London, Apr 10: Turin Shroud, the linen cloth bearing image of a man who appears to have been physically traumatized in a manner consistent with crucifixion, could be the burial gown of Jesus, says a leading scientist.

Turin Shroud is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. It is believed by many to be the cloth placed on Jesus of Nazareth at the time of his burial.

In 1988 Ray Rogers, who was a spokesman against the authenticity of the Turin Shroud, was at the forefront of the carbon dating of the relic depicting a Christ-like image. It concluded the wrap was a medieval hoax.

Now, from beyond the grave, Ray has admitted that the shroud is far older than results suggested – concluding that what many Christians believed was actually right, reports The Sun.

A director of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STRP), Ray along with his team had concluded that the 14ft-long linen cloth was fake. However, when new evidence revealed the study was flawed, the sceptic was forced to change his mind.

Ray claimed that the 1988 tests were invalid because they were done on a repaired section of the shroud rather than the original linen. In March 2005, he died of cancer aged 78.

However, shortly before his death he recorded a video detailing explosive conclusions which will be broadcast for the first time on Easter Sunday.

In the short film, gravely ill Ray says: “I don’t believe in miracles that defy the laws of nature. After the 1988 investigation I’d given up on the shroud.

“But now I am coming to the conclusion that it has a very good chance of being the piece of cloth that was used to bury the historic Jesus.”

The Shroud of Turin was virtually unknown until it was photographed on display in the city’s cathedral in 1898. (ANI)