedly covers what happened following the test, questioning The British Museum's conclusion that the Shroud was a medieval forgery from between the years 1260 and 1390.

Who Can He Be? is available to stream through the website whocanhebe.com.

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