“except for this:”
some of us have spent the best part of 3-4 years, attempting to fit together the pieces of the ‘Shroud’ jigsaw puzzle – scientific, historical and biblical, to form a coherent and credible whole. Charles Freeman appears not to understand that there is a jigsaw puzzle, or if he does, has contemptuously kicked it aside in his oh-so-condescending magazine piece that tells the world it was ‘just another painting’ , which conveniently for him has somehow managed to lose ALL chemical traces of its pigment leaving us scientists dottily obsessed and spellbound by a mere ‘shadow image’ (undefined except, that is, for its curious and unique set of properties – negative but non-photographic image, 3D properties, ultra-superficial, easily detachable, half-tone character, diimide-bleachable, etc etc). Taking a celebrated line from "1066 And All That" I personally would rather be seen as "Right but Repulsive" than "Wrong but Romantic".
Nicely said, Colin. No, really, I mean it. Sorry to have to say so in the black hole. I tried to say it on your site but I showed up as “Unknown.”