A problematic source of organic contamination of linen

Microscopic observations of a putative sample of linen from the Turin Shroud and samples of the linen wrapping of an Egyptian mummified ibis reveal that individual fibers of the cloth are surrounded by a coating produced by bacteria, Fungal material is also found among the threads. The question is whether the presence of this coating materially affects the age of cloth as obtained by carbon dating from what would be obtained if the actual cellulose of the flax from which the linen was made was dated. In particular what would be the affect on the age of the Turin Shroud? To obtain some answers to this question AMS radiocarbon measurements were made at the NSF Arizona AMS Facility at the University of Arizona on the collagen in bone and tissue samples from this ibis and of samples of the linen wrapping of the ibis cleaned by standard methods.