Radiocarbon Calibration and Analysis of Stratigraphy: The OxCal Program

Bronk Ramsey, Christopher

doi:10.1017/s0033822200030903

Cited by 2,409Archaeology and ancient environmental studiesGeology and Paleoclimatology ResearchAncient and Medieval Archaeology Studies

Radiocarbon Calibration and Analysis of Stratigraphy: The OxCal Program

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Bronk Ramsey, Christopher·1995·Radiocarbon

DOI 10.1017/s0033822200030903

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Abstract

People usually study the chronologies of archaeological sites and geological sequences using many different kinds of evidence, taking into account calibrated radiocarbon dates, other dating methods and stratigraphic information. Many individual case studies demonstrate the value of using statistical methods to combine these different types of information. I have developed a computer program, OxCal, running under Windows 3.1 (for IBM PCs), that will perform both 14C calibration and calculate what extra information can be gained from stratigraphic evidence. The program can perform automatic wiggle matches and calculate probability distributions for samples in sequences and phases. The program is written in C++ and uses Bayesian statistics and Gibbs sampling for the calculations. The program is very easy to use, both for simple calibration and complex site analysis, and will produce graphical output from virtually any printer.

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The analysis of AD period German oak data finds a tiny (negligible) 14C offset (ΔR) of 2.5 ± 2.5 14C yr.
“The analysis finds a tiny (negligible) 14 C offset (AR) of (expressed as the μ ± σ) of 2.5 ± 2.5 ,4 C yr.”
From Considerations of the Scale of Radiocarbon Offsets in the East Mediterranean, and Considering a Case for the Latest (Most Recent) Likely Date for the Santorini Eruption (2012) · cites this paper as Bronk Ramsey 1995
The Radiocarbon Calibration section (page unavailable) says OxCal can apply reservoir corrections, but it reports no offset estimated from AD-period German oak data. Searches for German oak and the claimed 2.5 ± 2.5 ¹⁴C-year value found no passage addressing that result. (LLM, conf=0.77)
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Buck, C. E., Litton, C. D., & Smith, A. F. M. (1992) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/0305-4403(92)90025-x · Cited by 244 · see citing works

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“The resulting 14 C ages are incorporated into revised Bayesian models for the OK and MK using the OxCal software [55,56] version 4.4 with IntCal20 [44].”
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Authors: Bronk Ramsey, C.
Venue: Radiocarbon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published: 1995
Volume: 37
Issue: 2
Pages: 425-430
ISSN: 0033-8222 (ISSN-L)
1945-5755
DOI: 10.1017/s0033822200030903
OpenAlex: W2168693115
Cited by: 2,409
References: 1
Citations by year: 2026: 81 · 2025: 100 · 2024: 70 · 2023: 89 · 2022: 96 · 2021: 138 · 2020: 106 · 2019: 83 · 2018: 73 · 2017: 87 · 2016: 77 · 2015: 85 · 2014: 93 · 2013: 76 · 2012: 90
FWCI: 15.98
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: bronze
doi.org
Licence: www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 7869 d)
Locations: Radiocarbon (publishedVersion)
UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
Keywords: OxCal, radiocarbon calibration, stratigraphy, wiggle matching, Bayesian analysis, Gibbs sampling, probability distributions, archaeological chronology, site analysis, computer program

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Radiocarbon Calibration and Analysis of Stratigraphy: The OxCal Program

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