Sheridan Bowman

Re-evaluation of British Museum radiocarbon dates issued between 1980 and 1984.

Dates issued by the British Museum radiocarbon laboratory between 1980 and 1984 are known to have been in error. This paper outlines the cause of the problem and the procedures adopted to revise the results affected. Where revision has been possible, on average this has given dates older by 200 to 300 radiocarbon years. The individual revised results are tabulated.

Using radiocarbon: an update

A note in the 1990 ANTIQUITY volume dealt with four issues crucial to the successful use of radiocarbon in archaeology (Bowman & Balaam 1990): selection and characterization of material and context; determination of the radiocarbon result and error term; interpretation and publication; and strategic resourcing. Since then much has been published, particularly on quality control of radiocarbon measurements (‘determination’), and on the calibration of radiocarbon results (‘interpretation’). Here is an update.

Radiocarbon Results for the British Beakers

The beginning of the Bronze Age in the British Isles has traditionally been marked by the appearance, in the archaeological record, of Beaker assemblages, mainly characterized by the Beaker pottery form itself. Ceramic typologies based on this style, which is undoubtedly continental in origin, have been used both for relative dating and as evidence of the social and economic developments of the period. Systematic radiocarbon dating has been attempted for the continental European Beaker material (Lanting, Mook & van der Waals 1973), but no such program has been carried out on British material. An examination of the existing radiocarbon results for the British Beakers showed many to be flawed in some way, particularly in the use of materials, such as mature wood, where there is no a priori reason for assuming a direct relationship between sample death and context. An attempt has been made at the British Museum to test the validity of archaeologically derived chronologies for the Beaker pottery of the British Isles. This involved analysis of a group of carefully selected human bone samples from Beaker burials, where there is a known direct association between ceramic usage and the cessation of carbon exchange. Twenty such samples have been identified and measured. The results presented here, combined with other previously produced determinations, show no obvious relationship between pottery style and calendar date of deposition.

Radiocarbon dating at the British Museum — the end of an era

For nearly half a century, the Radiocarbon Lab at the British Museum was at the forefront of helping to develop and in applying this fundamental dating method. Thousands of samples were processed, and innumerable sites and objects dated. Now the lab has closed, and Sheridan Bowman, the Keeper of the Department of Scientific Research, assesses the labs contributions.

Application of the pre-dose technique to burnt flint

Abstract Preliminary results are presented on the application of the thermoluminescence (TL) pre-dose dating technique to burnt flint from a Palaeolethic site.