The Turin Shroud (TS), a well-known Christ’s relic, is an intensively studied object in which a body image is imprinted (e.g. Marion & Lucotte, 2006 ). This body image is not yet explained by modern science.

The frontal image bears apparent blood stains in the areas of the Head (Face and Hairs), Sides, Hands and Feet. The red-brown colour of blood stains was only partially explained (McCrone & Skirius, 1980; Heller & Adler, 1981) . More recently (Lucotte, 2012) I (GL) have studied by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy)-EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray) particles contained in a small sticky-tape triangle corresponding to a blood spot of the Face: only few red blood cells were characterized in the triangle area (Lucotte, 2015c) ; so they do not explain also all the red-brown colour observed of this blood spot.

You know what is the blood stain of the Face under which sticky tape triangle containing particles was applied. Among the numerous triangle particles characterized, only one of them-that is intrinsic to the triangle-corresponds to a little hair fragment. This hair particle is here intensively characterized by optical microscopy and by SEM- EDX analysis.

The material (Lucotte, 2012) is a small (1.36 mm high, 614 μm wide) sticky-tape triangle (it is the stiky-tape that was applied to the image Face) at the surface of which portions of textile-mainly linen-fibers (Lucotte, 2015a) , pollen grains and spores (Lucotte, 2015b) , red blood cells (Lucotte, 2015c) , and skin debris (Lucotte, 2016) were deposited.

As declared by G. Riggi di Numana (Riggi di Numana, 1988) , who had taken the sample, this sticky-tape triangle is some part of a larger piece he placed directly (during the 1978 official sampling) on the TS surface, at one “blood area” of the Face. He informed one of us (G.L.) that the blood spot concerned (Figure 1) is that located at the right eye brow level, just under the well-known blood spot of omega-form that flows on the front of the Face.

More than 2500 particles, greater than 1 μm = μ, can be observed at the surface of the triangle. For practical reasons, this surface was subdivided into 19 sub-samples areas (A to S), containing almost all the particles observed. The b1 particle, located in the B area, is the hair fragment under study.

The b1 particle-located on the adherent part of the surface of the triangle-was first observed by optical microscopy, without any preparation (using a photomicroscope Zeiss, model III 1972, and by its petrographic version). Two SEM (Scanning Electron

Microscopy) apparatus were used further: 1/A Philips XL30 instrument Environmental Version; GSE (Gaseous Secondary Electrons) and BSE (Black Scattered Electrons) procedures are used , the last one to detect heavy elements. Elemental analysis of the particle and its sub-parts were achieved by using EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), this SEM microscope being equipped with a Bruker AXS-EDX (PGT system analysis: Spirit model, of Princeton Gamma Technology). 2/An FEI model Quanta 250 f FEG (probe model X-flash 6/30), both LFD (Large Field Detector) and CBS (Circular Back Scattering) procedures being used. It is with this second apparatus that high- resolution imaging and elemental mapping of the b1 particle were realised.

Each elemental analysis is given in the forms of a spectrum, with kiloelectrons/Volts (ke/V) on the abscissa and elemental peak heights in ordinates.

Until recently, the optical microscope was considered as the only reliable tool for the identification and comparison of the microscopic characteristics found in the human hair (Deedrick & Koch, 2004) . We have identified here a human hair fragment, that corresponds to the b1 particle located in the B area of the triangle. This hair fragment was investigated by modern techniques of SEM-EDX analysis.

This blond-red hair fragment, of cylinder form (see Figure 3), is cut at both extremities. Its maximal thickness is about 9 μ; this diameter, even taking account of some desiccation process during time, is about ten less than that of a human head hair (diameter of the order of 80 μ). The hair fragment length is about 14 μ; if we admit that it is a beard hair, it corresponds to an increase in length during less than a day.

Elemental composition of this hair fragment (see Table 1) shows percentages of about 69% for carbon, 16.5% for oxygen and 3% for sulphur. The lowest percentage of 1.8% for calcium can be attributed to calcium carbonate diluted at the hair surface. Trace elements of chlorine and sodium on one part 5 of the hair surface (see Figure 14) are suspected to represent residual salt of the sweat; silicon, aluminium and magnesium in the same zone correspond to clay deposits.

