It was a veritable production line – only made possible due to the rare deposits of alabaster and gypsum in the local mines. Now he claims to have cracked history’s greatest whodunnit?ĭavid said: “Burton was renowned for its alabaster craft throughout the medieval period and the Abbey was full of artisans and craftsmen turning out statues and effigies for centuries. He has already made global headlines by unearthing links between the abbey, crack medieval fighting force The Knights Templar, who fled there from France, and their plundered treasure, including the Holy Grail. Now David has scrutinised the individual particles and uncovered a trail, he says, that leads back to Burton Abbey. Recent analysis has already put the skids under the Christ links, showing the cloth is medieval in origin. Even more startling, it is the Tablecloth of Burton. The Shroud of Turin is, in fact, the Shroud of Burton. The scientific world is in for a rude awakening. The traces of blood are from monks who created the pillar artwork, put there in an attempt to pass off the shroud as a holy relic. This, and its dimensions - 13 feet long, three feet wide - suggest it was once a tablecoth. And that pillar was made in Burton on Trent, the centre of alabaster production long before the Staffordshire town became famous for beer.Īccording to David, what’s more, the cloth is impregnated with fish and vegetable matter. The traces of gypsum - an important element in alabaster production - prove that, says David. He maintains it once encased an alabaster pillar with the Fisher King’s image carved on it. READ MORE TOP BURTON STORIES: Burton man sentenced for assaulting womanĪnd David says the linen, housed at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Turin, was never used to wrap a body. According to Arthurian legend, he was the last guardian of the Holy Grail.

However, a historian has now come forward with his belief it is in fact a tablecloth made in Burton.Īnthropologist David Akins says the image on the relic is not an image of Christ, but the face of the Fisher King. It was said to have once been wrapped about Jesus Christ's body after crucifiction and is Christianity's most prized relic. The Turin Shroud has caused more debate among academics than any other relic.

Jesus shroud of turin holy car