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A 23-Year Retrospective Blind Check of Accuracy of the Copenhagen Radiocarbon Dating System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Kaare L Rasmussen ,
Henrik Tauber ,
Niels Bonde ,
Kjeld Christensen  and
Páll Theodórsson
Kaare L Rasmussen
Affiliation:
Carbon-14 Dating Laboratory, National Museum and Geological Survey of Denmark, Ny Vestergade 11, DK-1471 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Henrik Tauber
Affiliation:
Carbon-14 Dating Laboratory, National Museum and Geological Survey of Denmark, Ny Vestergade 11, DK-1471 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Niels Bonde
Affiliation:
Environmental Archaeology and Archaeometry, National Museum, Ny Vestergade 11, DK-1471 Copenhagen, Denmark
Kjeld Christensen
Affiliation:
Environmental Archaeology and Archaeometry, National Museum, Ny Vestergade 11, DK-1471 Copenhagen, Denmark
Páll Theodórsson
Affiliation:
Science Institute, University of Iceland, Dunhaga 3, IS-107 Reykjavik, Iceland
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Abstract

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A 23-yr record of the measuring accuracy of the Copenhagen radiocarbon dating laboratory has retrospectively been provided through a true blind test. A total of 92 samples of oak from old tree trunks were dated in the period 1971 to 1993 and their dendrochronological age determined independently. The 14C activity of the dendrochronological samples measured in the Copenhagen radiocarbon laboratory was compared to the activity of the tree rings of the same age measured by Stuiver and Pearson (1993) for calibration purposes. The average difference was found to be 54 ± 72 14C yr. The results further indicate that the actual standard deviation is only 7% higher than that quoted by the laboratory. The investigation has shown a long-term stability of laboratory accuracy with no systematic laboratory variations either with respect to sample age or to the time of measurement from 1971 to 1993.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , 1999 , pp. 9 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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