What do you think?
Rate this book
Riddles of the Shroud: Questions Science Can't Answer
Scientists can’t work it out. For more than a century, the Shroud of Turin, with its mysterious image of Jesus in death, has been revealing riddles. No one can explain, let alone replicate it. It looks like a smudge on a bit of old cloth, but it has been shown to be a high-resolution, 3-D, negative image, made from the tiny discolored fibers of a cloth covered in blood and showing a body that is stiff with rigor mortis. Despite a controversial carbon dating in the 1980s, the Shroud has now been scientifically dated four times to the first century––most recently in early 2022. It has also been discovered that before its sudden appearance in the Western world seven centuries ago, it had a long history in Eastern Europe, revealed by historic paintings, coins and other evidence. Riddles of the Shroud examines the many impossible questions posed by the Shroud––questions even science can’t answer.
Journalist and editor William West has worked on national and international news publications for almost half a century. After years of research he has written an introduction for ordinary people to what he believes is ‘the most intriguing artefact of all time’.
Journalist and editor William West has worked on national and international news publications for almost half a century. After years of research he has written an introduction for ordinary people to what he believes is ‘the most intriguing artefact of all time’.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 14, 2022
12 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 5, 2024
This book is really excellent. Written for the lay person without a significant scientific background, the book covers the background of the Shroud, from a historical and scientific standpoint.
The title makes reference to a number of so called riddles that science is unable to answer regarding the Shroud, yet it provides a pretty thorough and very up to date status report on all the things we know currently about the Shroud - as well as those we don't.
The author is a tad snarky at times when pointing out the obvious silliness on the part of some skeptics. This may be a turn off for some, but mostly it's just humorous enough to give one a little chuckle, and not serious enough to find offensive or over the top.
The book has chapters organized by topics related to the Shroud and the history and research on it. The author writes fairly extensively about the positions skeptics have taken, especially in some subtopics, and he shows systematically how science has disproven the skeptics - e.g. the theory that the Shroud could be a painting. It's not, and that was one of the earliest things disproven.
The author discusses in the last chapter a number of suggested theories related to the Shroud and how it was created, and details attempts to recreate the Shroud by modern scientists. He discusses the problems and failures of these attempts, and then lists the one theory that has actually panned out - and tests have been able to replicate and to some extent prove. The radiation fall through theory. It's the one and only theory which makes sense of all the Shroud riddles and that actually works in every case and with every riddle.
Science can now tell us that the image was created by significantly high, and very finely tuned, radiation and that the cloth fell through the body when it dematerialized. Science cannot tell us how a dead body emitted that much radiation (or why), which created a 3D, hi-definition image which came to be on the cloth after the real human blood (which shows evidence of a human who was tortured and dramatically suffering when the blood was shed) was first in contact with the Shroud, which appears there in completely realistic flows, how it is that the radiation was directional (which is why the image is not distorted on the flat cloth). etc. etc. and why it is that this image was left here for us to ponder.
I've been following all of the Shroud research for over 30 years. This book is one that I would recommend all people read. Many people think the C-14 tests proved the Shroud was a fake. They didn’t, and this book proves that. The C-14 tests were not the end - even if they were accurate (which for a number of reasons is unlikely), radiation skews C-14 numbers and so due to that and a number of other things the tests previously done are meaningless.
This is a fascinating book, easy to read, informative, and well worth your time! The author put a nice summary at the end, which includes 99 riddles that science cannot solve. If nothing else this book will get you thinking, and critical thinking and pondering of life's mysteries is something we should all spend more time doing!
The title makes reference to a number of so called riddles that science is unable to answer regarding the Shroud, yet it provides a pretty thorough and very up to date status report on all the things we know currently about the Shroud - as well as those we don't.
The author is a tad snarky at times when pointing out the obvious silliness on the part of some skeptics. This may be a turn off for some, but mostly it's just humorous enough to give one a little chuckle, and not serious enough to find offensive or over the top.
The book has chapters organized by topics related to the Shroud and the history and research on it. The author writes fairly extensively about the positions skeptics have taken, especially in some subtopics, and he shows systematically how science has disproven the skeptics - e.g. the theory that the Shroud could be a painting. It's not, and that was one of the earliest things disproven.
