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Research has been done on the cloth itself. Wilson wrote, "...from the careful analysis of the Shroud's textile fibers by Professor Raes the linen can be said to offer no inconsistency with known weaves of the first century AD. It also beyond doubt bears traces of cotton that confirm it has come from the Middle East" (205). Dr. Max Frei found pollens imbedded in the cloth itself that are only found in Palestine and Turkey. "The palynological research of Dr. Max Rrei provides evidence that at some stage before its known post-fourteenth peregrinations in France and Italy the Shroud was in Palestine and Turkey" (Wilson 206).

Scientists have shown that the Shroud is not a painting as there are no pigments present. "The absence of colored powder, of cementation of fibers, and of capillarity is evidence that the Shroud image was not made by ordinary painting with liquid paints" (Scavone 53). Isaac Asimov in Asimov's Chronology of Science & Discovery, wrote, "Many people believe it to be the burial sheet of Jesus with the image produced by miraculous means. Others, more skeptical, assumed it to be a forgery produced not long before it was first shown" (745). So, how were the images formed? In "Riddle of the Ages," an article in People Weekly on April of 1998, it is stated that, "Seeking to resolve the issue in 1978, authorities allowed an international group of scientists to analyze the shroud using modern technology" (119). Scientists were now looking specifically for the source of the image. "...The group confirmed that the image was created not by paint or other extraneous material but by the oxidation and dehydration of the cloth itself" ("Riddle" 119).

Carbon-14 (C-14) testing, which is used by scientist, to date ancient artifacts, has been used on the Shroud of Turin. While previously only noninvasive tests were permitted, in 1988 C-14 testing, which can now be done with samples the size of a postage stamp, was permitted. "The effort is part of a Vatican program to have science scrutinize holy relics" ("Mystery" 12). C-14 testing has been believed to be successful in the past on artifacts that had been uncovered after remaining untouched for many thousands of years, however, the Shroud has been handled over the years. "As the test was planned, some C-14 specialists were pessimistic that it could produce an accurate date. They feared that too much contamination had occurred over the centuries..." (Scavone 104).

To remove supposed contamination from handling and other sources, a new and untried cleansing process was used on the samples before the tests. "Other C-14 experts believed that the cloth could be cleansed of its contamination and the test would give an accurate date for the Shroud. But all agreed that C-14 was not infallible" (Scavane 104).