Radiocarbon Dating in Late-Roman and Medieval Contexts: An Archaeological Excavation in the Center of Florence, Italy

A series of samples for radiocarbon dating were collected in 2005 from the Biblioteca Magliabechiana archaeological excavation area in the center of Florence, Italy, in a project directed by the Dipartimento di Archeologia e Storia delle Arti of the University of Siena, in cooperation with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e per il Paesaggio per le province di Firenze e Prato. This area is located near the Uffizi Galleries, close to the Roman town, the Arno River and one of its former tributaries. The area is peculiar for the Florentine urban context because it was free from urban development until the 12th century AD. The exposed stratigraphy showed the presence of several layers composed of natural sediments, partly the result of historical floods. Here, we report a series of 14C measurements on charcoal and seed samples collected on this excavation. 14C dating has been performed in the LABEC laboratory in Florence, on the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) beam line of the AMS-IBA 3MV Tandetron accelerator. We also had the opportunity to compare the 14C dates obtained with several series of samples previously collected in nearby archaeological areas. Results were consistent with the data obtained previously and, moreover, offer interesting new aspects to the interpretation of the archaeological findings.

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Chronostratigraphic Sequence of Santuario Della Madonna Cave (Calabria, Southern Italy): AMS Radiocarbon Data from a New Excavation Area

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200045458 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 408-414 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

L Calcagnile ◽

V Tinè ◽

G Quarta ◽

M D'Elia ◽

G Fiorentino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Statistical Tools ◽

Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Cultural Aspects ◽

Radiocarbon Data ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

Excavation Area

The Santuario della Madonna Cave, located near Praia a Mare (Cosenza), along the northwestern coast of Calabria (southern Italy), has an impressive stratigraphy, with occupation phases spanning from the late Paleolithic to the advanced phases of the Middle Bronze Age. Recently, a new excavation area has been opened in the cave from which shortlived vegetal remains were sampled and submitted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. The aim of this study was to define an accurate chronology of the different cultural aspects and to explore the potentialities resulting from application of advanced statistical tools for 14C data analysis in such a context.

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Radiocarbon Dating of Kohitsugire Calligraphies Attributed to Asukai Masatsune and the Periods of Origin of Genji Monogatari Emaki and Ban-Dainagon Ekotoba

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200045550 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 520-525

Author(s):

Hirotaka Oda ◽

Kazuomi Ikeda

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

12Th Century ◽

Ancient Manuscripts ◽

National Treasures

Genji monogatari emaki and Ban-dainagon ekotoba are Japanese national treasures. Although the periods in which they were painted have not been accurately determined, radiocarbon dating cannot be applied to these priceless artifacts because of the destructive nature of 14C dating. In this study, the periods of their origin were determined by 14C dating the kohitsugire calligraphy. Kohitsugire are ancient paper sheets containing graceful calligraphy. They originally were part of ancient manuscripts. Two kohitsugire named Imaki-gire and Kingin-kirihaku-wakanroeishu-gire are written in the same style as Genji monogatari emaki and Ban-dainagon ekotoba. Although Imaki-gire and Kingin-kirihaku-wakanroeishu-gire had been attributed to Asukai Masatsune (AD 1170–1221) on the basis of the kiwamefuda certificates, recent calligraphical and paleographical studies suggest that they are genuine handwritings of Fujiwara no Norinaga (AD 1109–1180?). We applied 14C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to Imaki-gire and Kingin-kirihaku-wakanroeishu-gire. The calibrated 14C ages of both the kohitsugire indicated timing close to the peak of Fujiwara no Norinaga's career as a calligraphist. Based on the associations between the dated texts and the 14C results, it is concluded that the Genji monogatari emaki and Ban-dainagon ekotoba paintings could have been created in the middle of 12th century.

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Radiocarbon Dating of Kohitsugire (Paper Fragments) Attributed to Japanese Calligraphists in the Heian–Kamakura Period

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200039679 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

pp. 369-375 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hirotaka Oda ◽

Kazuomi Ikeda ◽

Takashi Masuda ◽

Toshio Nakamura

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Japanese Literature ◽

Significant Information ◽

Heian Period ◽

12Th Century ◽

Kamakura Period ◽

Indigo Blue ◽

Cloud Pattern

A kohitsugire is a paper fragment from an old manuscript written mainly in the Heian and Kamakura periods. Although they contain significant information for historical, literary, and paleographical study, because of their antique handwriting and description of historical incidents, there are many copies and counterfeits written several centuries later. In this study, radiocarbon ages of kohitsugire were measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). On the kohitsugire attributed to the famous calligraphists in the Kamakura period (Fujiwara no Sadaie and Prince Munetaka), 14C dating indicated that they were not genuine and should be excluded from the materials for study of the calligraphists. Calibrated 14C ages of the kohitsugire attributed to Fujiwara no Yukinari indicated the middle Heian period. This calligraphy was written on Tobikumogami paper, which has a billowing cloud pattern decorated with indigo-blue-dyed fiber. Although it was commonly accepted that the Tobikumogami is peculiar to the middle 11th to early 12th century, the results from 14C dating also suggested that the origin of the Tobikumogami would date back to the last of the 10th or the early 11th century, when Fujiwara no Yukinari flourished as a calligraphist. Calibrated 14C ages of the kohitsugire attributed to Nijo Tameuji and Reizei Tamesuke showed that they are fragments of old manuscripts describing lost tales and were written in the 13th–14th century. Consequently, 14C dating clarified the existence of ancient tales which had been unknown and indicated their worth as a material for the study of classical Japanese literature.

