Radiocarbon Dates of Old and Middle Kingdom Monuments in Egypt
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Between 1984 and 1995 over 450 organic samples were collected from monuments built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms. The most suitable samples were selected for dating. The purpose was to establish a radiocarbon chronology with samples from secure context and collected with the careful techniques required for 14 C samples. This chronology is compared to the historical chronology established by reconstructing written documentation.
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The alluvial Nile soil may contain older inherited plant remains and organic compounds, which could result in radiocarbon dates older than the actual time of mudbrick production.
“However, the alluvial Nile soil may also contain older inherited plant remains and organic compounds, transported by the Nile or from past human activities in the soil, which could result in radiocarbon dates older than the actual time of mudbrick production [70,97].”
From The Minoan Thera eruption predates Pharaoh Ahmose: Radiocarbon dating of Egyptian 17th to early 18th Dynasty museum objects (2025) · cites this paper as [70]
The Introduction/Sample Collection section says grass, straw, and reed were mixed into soil before mudbricks were shaped. Reporting of Sample Ages says some monument samples dated much older than the established mean. Neither section attributes older dates to inherited organic material in Nile alluvial soil or to material transported by the Nile or left by past human activity; page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMore often the 14C dating results of organic material in mudbricks and mud seals were found to be older by many decades and even centuries than historical age assessments.
“However, more often the 14C dating results of organic material in mudbricks and mud seals were found to be older by many decades and even centuries than historical age assessments [70,71,97].”
From The Minoan Thera eruption predates Pharaoh Ahmose: Radiocarbon dating of Egyptian 17th to early 18th Dynasty museum objects (2025) · cites this paper as [70]
The Introduction (page not provided) says radiocarbon dates often lacked close agreement with historical chronology, and the sample-collection section describes dating organic material from mudbricks. The passages do not establish that the dates were more often older by decades or centuries, and they do not mention mud seals. (LLM, conf=0.79)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe 5 radiocarbon dating results of the Ahmose mudbrick underline findings from other investigations that mud from alluvial Nile soil usually contains plant and organic components of different ages that are older than the "fresh" plant fragments added as straw at the time of mudbrick fabrication.
“The 5 radiocarbon dating results of the Ahmose mudbrick (Table 4) underline findings from other investigations [70,97] that mud from alluvial Nile soil usually contains plant and organic components of different ages that are older than the “fresh” plant fragments added as straw at the time of mudbrick fabrication.”
From The Minoan Thera eruption predates Pharaoh Ahmose: Radiocarbon dating of Egyptian 17th to early 18th Dynasty museum objects (2025) · cites this paper as [70]
Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 1 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 1 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe conclusion that the excess must be inserted between Neferkauhor and Mentuhotep IV is supported by the results of a large-scale radiocarbon dating study of Egyptian monuments by Bonani et al., which revealed an extensive anomaly in the age of the Old Kingdom samples.
“This conclusion is supported by the results of a large-scale radiocarbon dating study of Egyptian monuments [Bonani et al. 2001, 1297-1300, Fig. 1], which revealed an extensive anomaly in the age of the OK samples.”
From Sothic Dating of the Egyptian Old Kingdom (2024) · cites this paper as Bonani et al. 2001
Split into 2 atoms — 1 confirmed, 1 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn Bonani et al.'s study, a straw-only sample (DRI-2948) from a mudbrick of Amenemhet III at Dashur dated 3442 ± 41 BP, while a lump sample (DRI-2958) from the same mudbrick dated 4452 ± 73 BP, a difference of about 1000 radiocarbon years.
“Sample DRI-2948 consisted only of straw, collected from a mudbrick, giving a 14C date of 3442 ± 41 BP. On the other hand, a lump sample of the same mudbrick, DRI-2958, containing all organic constituents including straw, yielded a much older 14C date of 4452 ± 73 BP, a difference of about 1000 radiocarbon years!”
From The Minoan Thera eruption predates Pharaoh Ahmose: Radiocarbon dating of Egyptian 17th to early 18th Dynasty museum objects (2025) · cites this paper as [70]
The Sample Collection and Sample Pretreatment sections describe straw from mudbricks and dating at DRI, but the retrieved passages do not identify DRI-2948 or DRI-2958 or give their ages. Searches for both sample IDs, 3442, 4452, and the Amenemhet III mudbrick comparison found no passage that verifies the claimed 1000-year difference. (LLM, conf=0.73)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
The older date of the lump sample DRI-2958 includes older organic content in clay used for brick making.
“The authors added a footnote to sample DRI-2958: “date includes older organic content in clay used for brick making” [70], p. 1311).”
From The Minoan Thera eruption predates Pharaoh Ahmose: Radiocarbon dating of Egyptian 17th to early 18th Dynasty museum objects (2025) · cites this paper as [70]
The Sample Collection section says organic material was mixed into clay before bricks were shaped, but it does not identify DRI-2958 or say its date includes older organic content. Searches for DRI-2958 and the quoted footnote did not locate that statement in our copy; the Reporting of Sample Ages section refers to an appendix of sample dates, but no relevant entry was available to verify the citation to p. 1311. (LLM, conf=0.70)
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Research works printed but not linked: 9
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“However, more often the 14 C dating results of organic material in mudbricks and mud seals were found to be older by many decades and even centuries than historical age assessments [70,71,97].”
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- Authors
- Bonani, G., Haas, H., Hawass, Z., Lehner, M., Nakhla, S., Nolan, J., Wenke, R., & Wölfli, W.
- Affiliations
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Supreme Council of Antiquities (EG)
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bonani, Georges
- ORCID
- Hawass, Zahi
- Venue
- Radiocarbon
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2001
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1297-1320
- ISSN
- 0033-8222 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-5755
- OpenAlex
- W169707065
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Radiocarbon (publishedVersion)
- UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient Egypt and Archaeology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
- Keywords
- radiocarbon dating, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom Egypt, Egyptian monuments, radiocarbon chronology, historical chronology, Egyptian chronology
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