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New Radiocarbon Dates for the Reed Mat from the Cave of the Treasure, Israel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Gerald E Aardsma*
Affiliation:
Aardsma Research & Publishing, 412 N Mulberry, Loda, Illinois 60948-9651, USA
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Abstract

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Modern radiocarbon dates were procured for the Cave of the Treasure, Israel reed mat at the University of Arizona accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) laboratory in late 1999 and early 2000. Three samples from various locations on the mat were dated. One of these samples was dated twice, and another was dated three times, yielding a total of six new radiocarbon dates on the mat. The new 14C dates overturn expectations of a late Chalcolithic, roughly 3500 BC, date for the origin of the mat. It is suggested that the mat may not have been of common use but may rather have been a religious heirloom with a history stretching back into the early Chalcolithic.

Type
Near East Chronology: Archaeology and Environment
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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