He revealed that the search will also focus on the Shroud of Turin, the relic that some believe was used as the burial cloth of Christ when He was taken down from the cross. Still, he explained that researchers can now differentiate modern contamination from ancient genomes, which could bring them closer to the truth of who the bones really belong to. He noted that scientists have DNA sequences from hundreds of people long since dead, and have traced their lineage to further understand human history.īusby admitted that he was initially skeptical about the supposed discovery of the bones of John the Baptist, and noted that many people could have handled the bones and left their DNA there, which contaminates the search. 'They believe that if they can find a strand of Jesus' DNA it could help identify who among us today are descendants of Jesus and provide us with new insight into the man many consider to be the most important person in history, Jesus,' the History Channel explained about the search.īusby wrote about the research journey in an article for The Conversation last week, stating that scientific advances are allowing for new breakthroughs to be made in the field of ancient DNA. Part of the endeavor was showcased on Easter Sunday on the History Channel, with Oxford University geneticist George Busby and biblical scholar Pastor Joe Basile traveling to places like Spain, Italy, Israel, and Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, where the 2,000-year-old bones of John the Baptist were said to be discovered.

The hope is that samples from relics possibly connected to Jesus' family, including the Sudarium of Oviedo, could allow researchers to trace the DNA samples to any living people today. The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that scientists will also be investigating the supposed bones of John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, which were discovered in Bulgaria in 2010. Experts are analyzing the famous Shroud of Turin for DNA samples.

Researchers and religious scholars have reportedly embarked on a 'groundbreaking' search to see if any living descendants of Jesus Christ's family can be found. The Shroud of Turin is a mysterious yellowing linen which some Christians believe was Christ's burial cloth and others think is a medieval fake. The Shroud of Turin is shown in this positive (L) and negative combo undated file photo.

Shroud of turin dna