PROPERTIES

=PROPERTIES ( PHYSICAL and TEXTILE )= This page summarizes the objective physical and textile properties of the Shroud of Turin. See Vertical Grid Images

SIZE:
The dimensions of the cloth are impressive: 14 feet 3 inches long by 3 feet 7 inches wide. There is piece called the sidestrip which is about 3½ inches wide running the length of the lefthand side and appears to be joined by a single seam. [Wilson pg. 9, 1978] The sidestrip has since Wilson's book been shown to be an original part of the shroud cloth. The dimensions of the cloth are not stable because it is subject to stresses when it is manipulated for exhibitions and mounted. A restoration effort in 2002 stretched the shroud, somewhat altering its dimensions.

WEAVE:
The weave of the shroud is a three-to-one herringbone twill — each weft thread passing alternately under three warp threads and over one, producing diagonal lines, which reverse direction at regular intervals to create a herringbone pattern.[Wilson pg. 53, 1978]

WEAVE DENSITY:
Number of threads per cm. Warp 38.6, Weft 25.7 (measurements by Raes from 1973 sample) [Wilson pg. 54, 1978] Cotton was found by Raes in the small sample from the main cloth. A small sample from the sidestrip also had a Weft density of 25.7 threads per cm. Wilson mentions that Raes did not find cotton in his sample from the sidestrip. At the time of Wilson's book this presumably was seen as evidence that the sidestrip was not original. However, in the aftermath of the C-14 dating and the finding that the sidestrip is indeed an integral part of the cloth the presence of cotton not found elsewhere on the shroud but adjacent to the C-14 sample region becomes evidence that the region is anomalous and may be contaminated.

YARN:
A001) The yarn used to weave the Shroud was spun with a "Z twist." (Raes 1974, Vial 1989, Curto 1976, Pastore 1988).

=YARN:= When some reference is made to some detail of the Shroud, the following grid must be used (it is taken from - Mechthild Flury-Lemberg: “Sindone 2002: L’intervento conservative – Preservation – Konservierung”, ed. ODPF Torino (Italy), 2003).

//Frontal surface of the Shroud (reference "f").// //Back surface of the Shroud (reference "r").//