The author discusses in the last chapter a number of suggested theories related to the Shroud and how it was created, and details attempts to recreate the Shroud by modern scientists. He discusses the problems and failures of these attempts, and then lists the one theory that has actually panned out - and tests have been able to replicate and to some extent prove. The radiation fall through theory. It's the one and only theory which makes sense of all the Shroud riddles and that actually works in every case and with every riddle.
Science can now tell us that the image was created by significantly high, and very finely tuned, radiation and that the cloth fell through the body when it dematerialized. Science cannot tell us how a dead body emitted that much radiation (or why), which created a 3D, hi-definition image which came to be on the cloth after the real human blood (which shows evidence of a human who was tortured and dramatically suffering when the blood was shed) was first in contact with the Shroud, which appears there in completely realistic flows, how it is that the radiation was directional (which is why the image is not distorted on the flat cloth). etc. etc. and why it is that this image was left here for us to ponder.
I've been following all of the Shroud research for over 30 years. This book is one that I would recommend all people read. Many people think the C-14 tests proved the Shroud was a fake. They didn’t, and this book proves that. The C-14 tests were not the end - even if they were accurate (which for a number of reasons is unlikely), radiation skews C-14 numbers and so due to that and a number of other things the tests previously done are meaningless.
This is a fascinating book, easy to read, informative, and well worth your time! The author put a nice summary at the end, which includes 99 riddles that science cannot solve. If nothing else this book will get you thinking, and critical thinking and pondering of life's mysteries is something we should all spend more time doing!
July 24, 2022
Death, Taxes, Chicanery, and . . . . the Fullness of Time?
When it comes to relics, count me a skeptic. I think they are interesting because of what they reveal about people, but I want to see evidence, which seldom holds up to the powerful traditions attached to the objects. A few years ago, a friend encouraged me to attend a presentation on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin at a local church. I politely declined, citing my firm belief that carbon dating had finally and indisputably resolved that the controversial band of linen dated not to the first century AD, and thus consistent with its supposed origin as the burial shroud of Jesus, but rather to the Middle Ages, and thus a forgery, albeit an expert one. The modern adage attributed to Benjamin Franklin that the only things that are certain are death and taxes misses something important. You may add to that with confidence the certainty of chicanery, and chicanery goes a long way in explaining many relics in the absence of evidence.
But then, a couple weeks ago, I came across an interview with William West, journalist and author of “Riddles of the Shroud”, and my curiosity was triggered. What caught my attention was his confident assertion that the carbon dating evidence had been discredited, that new evidence of first century dating had been published in April of this year, and that a million-dollar challenge to the British Museum (which oversaw the carbon testing) to duplicate the shroud using Middle Ages technology remains unclaimed. I had heard none of this before, so I decided to buy the book. So glad I did! Highly recommended!
West comprehensively examines the objections to and evidence for the first century and Middle Eastern origins of the artifact, with important emphasis on the claim that it is a forgery. He looks at the weave of the linen, the unusual physical nature of the image itself (affecting an unexplained portion of the linen fibers), how the image reveals 3D aspects of the subject and the presence of rigor mortis, the presence of actual human blood as well as pollen and limestone traces consistent with tradition, and much more, so much of which I had no awareness. He also discusses a theory of how the image plausibly could have been created, which also helps explain the unreliability of the carbon dating. It’s quite hard to find significant weakness in his presentation of the evidence, which builds with anticipation and, yes, drama, even though West is highly objective. I came away convinced overwhelmingly that the Shroud could not possibly be a forgery, and quite reasonably has first century and Middle Eastern origins. The penultimate chapter summarizes the evidence with 99 questions unanswerable by scientific analysis, a powerful and helpful wrap-up.
The Shroud of Turin is unlike any other artifact ever discovered, and more thoroughly examined as well, but that doesn’t prove that it is what it purports to be, the burial shroud of Jesus Christ. On the one hand, that doesn’t really matter, certainly not to me as a convinced believer. My faith stands firm with or without the Shroud. After all, I had dismissed it until reading “Riddles of the Shroud.”
