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      ST. LOUIS (CWNews.com) - The Shroud of Turin came from Jerusalem according to scientists on Monday at a press conference during the 16th International Botanical Congress held in St. Louis.

      Botany professor Avinoam Danin of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem concluded that the Shroud of Turin originated in Jerusalem after an analysis of pollen grains and plant images on the cloth. He identified these as coming from species only found in the Jerusalem region.

      "We have identified by images and by pollen grains species on the shroud restricted to the vicinity of Jerusalem," said Danin. "This combination of flowers can be found in only one region of the world. The sayings that the shroud is from European origin can't hold."

      The findings once again discredit the 1988 radiocarbon tests that concluded that the Shroud came from Europe and was made between 1260 and 1390. According to the Israeli scientist, the Shroud was made before the 7th century.

      Pollen identified as "Gundelia tournefortii" was also found in the Sudarium of Oviedo, a cloth that has several blood stains and is believed to be the burial face cloth of Jesus. A 1983 study showed that both the Shroud and the face cloth -- the latter of which is documented from the 1st century and has been kept in the Cathedral of Oviedo in Spain since the 8th century -- were stained with type AB blood.

      Over the years, several tests have been performed to verify or discredit the Shroud's authenticity. Last year, a group of experts from three different countries gathered to analyze, from their different specialties, the cloth with the latest scientific equipment. These scientists concluded that there was a 2 million to 1 probability that the Shroud was authentic.

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