The 1988 radiocarbon dating of the Turin Shroud famously dated this cloth to the period 1260-1390AD. At the press conference announcing this result, Professor Hall of Oxford University claimed that, “There was a multi-million pound business in making forgeries during the fourteenth century. Someone just got a bit of linen, faked it up and flogged it!“

This announcement was front page news all around the world and today, most people accept that the carbon dating to be conclusive proof that the cloth was a mediaeval forgery. Less well known however is the intense criticism that this test attracted from fellow scientists. Indeed one observer claimed that, “The carbon dating of the Shroud will probably go down in history as one of the greatest fiascos in the history of science”.

This video tells the barely believable story of this controversial scientific test, detailing the seemingly endless catalogue of flaws and deficiencies that can be found throughout every stage of the carbon dating process.