Does the fact that the average height of Jews in the Roman Province of Judea in the first century was 5'0 impact negatively on the authenticity of the shroud since the height of the figure on the shroud is 5'11 or 6'0?
Now the shroud may very well be from the first century due to recent carbon dating but it still does not explain why the man in the shroud is 6 feet tall.
What if Jesus was exceptionally tall?
An average result tends to exclude some exceptional value. For example,
Suppose there are 100 people; 99 of them are 5 feet tall and only one of them is 7 feet tall.
Average height= ((99x5)+7)/100 = (495+7)/100 = 5.02
The Bible doesn't tell us about the physical appearance of Jesus. We don't know how tall was Jesus. Hence, we can neither prove nor disprove the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin based on it's dimension.
Answering
From the scientific method, there would be discrepancy calling to question the authenticity of the shroud based on the height of the image only if 1) the actual height of Jesus was known, 2) a claim was made that the image on the cloth is his image, and 3) the height of image when compared with his known height could not be reconciled within acceptable scientific margins.
Has the Church said that the relic that is the Holy Shroud of Turin is the actual "clean linen cloth" in which Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body of Jesus Christ? [cf. Mt 27:59 (RSVCE)].
No!
According to The Holy Shroud (of Turin) | New Advent:
That the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin is taken for granted, in various pronouncements of the Holy See cannot be disputed.
So to the Holy See [and many others], the relic is authentic, but the Holy See has not declared this relic was the burial shroud of the LORD.
Further reading:
It is said that this is the most studied artifact in history, therefore there are tons of material out there. Here is a link to one:
The average height of a Jew in the first century was not 5', but up to about 5' 10". The image on the Shroud cannot be accurately measured for a variety of reasons (stretching of the cloth, knees are bent, etc.), but the best estimation is about 5' 10" which comes from world renown Shroud expert Barrie Schwortz, the documenting photographer on the 1978 STURP expedition and the creator and maintainer of Shroud.com, the first and most exhaustive site for Shroud information.
Height and weight: 2 References for one to consider... William Mecheam, Archaeologist & Shroud researcher - https://www.shroud.com/meacham2.htm Isabel Piczek, noted monumental artist, theoretical physicist and Shroud historian - https://www.shroud.com/faq.htm#1 A site that discusses heights of Jews - http://www.naturalheightgrowth.com/2012/12/20/how-tall-is-the-height-of-jesus-christ/
Recommendation: Visit shroudnm.com, click search and use the search engine to search any of the Shroud sites listed (just click the button to the left of the site you want to search, type your criteria, like "how tall is the man on the Shroud" and click the search button).
Well, we know Zaccheus was a "wee little man" who had to climb up into a Sycamore tree to see Jesus pass by. If we assume that Zaccheus was 4 feet hing, and if the average height was five feet, then there must have been a six foot person in the population.
One of the earliest researchers on the height of Jesus from the Shroud image was Msgr. Giulio Ricci, a Vatican official. He estimated the height to be about 5' 4". He did a sculpture of the body on the cross. It is a dramatic presentation, and a focal point in the Museum of the Holy Shroud in Wabash, Indiana. There are several Ricci books in English available in used book shops.
