The Body (2001 film)

The clay jar that is found inside the tomb was brought to a lab for two kinds of testing: dating and composition of contents. Dr. Golban wanted to determine the age (and therefore date the tomb) and figure out what the jar was used for. Thermoluminescence dating is commonly used on ancient pottery and tools. This technique is used to determine the time passed since an object was fired (such as pottery). It has been found to be very accurate, to within ±1 to 10%.[4] It works by thermally stimulating the object in question, thereby releasing the energy accumulated in the object during its preliminary excitation.[5] In other words, when an object is fired, electrons are released within the object itself and its 'clock' is set to "0". Thermoluminescence releases trapped electrons and uses the amount of energy released to determine the time since that initial firing (time '0').

To determine how the jar was used and what it contained, the lab performed mass spectrometry tests on it. Mass spectrometry is typically the process used to identify unknown substances found on/in archaeological sites. A sample of the contents of the jar is loaded into the mass spectrometry machine where it is then bombarded by electrons causing it to become ionized. This process causes molecules from the sample to break off in charged fragments. The ions are then deflected by an electric or magnetic field which are then picked up by an electron multiplayer. A spectra results from the abundance of detected ions as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. The fragments are then identified through comparison to known molecular weights and fragmentation patterns.[6] The contents of the jar were found to be an anointing oil. The jar was an anointing jar, which was one aspect of Jewish burial rituals.

Briefly in the film Father Matt Gutierrez and archaeologist Dr. Sharon Golban talk about the famous Shroud of Turin. The 4.1 m × 1.1 m linen cloth is well known for its depiction of an image of a man that looks very similar to the description of Jesus Christ. The man on the shroud suffered from physical injuries very similar to those that someone would bear after being crucified, consistent with the Biblical description of Christ's crucifixion. Father Gutierrez mentions the Shroud of Turin when there is a question over the height of the body that is found in the tomb. He says the bones in the tomb can't possibly be those of Jesus Christ because the height of the skeleton found does not fit with the height of the man believed to be Christ portrayed on the Shroud of Turin.

The bones in the tomb belong to a person who would stand at a height of approximately 5'5" (165,10 cm), whereas the body that is believed to be Christ's on the shroud is of a man of 5'11½" (181,61 cm) to 6'2" (187,96 cm); while the Bible does reference Jesus as being tall, during the times of Christ such a height would indeed have been remarkable. Dr. Golban responds with some animosity towards his comment because the Shroud of Turin has been proven through scientific testing to be a hoax and not the image of Jesus Christ but instead a victim of Roman crucifixion.[7] The Shroud of Turin is believed to be an artist's representation of Jesus by means of using an impression technique on the linen.[8]