This was a common burial practice. The image is actually a 3-D encoded chart of the front and back of a man that also happens to have the important characteristics of a photographic negative. This unique dual quality may help theoretical physicists understand how the image was created. Scientists call the lengths of discolored fibers, pixels. Different shades of yellow in the image are achieved by the number of pixels in an area in very much the same way as half tone photographs are printed in newspapers.
Pixels are only to be found in the topmost layers of the cloth.
Contrary to popular belief, carbon 14 testing is not always right. Too many variables, including contamination, could have skewed the results. Having ruled out a work of art, they also rule out most natural causes known to science at this time. Copyright 2000 Daniel R. Porter. All Rights Reserved.