Avinoam Danin - The Shroud of Turin Website

NAME: Avinoam Danin, Botanist and Author, Israel 

Questions: 

1. When and how did you first hear about the Shroud? 

Paul Maloney corresponded with me in the 1980s about identifying pollen from 

the Shroud. Nothing came out of that. In September 1995 Alan and May Whanger 

visited me in Jerusalem, showed me their photographic work and we carried on 

together from that date. 

2. What interested you about the Shroud? 

I discovered several plant images on the Shroud photos and selected the 

significance values of each to Sindonology. 

3. Do you believe the Shroud is likely the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, a fake 

relic, or are you uncertain what to believe? 

My botanical findings bring it closest to the first part of the first sentence [that it 

is likely the burial cloth of Jesus Christ]. 

. 

4. What, if any, actions did you take after you first encountered the Shroud 

(e.g., conduct research, contact people involved with it, etc.)? 

I started to conduct research as a result of my contact with the Whangers and 

people that are involved with it. 

5. Have you ever seen the Shroud at any of the exhibitions? If yes, which 

years? 

1998 from 10 meters and in March 2000 from 10 centimeters. In 2010 from 15- 

20 meters. 

6. What did you experience when you were in the presence of the Shroud? 

That I saw the plant images without any photographs and that my findings are a 

fact and not an artifact. 

7. Have you ever been involved in any scientific study of the Shroud? If yes, 

please describe what motivated your work and why. 

Botanical research of the images. I knew that I have more experience and 

justification to do the study and found honest people to work with (the Whangers,

A. Adler, and at present, P. Soons). 

8. Have you ever written anything about the Shroud, either factual or 

fictitious? If yes, please describe what motivated your work and why. 

I wrote several articles and 3 books (thin) as I have the desire to share my 

knowledge from the Academic World I come from. 

9. Do you favor or believe any of the current theories on how the image got 

onto the cloth? If so please name the theory. 

I do not know if this is the name but – I understand that several kinds of 

radiation caused the images seen on the Shroud. 

10. Do you feel that you have a calling or vocation to be involved somehow 

with the Shroud? If yes, please describe what motivated you to make a 

commitment to the Shroud and why. 

No. 

Please describe below any other personal reflections, experiences, insights, or 

thoughts about the Shroud of Turin that you would like to share. 

My opinions about the Shroud changed due to collaborative research with Alan 

and Mary Whanger and with Petrus Soons. 

Writings/Websites/Blogs: 

http://flora.huji.ac.il 

A. BOOKS 

Feinbrun-Dothan, N. and Danin, A. 1991. Analytical Flora of Eretz Israel. Cana, 

Jerusalem. 1040 pp. 

Danin, A. 1998. Wild plants of Eretz Israel and their distribution. Carta, 

Jerusalem. 212 pp. 

Danin, A. and Orshan, G. (eds.) 1999. Vegetation of Israel. I. Desert and coastal 

vegetation. Backhuys, Leiden, 341 pp. 

Danin, A., Whanger, A.D., Baruch, U. and Whanger, M. 1999. Flora of the 

Shroud of Turin. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. 52 pp. 

Danin, A. 2004. Distribution Atlas of Plants in the Flora Palaestina Area. Israel 

Academy of Science and Humanities, Jerusalem, 520 pp. 

Danin, A. and Guerra, H. 2008. L'uomo della Sindone. Un botanico ebreo 

identifica immagini di piante della Terra Santa sulla Sacra Sindone. Edizioni 

ART, Rome, 88 pp.

Danin, A. 2010. Botany of the Shroud. The Story of Floral Images on the Shroud 

of Turin. Danin Publishing, Jerusalem, 104 pp. 

B. REVIEWED PAPERS 

Danin, A. 1995a. Man and the natural environment. In: T.E. Levy (ed.) The 

Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. Leicester University Press, London, 

pp. 24-39. 

