A series of experiments conducted by Italian scientists have discovered that the Shroud of Turin could not have been faked with the technology that was available during the medieval period.

Scientists from Italy's National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Development believe that their experiments could undermine theories that Jesus' burial shroud had been faked during the medieval period.

"The double image (front and back) of a scourged and crucified man, barely visible on the linen cloth of the Shroud of Turin, has many physical and chemical characteristics that are so particular that the staining ... is impossible to obtain in a laboratory," concluded experts from ENEA.

Radiocarbon dating conducted by laboratories in Oxford, Zurich and Arizona in 1988 suggests the cloth was dated between 1260 and 1390. However the radiocarbon tests were also disputed on the basis that the testing material used to date the shroud was actually from a cloth that was used to repair the shroud when it was damaged by a fire in the Middle Ages.

The latest study is another chapter in the enduring mystery of one of Christendom's most prized relics. The 14 foot long shroud that many believe to date from the crucifixion 2,000 years ago have been the subject of intense scrutiny and research. Believers consider the shroud as a holy relic because of the markings that were supposedly left behind by Christ's body. Skeptics have considered the markings an elaborate medieval forgery meant to attract more faithful to the Church. The new research will only fire up that debate even more.

According to the scientists the exact shade, temperature and depth of the markings on the cloth could only have been produced by ultraviolet lasers. The scientists replicated the kind of marks on the shroud by using extremely brief pulses of ultraviolet light. They concluded that the iconic image of the bearded man in the Turin Shroud could have been created by a flash of light at short wavelength. This will inevitably spark up more assertions that the Shroud was created by a supernatural burst of light created at the moment of Christ's Resurrection.

"When one talks about a flash of light being able to color a piece of linen in the same way as the shroud, discussion inevitably touches on things like miracles and resurrection," Professor Paolo Di Lazzaro said.

"But as scientists, we were concerned only with verifiable scientific processes. We hope our results can open up a philosophical and theological debate but we will leave the conclusions to the experts, and ultimately to the conscience of individuals."