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The Strange Case of the Ankhpakhered Mummy: Results of AMS 14C Dating

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200048335 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 1403-1408

Author(s):

G Quarta ◽

S Malgora ◽

M D'Elia ◽

V Gaballo ◽

E Braione ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Fourier Transform ◽

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

14C Dating ◽

Egyptian Mummy ◽

Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Ancient Egyptian ◽

The University ◽

Ams 14C Dating

The ancient Egyptian mummy discovered in the wooden coffin of Ankhpakhered, priest of the god Min, has been studied at CEDAD (Centre for Dating and Diagnostics) at the University of Salento, Italy. The CT scan, performed by the multidisciplinary team of the Mummy Project of Milan, highlighted unusual features of the mummy, suggesting a reuse of the sarcophagus. Furthermore, specimens were taken via endoscopy for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses, which have been carried out at CEDAD.

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14C Research at the Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA), University of Bern

CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry ◽

10.2533/chimia.2020.1010 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 74 (12) ◽

pp. 1010-1014

Author(s):

Sönke Szidat

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Quality Improvement ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Radioactive Carbon ◽

Fossil Carbon ◽

Air Quality Improvement ◽

University Of Bern ◽

The University

The Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA) at the University of Bern measures the radioactive carbon isotope 14C with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in different applications. Besides radiocarbon dating of environmental and archaeological samples, the LARA focuses on source apportionment of air-borne particulate matter (i.e. aerosols) as well as greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. This approach allows the identification and quantification of fossil carbon emissions in these air components, which is relevant for measures of air-quality improvement. The LARA furthermore develops instrumental setups for and at the AMS in order to analyze 14C samples in μg-amounts with low contamination and high throughput, preferably using online-hyphenated systems.

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Imaging of Al-Li-Cu alloys with a Scanning Ion Microprobe

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100135174 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 314-315

Author(s):

K.K. Soni ◽

D.B. Williams ◽

J.M. Chabala ◽

R. Levi-Setti ◽

D.E. Newbury

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽

Equilibrium Phase ◽

Icosahedral Symmetry ◽

Ion Microprobe ◽

X Ray ◽

Cu Alloys ◽

Two Phases ◽

The University ◽

Secondary Ion

In contrast to the inability of x-ray microanalysis to detect Li, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) generates a very strong Li+ signal. The latter’s potential was recently exploited by Williams et al. in the study of binary Al-Li alloys. The present study of Al-Li-Cu was done using the high resolution scanning ion microprobe (SIM) at the University of Chicago (UC). The UC SIM employs a 40 keV, ∼70 nm diameter Ga+ probe extracted from a liquid Ga source, which is scanned over areas smaller than 160×160 μm2 using a 512×512 raster. During this experiment, the sample was held at 2 × 10-8 torr.In the Al-Li-Cu system, two phases of major importance are T1 and T2, with nominal compositions of Al2LiCu and Al6Li3Cu respectively. In commercial alloys, T1 develops a plate-like structure with a thickness <∼2 nm and is therefore inaccessible to conventional microanalytical techniques. T2 is the equilibrium phase with apparent icosahedral symmetry and its presence is undesirable in industrial alloys.

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The Tower Mill: An archaeological excavation of Queensland's oldest extant building

Queensland Archaeological Research ◽

10.25120/qar.10.1996.96 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jay Hall ◽

Jonathan Prangnell ◽

Bruno David

Keyword(s):

City Council ◽

Archaeological Excavation ◽

The Past ◽

History Of ◽

The University

The Tower Mill, Brisbane's oldest extant building, was excavated by the University of Queensland to determine for the Brisbane City Council the heritage potential of surrounding subsurface deposits.Â Following the employment of GPR, excavation revealed interesting stratifications, features and artefacts.Â Analysis permits an explanation for these deposits which augment an already fascinating history of the site's use over the past 170 years or so.

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RADIOCARBON IN MEXICO: FROM PROPORTIONAL COUNTERS TO AMS

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/rdc.2021.58 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Corina Solís ◽

Efraín Chávez ◽

Arcadio Huerta ◽

María Esther Ortiz ◽

Alberto Alcántara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

High Voltage ◽

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽

Science And Technology ◽

National Council ◽

University Of Arizona ◽

Technological Developments ◽

High Voltage Engineering ◽

The University

ABSTRACT Augusto Moreno is credited with establishing the first radiocarbon (14C) laboratory in Mexico in the 1950s, however, 14C measurement with the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) technique was not achieved in our country until 2003. Douglas Donahue from the University of Arizona, a pioneer in using AMS for 14C dating, participated in that experiment; then, the idea of establishing a 14C AMS laboratory evolved into a feasible project. This was finally reached in 2013, thanks to the technological developments in AMS and sample preparation with automated equipment, and the backing and support of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the National Council for Science and Technology. The Mexican AMS Laboratory, LEMA, with a compact 1 MV system from High Voltage Engineering Europa, and its sample preparation laboratories with IonPlus automated graphitization equipment, is now a reality.

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