Danin, A. 2000a. Micro-traces of plants on the Shroud of Turin as geographical 

markers. In: S. Scannerini, P. Savarino (eds.) The Turin Shroud, past, 

present and future. Torino, Sindon pp. 495-500. 

Danin, A. 2000b. Il mio incontro con la Sindone. Il Telo 1(2): 14-16. 

Danin, A. and Baruch, U. 2001. Floristic indicators for the origin of the 

Shroud of Turin. In: A.D. Adler, I. Piczek, and M. Minor (eds.) The 

Shroud of Turin / Unraveling the Mystery / Proceedings of the 1998 

Dallas Symposium, Alexander Books, Alexander, North Carolina pp. 

202-214. 

Danin, A. 2001. Indicazioni floreali per l’origine geografica della Sindone di 

Torino. Il Telo II (5-6): 12-21. 

Danin, A. 2006a. The nature of thorny plants, the images of which are observed 

on the Shroud of Turin. CSST Newsletter 10 (2): 1-4. 

Danin, A. 2006b. "Who is the Man of The Shroud?". Opening of permanent 

exhibition Notre Dame Center, Jerusalem. 10 (3): 1, 2, 4. 

Danin, A. 2007a. Flora of Israel online. CSST Newsletter 11 (3): 1. 

Danin, A. 2007b. An occasional look at some plants of the Bible. CSST Newsletter 

Insert 11 (3): 1-4. 

Danin, A. 2008. An occasional look at some plants of the Bible, part 2, and 

another not mentioned in the Bible. CSST Newsletter Insert 12 (1): 

1-4. 

Danin, A. 2008b. Botany of the Shroud of Turin, an addition concerning new 

information after the 1999 report. CSST Newsletter Insert 12 (3): 1- 

4. 

Danin, A. 2008. Botanical findings on the Shroud of Turin and their significance 

(pp.73-78). Rinvenimenti botanici sulla Sindone di Torino e loro 

significato (pp. 79-84). Religioni e Sette nel mondo. 2008(3): 73-84; 

141-156. 

C. PAPERS PRESENTED IN CONFERENCES 

Danin, A. 1998. The origin of the Shroud of Turin from the Near East as 

evidenced by plant images and by pollen grains. III Congresso

Internazionale di Studi Sulla Sindone “Sindone e Scienza: Bilanci e 

Programmi alle Soglie del Terzo Millennio” Torino, 5-7 June, 1998. 

Danin, A. and Baruch, U. 1999. The origin of the Shroud of Turin from the Near 

East as evidenced by plant images and by pollen grains. Abstracts of the 7 th 

Int. Conf. of the Isr. Soc. for Ecol. And Env. Qual. Sci. p. 61. 

Danin, A. 1999. The Flora of The Shroud of Turin. In conjugation with the XVI 

International Botanical Congress, at St. Louis, Missouri August 2-7, 1999. 

Danin, A. 2001. Floristic indicators for the origin of the Shroud of Turin. In: 

Second Dallas International Shroud Conference. Dallas, Texas, 25-28 

October 2001. 

Danin, A. 2007. Strings and cords from wild plants since 23,000 years ago. XII 

Congress of OPTIMA in Pisa, Italy, 10-15 September. P.24. 

Danin, A. 2008. Botany of the Shroud of Turin: An addition concerning new 

information. The Shroud of Turin: Perspectives on a Multifaceted Enigma. 

Shroud Science Internet Group, Columbus, Ohio, August 14-17, 2008. 

Danin, A. 2010a. Botany of the Shroud of Turin. In: International Workshop on 

the Scientific approach to Acheiropoietos Images. (IWSAI 2010) ENEA 

Frascati, Italy, May 2010, P. 15. 

Danin, A. 2010b. Plants of the Bible and botanical findings on the Shroud of Turin. 

P. 31 In: Conservation and sustainable use of wild plant diversity. Orthodox 

Academy of Crete (OAC) Kolympari, Chania, Greece. May 2010.

Avinoam Danin - The Shroud of Turin Website

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