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Radiocarbon Calibration in the Anglo-Saxon Period: Ad 495–725

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

F G McCormac*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, The Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
A Bayliss
Affiliation:
English Heritage, 23 Savile Row, London, W1S 2ET, United Kingdom
M G L Baillie
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, The Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
D M Brown
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, The Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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Radiocarbon dating has been rarely used for chronological problems relating to the Anglo-Saxon period. The “flatness” of the calibration curve and the resultant wide range in calendrical dates provide little advantage over traditional archaeological dating in this period. Recent advances in Bayesian methodology have, however, created the possibility of refining and checking the established chronologies, based on typology of artifacts, against 14C dates. The calibration process, within such a confined age range, however, relies heavily on the structural accuracy of the calibration curve. We have therefore re-measured, at decadal intervals, a section of the Irish oak chronology for the period AD 495–725. These measurements have been included in IntCal04.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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