Metagenomic Sequencing of 1978 Shroud Samples Maps Multi-Species DNA but Cannot Resolve Age or Origin

The team processed multiple fiber samples with unbiased metagenomic sequencing that captures all genetic material present without targeted amplification. Results showed several human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, skin-associated bacteria, halophilic archaea, fungi, cultivated plants such as wheat and maize, domesticated animals, and sequences matching red coral. These traces indicate repeated handling across different environments and eras rather than a single origin event.

The presence of post-Columbian crops like maize and peanuts alongside ancient-candidate species illustrates how later storage, repairs, and public expositions have overwritten earlier signals. This pattern matches the 2015 Barcaccia et al. Scientific Reports study that also found multiple human DNAs but lacked the broader non-human catalog now available. The new data reinforce that biological complexity alone cannot authenticate a first-century provenance.

Future authentication efforts will require ancient-DNA extraction protocols optimized for low-copy, damaged molecules combined with radiocarbon micro-sampling and proteomic analysis of bloodstains. Independent replication by at least two additional labs using different fiber aliquots would be needed before any revised historical narrative can be advanced.