But if it is what tradition says it is, God has a purpose for preserving it and stimulating our fascination with it. People sometimes question why Jesus began His ministry as He did if He is Who we say He is (as Judas, in “Jesus Christ Superstar” puzzles, “in such a backward time and such a strange land”). Well the answer is that He began in the fullness of time. The Roman Empire brought the first historical opportunity for widespread peace, transportation, communication, language and other factors necessary for the Gospel to spread rapidly. Perhaps the fullness of time is at work here also. West adds an appendix (which I at first thought unnecessary) about the fine tuning of the universe. In fact, it adds immensely, showing in great summary how scientific advances in recent decades have given us overwhelming insights into the existence of God. Perhaps the scientific examination of the Shroud, only possible in recent years, is pointing to something profound also. With God, His revelation in the fullness of time is another thing we can expect with certainty.
When it comes to relics, count me a skeptic. I think they are interesting because of what they reveal about people, but I want to see evidence, which seldom holds up to the powerful traditions attached to the objects. A few years ago, a friend encouraged me to attend a presentation on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin at a local church. I politely declined, citing my firm belief that carbon dating had finally and indisputably resolved that the controversial band of linen dated not to the first century AD, and thus consistent with its supposed origin as the burial shroud of Jesus, but rather to the Middle Ages, and thus a forgery, albeit an expert one. The modern adage attributed to Benjamin Franklin that the only things that are certain are death and taxes misses something important. You may add to that with confidence the certainty of chicanery, and chicanery goes a long way in explaining many relics in the absence of evidence.
But then, a couple weeks ago, I came across an interview with William West, journalist and author of “Riddles of the Shroud”, and my curiosity was triggered. What caught my attention was his confident assertion that the carbon dating evidence had been discredited, that new evidence of first century dating had been published in April of this year, and that a million-dollar challenge to the British Museum (which oversaw the carbon testing) to duplicate the shroud using Middle Ages technology remains unclaimed. I had heard none of this before, so I decided to buy the book. So glad I did! Highly recommended!
West comprehensively examines the objections to and evidence for the first century and Middle Eastern origins of the artifact, with important emphasis on the claim that it is a forgery. He looks at the weave of the linen, the unusual physical nature of the image itself (affecting an unexplained portion of the linen fibers), how the image reveals 3D aspects of the subject and the presence of rigor mortis, the presence of actual human blood as well as pollen and limestone traces consistent with tradition, and much more, so much of which I had no awareness. He also discusses a theory of how the image plausibly could have been created, which also helps explain the unreliability of the carbon dating. It’s quite hard to find significant weakness in his presentation of the evidence, which builds with anticipation and, yes, drama, even though West is highly objective. I came away convinced overwhelmingly that the Shroud could not possibly be a forgery, and quite reasonably has first century and Middle Eastern origins. The penultimate chapter summarizes the evidence with 99 questions unanswerable by scientific analysis, a powerful and helpful wrap-up.
The Shroud of Turin is unlike any other artifact ever discovered, and more thoroughly examined as well, but that doesn’t prove that it is what it purports to be, the burial shroud of Jesus Christ. On the one hand, that doesn’t really matter, certainly not to me as a convinced believer. My faith stands firm with or without the Shroud. After all, I had dismissed it until reading “Riddles of the Shroud.”
But if it is what tradition says it is, God has a purpose for preserving it and stimulating our fascination with it. People sometimes question why Jesus began His ministry as He did if He is Who we say He is (as Judas, in “Jesus Christ Superstar” puzzles, “in such a backward time and such a strange land”). Well the answer is that He began in the fullness of time. The Roman Empire brought the first historical opportunity for widespread peace, transportation, communication, language and other factors necessary for the Gospel to spread rapidly. Perhaps the fullness of time is at work here also. West adds an appendix (which I at first thought unnecessary) about the fine tuning of the universe. In fact, it adds immensely, showing in great summary how scientific advances in recent decades have given us overwhelming insights into the existence of God. Perhaps the scientific examination of the Shroud, only possible in recent years, is pointing to something profound also. With God, His revelation in the fullness of time is another thing we can expect with certainty.
November 22, 2022
Brilliantly written book
Clearly written for the layman in terms that the non-scientific mind can comprehend, I. Still do not understand why others believe in a Medieval forger bearing in mind that the only evidence is a doubtful Carbon 14 dating. It is completely mind blowing that the shroud was created by a burst of radiation from the body, that the body was moving at the time and that the body assumed a new physical state that passed through the cloth also to achieve the image the body was risen above the shelf on which it rested, Christ had truly risen! The new state is recorded in the gospels when he passes through unopened doors but ate and drank with his disciples.The whole tone of some of the biblical passages is I know you are not going to believe this but this is what happened. So may be true with the hypothesis in this book, The shroud is tangible proof of the resurrection.
