4.- How was the Aragonite identified from the Shroud?
As mentioned above, X-ray fluorescence showed that concentration of Calcium, Strontium and Iron is relatively uniform across the Shroud maybe because they were absorbed into the linen during the retting process. Nitowski claimed that there are also particles of calcium observable at even 40x magnification coming from the tomb. They used an optical intermediate β index to identify Aragonite while particles found in the Shroud were immersed in Cargille oil.
Actually, the presence of Strontium and Iron in Aragonite seems very common and they are not markers themselves.
Dr. Riccardo Levi-Setti obtained the positive and negative Secondary Ion Mass Spectra (SIMS) of the fibers of the Shroud and the limestone of tombs near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. Both “finger prints” look quite similar even one should realize that the fibers carry some limestone surface detritus only, but the spectra taken include also the underlying fiber tissue, since it was impossible to collect the limestone detritus itself. This type of spectra does not show lines identifying strontium but there is a signal for mass 56 in the Ca-rich particulates, which we cannot separate between Fe and CaO.
To asses if the matching between spectra of fibers of the Shroud and samples of the Jerusalem limestone was significant, Dr. Nitowski obtain Energy-dispersive X-ray spectra from the nine sites of Israel. She found differences between the Jerusalem tomb and the others. But too much importance was given to the presence of Potassium as well in the Jerusalem tomb sample as in the Shroud sample because even she suppose that the K comes from human remains.
In conclusion,
we have the SIMS of the Shroud and the SIMS of the Jerusalem sample included in the BAR paper. They were performed by Dr. Levi-Setti. Most of the spectral lines are in both samples. To asses if the matching is enough to conclude is common origin, it would be necessary to compare these spectra with those of other tombs samples and with other linen cloth samples. Dr. Levi-Setti has spectra from Egyptian mummylinen cloths but he has not spectra from other tombs of Israel. To follow these studies, we should use the same SIMS technique for new TS dusts and limestone of other origins samples.
There are other methods to detect the traces (Strontium, Iron...) that make up the finger print: X-ray fluorescence. But, maybe, they are not accurate enough.
As mentioned above, X-ray fluorescence showed that concentration of Calcium, Strontium and Iron is relatively uniform across the Shroud maybe because they were absorbed into the linen during the retting process. Nitowski claimed that there are also particles of calcium observable at even 40x magnification coming from the tomb. They used an optical intermediate β index to identify Aragonite while particles found in the Shroud were immersed in Cargille oil.
Actually, the presence of Strontium and Iron in Aragonite seems very common and they are not markers themselves.
Dr. Riccardo Levi-Setti obtained the positive and negative Secondary Ion Mass Spectra (SIMS) of the fibers of the Shroud and the limestone of tombs near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. Both “finger prints” look quite similar even one should realize that the fibers carry some limestone surface detritus only, but the spectra taken include also the underlying fiber tissue, since it was impossible to collect the limestone detritus itself. This type of spectra does not show lines identifying strontium but there is a signal for mass 56 in the Ca-rich particulates, which we cannot separate between Fe and CaO.
To asses if the matching between spectra of fibers of the Shroud and samples of the Jerusalem limestone was significant, Dr. Nitowski obtain Energy-dispersive X-ray spectra from the nine sites of Israel. She found differences between the Jerusalem tomb and the others. But too much importance was given to the presence of Potassium as well in the Jerusalem tomb sample as in the Shroud sample because even she suppose that the K comes from human remains.
In conclusion,
we have the SIMS of the Shroud and the SIMS of the Jerusalem sample included in the BAR paper. They were performed by Dr. Levi-Setti. Most of the spectral lines are in both samples. To asses if the matching is enough to conclude is common origin, it would be necessary to compare these spectra with those of other tombs samples and with other linen cloth samples. Dr. Levi-Setti has spectra from Egyptian mummylinen cloths but he has not spectra from other tombs of Israel. To follow these studies, we should use the same SIMS technique for new TS dusts and limestone of other origins samples.
There are other methods to detect the traces (Strontium, Iron...) that make up the finger print: X-ray fluorescence. But, maybe, they are not accurate enough.