In the October 2015 issue of "Israel Numismatic Research" there is an article about two previously unrecognized symbols on coins issued by Herod Antipas. These symbols, a star and a cornucopia, occur only in a brief minting of coins dated to 33-34 CE. They are also suggestive of a belief in the coming "Day of the Lord", which would be good news for Jews. However, as they are well after the Sabbath of Jubilee years, the issue cannot be linked to that. However, it could be linked to the discovery of the Shroud of Turin which could be viewed as a positive sign that the "Day of the Lord" was eminent.
Now since it was admitted in 2005 by the man who had approved the Nature journal article dating the Shroud of Turin to the medieval period that maybe they did not do a careful enough review of the data, and in a 2019 article it is claimed that the raw data simply does not justify the conclusion drawn, and multiple other dating approaches all date to a 1st century date, might these coins be evidence that Herod Antipas knew of the Shroud?
The Shroud of Turin was not in the time of Antipas an important object or publicly recognized as a relic. It has apparently become so in Edessa since the inhabitants have kept it and have hidden it for many years.
The Shroud, from the scientific point of view, offers all the ingredients of a well-made linen fabric of the first century AD, with the pollen of Palestine and the images of coins of that time. To persist in considering this relic of medieval times is to ignore the details as well as the scientific evidence of the history of the Shroud.
Paul, I now that for a long time the Shroud was kept concealed, but it does appear that if one reads the Greek very literally, and recalling Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" that in 1 John 5:8, it is referencing the Shroud. Then, post 70, after the church saw that the coming "Day of he Lord" was not only coming to pass, but also that the Romans were actively destroying things they held as important. This would also date the redactions to the gospels, such as the new ending for Mark.
I did not cheque the star but the cornucopia (single as well as dual) appeared already on 150/140 BC Seleucid and Phoenician coins. I also think that the date for the shroud has been settled by all sorts of scientific techniques during the past three decades. It certainly does not belong to the early Christian era.
Jan, actually, the dating of the Shroud is still not completely settled, although the preponderance of evidence is for a 1st century date. The carbon dating has been challenged based on the raw data (article released in 2019), for instance the three tests all delivered a 95% degree of confidence within their specific date range, but they could not agree on date ranges. That is to say, one saying one saying "I am 95% confident that 'A' is true as opposed to 'B' or 'C'", one saying "I am 95% confident that 'B' is true as opposed to 'A' or 'C'" and one saying "I am 95% confident that 'C' is true as opposed to 'A' or 'B'", does not yield 95% confidence in anything. As for the cornucopia, why was it on coinage for such a brief period, and right around a highly plausible date for the conflict between Antipas and Aretas?
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