This is the only conclusion we can come to from reading the evidence in this book.
Clearly written for the layman in terms that the non-scientific mind can comprehend, I. Still do not understand why others believe in a Medieval forger bearing in mind that the only evidence is a doubtful Carbon 14 dating. It is completely mind blowing that the shroud was created by a burst of radiation from the body, that the body was moving at the time and that the body assumed a new physical state that passed through the cloth also to achieve the image the body was risen above the shelf on which it rested, Christ had truly risen! The new state is recorded in the gospels when he passes through unopened doors but ate and drank with his disciples.The whole tone of some of the biblical passages is I know you are not going to believe this but this is what happened. So may be true with the hypothesis in this book, The shroud is tangible proof of the resurrection.
This is the only conclusion we can come to from reading the evidence in this book.
November 4, 2022
Worth Reading
I already knew a bit about the Shroud but this book kept me interested from beginning to end…rather like a good mystery does. Intriguing with plenty of food for thought. Great read.
I already knew a bit about the Shroud but this book kept me interested from beginning to end…rather like a good mystery does. Intriguing with plenty of food for thought. Great read.
April 13, 2023
Well written for the average reader
Well organized to understand the history of scientific attemps to solve the mystery of the Shroud of Turin. Inspiring to all, believers and unbelievers.
Well organized to understand the history of scientific attemps to solve the mystery of the Shroud of Turin. Inspiring to all, believers and unbelievers.
March 21, 2024
A really great book
This book has changed the way that I thought about Jesus. Now I see Jesus in a more concrete way.Before I saw Jesus as a kind of a legend. Now I know that Jesus is real and that he died for me and for all men and women.
This book has changed the way that I thought about Jesus. Now I see Jesus in a more concrete way.Before I saw Jesus as a kind of a legend. Now I know that Jesus is real and that he died for me and for all men and women.
October 27, 2025
There is a lot to think about with this book. The writer is a journalist and is careful to be sure of his facts and background. The surprise was that the British Museum lied about their dating. Who knows why. The book is worth the read, and the accompanying soul searching.
September 12, 2024
After reading this, I am convinced that the shroud is genuine and that the image was made by the burst of energy from the resurrection.
November 27, 2024
Interesting read
The fact driven and balanced format of this book held my attention and was as exciting as a detective novel.
The fact driven and balanced format of this book held my attention and was as exciting as a detective novel.
November 29, 2025
Science has answered all the propaganda in this dead tome.
Shroud authenticity promotion is simply an endlessly entertaining fata morgana in an empirical desert of pragmatic pseudo-science.
Studying the Shroud to understand the intricacies of medieval art is legitimate; promoting the Shroud as a 1st century artifact is retabulated histrionics.
The Shroud embodies the evolution of Gothic century art in the 14th century. Simple.
Having Shroud authenticity defenders degrade the observations of present art historians and contemporary scientists is the equivalent of having the arsonist critique the firefighter for working too slow.
By comparison, please read the unsurpassed and empirically-valid works by Nicholas Peter Legh Allen and Walter C. McCrone and the historical-critical dissertation by art historian Gary Vikan.
Shroud authenticity promotion is simply an endlessly entertaining fata morgana in an empirical desert of pragmatic pseudo-science.
Studying the Shroud to understand the intricacies of medieval art is legitimate; promoting the Shroud as a 1st century artifact is retabulated histrionics.
The Shroud embodies the evolution of Gothic century art in the 14th century. Simple.
Having Shroud authenticity defenders degrade the observations of present art historians and contemporary scientists is the equivalent of having the arsonist critique the firefighter for working too slow.
By comparison, please read the unsurpassed and empirically-valid works by Nicholas Peter Legh Allen and Walter C. McCrone and the historical-critical dissertation by art historian Gary Vikan.
September 10, 2024
great book!
A preponderance of evidence ~ the shroud has to be genuine ~ Jesus is risen indeed! Read it for yourself …
A preponderance of evidence ~ the shroud has to be genuine ~ Jesus is risen indeed! Read it for yourself …
November 5, 2024
Fascinating book around the facts reveals by the Shroud of Turin. Because it is written by a journalist, it is far easier to understand than most technical explanations of this relic. West was able to break down all the information in understandable terms.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews