Researchers have confirmed through science the authenticity of the Santo Domingo Cathedral mahogany cross, as reported in Diario Libre. The carbon 14-dating determined that the wooden cross dates back to 1498 and 1528.
It is known that the cross was placed at the church together with four others that no longer exist on 26 March 1514 as part of the blessing of the land where the church would be built. The ceremony took place in presence of Viceroy and Second Admiral Don Diego Colon and officers of the city government to mark the site.
For years there were doubts the cross was one of the original placed on that occasion. To confirm the authenticity, the Oficina de la Obra y Museos de la Catedral, in charge of the upkeep and restoration of the church, carried out the investigations, as part of ongoing archaeological and historical research. The technique used to date the cross was mass spectrometry with accelerators (AMS), a modern method of radiocarbon dating that is considered the most efficient way to measure the radiocarbon content of a sample.
Another analysis carried out on the cross was to determine its anatomical characteristics by means of the Comparative Anatomy of Wood method. It was established that the wood used for the cross is Dominican mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni). To do this, observations were made of the transversal, radial and tangential sections in the digital microscope.
The research was coordinated by Virginia Flores Sasso, PhD, Researcher of the PUCMM, in charge of the non-destructive testing laboratory of the Cathedral Work Office and by Esteban Prieto Vicioso, PhD, director of the Office of the Cathedral and its Museums.
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Diario Libre
24 July 2018
