In contemporary studies on the Shroud of Turin, much attention, with good reason, has focused on the crucial roles contributed by sciences like physics, chemistry, and medical analyses. Doubtless, these and related inquiries have contributed more than any others in attempting to solve one of the greatest modern puzzles.

Here we will examine another avenue that is seldom pursued, but which offers some crucial insights for this subject: philosophy of history and its cognate, historical investigation. We will argue that well known principles in these disciplines can also assist us in arriving at some significant distinctions that are centrally relevant in the study of the Shroud of Turin. In fact, in at least two areas, the historical argument is absolutely indispensable if there is even a possibility of moving from this cloth to any connection with Jesus Christ.