By Tim Binnall
In response to claims that the Shroud of Turin is a medieval forgery, a filmmaker has offered a $1 million reward to the British Museum if they can replicate the iconic artifact. The bold bet reportedly comes courtesy of director David Rolfe, who has been championing the possible authenticity of the curious cloth for decades. His latest exploration of the controversial issue, the documentary Who Can He Be?, takes aim at what had been considered a landmark radiocarbon analysis of the shroud conducted by experts from the British Museum in 1988. Contending that their study was fundamentally flawed, Rolfe and the producers of the film have put forward a rather audacious challenge to the institution.
Turning the skeptical argument somewhat on its head, Rolfe posited that if the shroud is the handiwork of "a medieval conman," then the experts at the British Museum should be able to accomplish a similar feat in 2022. "I call on them to repeat the exercise and create something similar today" the filmmaker declared to The Guardian, "and if you can, there's a $1m donation for your funds." While the high-stakes bet may seem to simply serve as something of a clever publicity stunt to raise awareness of the new documentary, Rolfe and the producers of the movie are quite serious about the gambit.
On the film's website, they detail the challenge in full, providing a comprehensive list of the "known and verified characteristics of the image that must be reproduced." Among the rather fastidious specific elements required to net the $1 million are "depth of color penetration equal to 0.2 micrometer" and that the images on both sides of the cloth must "show almost the same color intensity." Additionally, the manufactured picture must remain on the faux shroud for at least one year and, in what may be the most difficult aspect of the endeavor, "only known medieval techniques and substances can be used."
Should the British Museum take the group up on their challenge, a "neutral panel" would examine their work and determine if it constituted an accurate duplication. That said, while they offered the institution six months to ruminate on the bet after it was officially issued on Easter Sunday, as of now it would appear that the organization doesn't plan to pursue the matter. When asked by The Guardian about the wager, a spokesperson simply directed questions about the shroud to its caretakers in Turin. With the British Museum seemingly passing on the challenge, perhaps the filmmakers will open it up to the rest of the world to see if anyone can pull off the 'miraculous' reproduction.