In the hair, sulphur consists in amino-acids cysteine and the disulphur bridges of the keratin protein. There is evidence in the literature of sulphur percentages of up to 8.5 ± 5.7% in red hairs (Bouillon & Wilkinson, 2005) ; so, with a sulphur percentage of about 3%, this hair fragment sulphur peak is clearly below that seen in current human hairs; as an explanation for such a particularity, we note that it was observed that spectrums of ancient hair remains showed a lower sulphur peak than that of their current counterparts (Mansilla et al., 2011) . Probably sulphur content in the hair decreases with time, depending on the conservation conditions.

Human hair cuticle consists of overlapping scales with narrow margins, that constitutes the imbricate or flattened scales type (Deedrick & Koch, 2004)

We have a clear evidence (see Figure 8) of a clean cutting of the hair at the superior right corner (and also, see Figure 12, at the inferior border). Elemental analyses show copper traces (see Figure 6, Figure 7 and Figure 13) at these both extremities. As it is known that razor blades, since the Roman times, were made of bronze and copper (History of Shaving, 2015) , we suppose that these copper traces reflect the razor blade that had cut the hair.

But these sorts of razor blades cut very badly. At the superior hair border, it had caused some wrenching of the skin surface located at the hair basis. We can effectively observe (see Figure 5) skin debris (Lucotte, 2016) of brushed-up skin residues located at the hair part 1 surface.

Figure 18 shows a schematic reconstitution of the cut hair, with its basis in the right

position on the skin surface. The copper razor blade had cut the hair (C: clean cut section) and had caused wrenching of skin debris, located along the left part of the hair basis.

Because of its position, near the right eyebrow of the TS Face (see Figure 1), we suspect that the b1 hair could be an eyebrow fragment. In a comparative approach, we have studied one eyebrow originating from a living subject (an adult Oriental man, aged of thirty years). The photograph of Figure 19 shows that its mean diameter (measured in the eyebrow middle part) is 135 μ; the mean dimension between the successive scale rows is about 5 μ (Figure 20).

As the b1 hair is cut at both extremities, we have compared it to a five-days beard hair of the same subject. Figure 21 shows that its diameter is 142 μ, scale (seen at the inferior beard hair side) spacing being of less than 2 μ. The iron micro-particle located on the beard slice (Figure 22) is probably a fragment of razor blade.

Finally, we compared b1 to a long down hair (located between the two eyebrow hairs) of the same subject. Its diameter at the extremity (Figure 23) is about 13 μ.

Table 2 compares distinctive characteristics of the four hair specimens. The b1 hair fragment is similar to the down hair for the diameter, and to the beard hair for scales spacing; so we conclude that b1 is a fragment of a down hair regularly shaven.

Melanosomes (Wakamatsu & Ito, 2002) are hair (and skin) organites containing melanin pigments. Table 3 summarizes the global counting of all the detectable melanosomes that we have observed on the b1 hair surface (see Figure 15): for a total number of 25 melanosomes observed, 8 (32%) are of the MS1 (with eumelanin) type, and 17 (68%) are of the MS2 (with phaeomelanin) type; so, there is a proportion of less than one MS1 for two MS2. This approximately double number of melanosomes of red colour compared to that of melanosomes of dark colour is the usual melanosome proportion in red and blond-red hairs (Szabo et al., 1969) . That explains the observed blond-red colour of the b1 particle (see Figure 2).

This not exclude the possibility that, as already signalled for archaeological human and animal hair samples (Wilson, 2001) , the exhibited red colouration of the b1 sample could be also due to photodegradation in sunlight or to oxidation of melanin pigments over millennia.

Although our studies were performed to a unique sample, because concerning only one small particle (named b1) located on the Face of the Turin Shroud, our results based on the morphology, elemental analysis and cuticular scale pattern of this b1 particle studied using most advanced investigational methods clearly shows that the particle is a fragment of hair.

We showed also that this hair fragment was cut at both extremities by a razor blade made of copper; comparisons with present hairs of different types show that the hair is

probably some sort of down hair, regularly shaven, located between the two eyebrows. The distribution and counting of the two melanosome sorts at the hair surface confirm the blond-red colour of this hair observed in optical microscopy.

This study contributes to the knowledge of the pilosity of the Man who was buried in the Shroud, the Christ according to most of the Christians. Interestingly, the Coran depicts the Prophet Jesus of Nazareth as a man with red hairs.

Lucotte, G., & Thomasset, T. (2017). Scanning Electron Microscopic Characterization and Elemental Analysis of One Hair Located on the Face of the Turin Shroud. Archaeological Discovery, 7, 1-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ad.2017.51001