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Cited by 42Archaeology and ancient environmental studiesSoil and Environmental StudiesAncient and Medieval Archaeology Studies

Characterization of contexts for radiocarbon dating: results from the early Iron Age at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

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Toffolo, Michael, Maeir, Aren M, Chadwick, Jeffrey R, Boaretto, Elisabetta·2012·Radiocarbon
DOI 10.1017/s0033822200047159
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Abstract

The reliability of a radiocarbon date depends in part on the degree of precision and accuracy of the measurement. While analytical precision and accuracy can be improved by careful sample cleaning procedures and high laboratory standards, accuracy also depends upon the certainty to which the sample can be attributed to a specific material culture or event in the past. This might be questionable when based only on partial archaeological information. As a consequence, it is very difficult to date clear-cut chronological transitions within specific periods. This issue is particularly apparent in the case of Mediterranean Iron Age chronology, where 2 somewhat different perspectives are proposed, the “High Chronology” and the “Low Chronology,” which differ by ∼50 yr. Here, we present the preliminary results of an ongoing project that aims to characterize Iron Age archaeological contexts from the eastern Mediterranean, and to identify those contexts that are suitable for dating, in order to improve the accuracy of 14 C dates. This study involves the analysis of sediments by means of FTIR spectrometry, soil micromorphology, phytolith and phosphate extraction, all of which provide insights into the site-formation and postdepositional processes at the different sites under investigation. These techniques, applied at Tell es-Safi/Gath (Israel), enabled us to better identify a secure context for dating.

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  • Dates obtained from single short-lived samples found at different locations within the same locus should not be averaged, even if they are contemporary from a stratigraphic point of view.

    “As shown by Toffolo et al. (2012), dates obtained from single short-lived samples found at different locations within the same locus should not be averaged, even if they are contemporary from a stratigraphic point of view.”

    From Absolute Chronology of Megiddo, Israel, in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages: High-Resolution Radiocarbon Dating (2014) · cites this paper as Toffolo et al. (2012)

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Authors
Toffolo, M., Maeir, A. M., Chadwick, J. R., & Boaretto, E.
Affiliations
  • Tel Aviv University (IL)
  • Bar-Ilan University (IL)
  • Brigham Young University (US)
  • Weizmann Institute of Science (IL)
Corresponding author
Toffolo, Michael
ORCID
Venue
Radiocarbon
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2012
Volume
54
Issue
3-4
Pages
371-390
ISSN
  • 0033-8222 (ISSN-L)
  • 1945-5755
DOI
10.1017/s0033822200047159
OpenAlex
W1685613171
Cited by
42
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 1
FWCI
2.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 1660 d)
Locations
  • Radiocarbon (publishedVersion)
  • UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
  • Bar-Ilan University
  • FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (229418)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil and Environmental Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
Keywords
radiocarbon dating, Early Iron Age, Tell es-Safi/Gath, archaeological context, site formation processes, FTIR spectroscopy, soil micromorphology, phytoliths, phosphate extraction, Eastern Mediterranean

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