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Science & Technology
Bone Fragment Likely Not Joan of Arc
2006-12-17
Prolly Jean of Arc.
A rib bone and a piece of cloth supposedly recovered after Joan of Arc was burned at the stake are probably not hers, according to experts trying to unravel one of the mysteries surrounding the 15th century French heroine.

Eighteen experts began a series of tests six months ago on the fragments reportedly recovered from the pyre where the 19-year-old was burned for heresy.

Although the tests have not been completed, findings so far indicate there is 'relatively little chance' that the remnants are hers, Philippe Charlier, the head of the team, told The Associated Press on Saturday. The fragment of linen from the 15th century 'wasn't burned. It was dyed,' Charlier said. And a blackened substance around the 6-inch rib bone was not 'carbonized remains' but vegetable and mineral debris, 'something that rather resembles embalming substance,' he said.
Posted by:.com

#6  WILFUL FAKERY is far different than simple mistake/error, or even deluded ignorance.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2006-12-17 23:12  

#5  'But we know, in any event, that Joan of Arc was not embalmed.'

Kinda hard to embalm someone burnt at the stake.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2006-12-17 19:39  

#4  Umberto Eco's book "The Name of the Rose" had a hilarious anecdote about one church possessing the holy relic of the skull of St. John the Baptist, and another who possessed the skull of the same saint, but at the age of 12!
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2006-12-17 19:31  

#3  Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, started hunting down relics of Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the early saints at the end of the third century AD. She claimed to have found, among many others, a nail and some bits of wood of the cross upon which Christ was crucified. The locations of many of her finds came to her in dreams, she apparently claimed. It's a very old industry.
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-12-17 17:10  

#2  "Faked" religious artifacts have been around for centuries.
Dyed, not charred.
Embalmed, not burnt.
Just another fake.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2006-12-17 10:57  

#1  I don't need the shank or the shin of my departed kin to emulate their courage. The french shouldn't either.
Posted by: Ptah   2006-12-17 07:05  

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