The Shroud Codex - Jerome R. Corsi [89]
So far, what Middagh was describing confirmed what Castle had observed at Beth Israel of Father Bartholomew’s wounds. The feet wounds looked like punctures from the top of the feet, as indicated by the skin forced down into the wound on top of each foot. The trauma evidence was that the left foot had been on top of the right, with a straight line evidencing the wound from the left foot through to exit Father Bartholomew’s right foot. The skin on the sole of each foot was pushed out, as Castle would have expected to see from an exit wound caused by a nail or a spike.
“The ancient Romans had crucifixion down to a cruel science,” Morelli added. “Sadists were particularly adapted to the work and Roman executioners who weren’t good at what they did usually didn’t last very long. Roman executioners were particularly good at taunting and tormenting the condemned as they were scourged, beaten, and crucified. With Christ’s case, there was ample opportunity for humiliation, as evidenced by the crown of thorns.”
“What does the Shroud tell us about the crown of thorns?” Castle asked Middagh.
“The blood flows on the forehead of the man in the Shroud appear to be from puncture marks that would be consistent with a crown of thorns. Particularly noticeable is the long blood flow above the left eye that seems to form the number 3. The puncture wounds and bloodstreams are also visible in a circle around the head in the dorsal image. Moreover, if you look closely, you will see matting on the hair on the top of the head, both in the frontal and posterior views of the man in the Shroud. This would suggest the crown of thorns was actually a cap of thorns that was beaten or hit into the scalp to cause fairly profuse bleeding. As you know, wounds to the scalp tend to bleed heavily.”
Studying the Shroud, Castle could clearly see the same types of scalp wounds that Father Bartholomew suffered yesterday. His scalp wounds were from punctures and the punctures were on the top of his head, not just in a circle around his head at the level of his forehead.
“In the frontal view, you can clearly see the blood flows from the scalp wounds soaked down into the hair,” Middagh went on. “Again, these blood flows occurred while the man in the Shroud was living and they were transferred directly onto the Shroud as bloodstains. The blood from the crown of thorns is distinct from the image of the man and was transferred onto the Shroud before the image appeared. Again, we know this because there is no body image formed under the blood flows on the head. The blood flows from the crown of thorns are more evidence the man was placed in the Shroud directly from the cross and shortly after he died.”
“Looking at all this, one thing doesn’t fit together,” Anne said, obviously perplexed.
Castle expected that she was going to be upset at the suffering her brother was going through. Obviously, this was a concern Anne repeatedly expressed. But this morning something else was on her mind.
“If I am getting this right, first my brother experienced the stigmata on his wrists and then he suffered the scourge injuries. Is that correct?” she asked.
“That’s right,” Castle said.
“Now we see my brother experiencing the crown of thorns, then he levitates and gets the stigmata in his feet, right?”
“Yes,” Castle said once again. “That’s right. What’s your point?”
“My point is that it’s out of order,” Anne said. “The way Christ suffered his passion and death was that first he was scourged at the pillar, then the crown of thorns was placed on his head. He didn’t suffer nail