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Radiocarbon Dates from the Catacombs of St. Callixtus in Rome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Leonard V Rutgers ,
Klaas van der Borg  and
Arie F M de Jong
Leonard V Rutgers*
Affiliation:
Institute of History, Utrecht University, Kromme Nieuwegracht 66, 3512 HL, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Klaas van der Borg
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, Utrecht University, POB 80000, 3508 TA, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Arie F M de Jong
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, Utrecht University, POB 80000, 3508 TA, Utrecht, the Netherlands
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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This paper reports the first chronological assessment of the Christian catacombs of Rome by radiocarbon dating. The organic materials dated were found in a set of burial rooms in the so-called Liberian region of the catacombs of St. Callixtus on the Appian Way. 14C dating of small samples by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) represents a major advance over traditional archaeological dating methods used in catacomb archaeology; however, AMS 14C dating raises questions about sample reliability and chronological evaluation. We briefly explore these questions.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 47 , Issue 3 , 2005 , pp. 395 - 400
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

References

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