![]() ![]() I believe the quick-thinking monks saw an opportunity to make a fortune and decided to sell the cloth to the highest bidder. “The shroud of Christ would have commanded an exceptionally high price as a relic in the 14th century. Rumours of the Templar treasures at Burton would have abounded at the time and it is, therefore, no great leap to see how people would have accepted it as coming from the Templar hoard – and being, to all intent and purposes, genuine. “No doubt one of the monks noticed a similarity between the features of the Fisher King impregnated onto the cloth and those of Jesus Christ and came up with a plan to present it as the shroud of Christ himself. This is where the story of the Turin Shroud begins. However, when the monks came to unwrap it, they noticed that the alabaster had reacted with chemicals in the mustiness of the cellar and left an image of the Fisher King on the old linen cloth. "Then it was retrieved and placed back on display. “It is highly likely the statue was left slumbering in the vaults of the abbey for over a decade – or at least until the new abbey church had been completed. “They would have been wrapped in cloth and linen to protect them and, no doubt, stored in the abbey’s vaults and cellars. This date is critical as during the construction work many fine statues and effigies in the abbey would have been placed into storage. “This statue, no doubt, had pride of place at Burton Abbey for years until Abbot Ibstock rebuilt the abbey church in 1350. At some point after 1307, when the hoard arrived in Burton, I believe the skilled local craftsmen of Burton Abbey set about carving a life size statue of the Fisher King to house within the abbey. “To the medieval mind there could only be one possible symbol of the fabled hoard and the Holy Grail - and that was the Fisher King. “At the time of the Knights Templar exodus from France in 1307 it was the alabaster industry that led the way at Burton Abbey – and, as such, it is almost beyond doubt that, after the Templars brought their hoard to Burton, they would have created a statue in memory of the event. ![]() It was a veritable production line – only made possible due to the rare deposits of alabaster and gypsum in the local mines. Now he claims to have cracked history’s greatest whodunnit?ĭavid said: “Burton was renowned for its alabaster craft throughout the medieval period and the Abbey was full of artisans and craftsmen turning out statues and effigies for centuries. He has already made global headlines by unearthing links between the abbey, crack medieval fighting force The Knights Templar, who fled there from France, and their plundered treasure, including the Holy Grail. Now David has scrutinised the individual particles and uncovered a trail, he says, that leads back to Burton Abbey. Recent analysis has already put the skids under the Christ links, showing the cloth is medieval in origin. Even more startling, it is the Tablecloth of Burton. The Shroud of Turin is, in fact, the Shroud of Burton. The scientific world is in for a rude awakening. The traces of blood are from monks who created the pillar artwork, put there in an attempt to pass off the shroud as a holy relic. This, and its dimensions - 13 feet long, three feet wide - suggest it was once a tablecoth. And that pillar was made in Burton on Trent, the centre of alabaster production long before the Staffordshire town became famous for beer.Īccording to David, what’s more, the cloth is impregnated with fish and vegetable matter. The traces of gypsum - an important element in alabaster production - prove that, says David. He maintains it once encased an alabaster pillar with the Fisher King’s image carved on it. READ MORE TOP BURTON STORIES: Burton man sentenced for assaulting womanĪnd David says the linen, housed at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Turin, was never used to wrap a body. According to Arthurian legend, he was the last guardian of the Holy Grail. However, a historian has now come forward with his belief it is in fact a tablecloth made in Burton.Īnthropologist David Akins says the image on the relic is not an image of Christ, but the face of the Fisher King. It was said to have once been wrapped about Jesus Christ's body after crucifiction and is Christianity's most prized relic. The Turin Shroud has caused more debate among academics than any other relic. ![]()
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