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Delayed Hardening and Reactivation of Binder Calcite, Common Problems in Radiocarbon Dating of Lime Mortars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2020

Alf Lindroos Open the ORCID record for Alf Lindroos [Opens in a new window] ,
Åsa Ringbom ,
Jan Heinemeier ,
Irka Hajdas Open the ORCID record for Irka Hajdas [Opens in a new window]  and
Jesper Olsen Open the ORCID record for Jesper Olsen [Opens in a new window]
Alf Lindroos*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
Åsa Ringbom
Affiliation:
Art History, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
Jan Heinemeier
Affiliation:
AMS Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Denmark
Irka Hajdas
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETHZ, Otto-Stern-Weg 5, Zürich, Switzerland
Jesper Olsen
Affiliation:
AMS Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

When sampling mortars for radiocarbon (14C) dating it is crucial to ensure that the sample has hardened rapidly relative the resolution of the dating method. Soft and porous lime mortars usually fulfill this criterion if the samples are taken from an uncovered surface from less than a few centimeters deep. However, hard, concrete-like mortars may be impermeable for carbon dioxide and even the outermost centimeters may still contain uncarbonated calcium hydroxide. These mortars may harden very slowly and contain carbonate that formed centuries or even millennia after the original building phase, and they can still be alkaline and capture modern 14C, causing younger 14C ages than the actual construction age. Another problem is reactivation of the binder carbonate if it has been partly decarbonated during a fire later on in its history. It will be shown that these young carbonates dissolve rapidly in phosphoric acid and in many cases a reasonable 14C age can be read from 14C profiles in sequential dissolution if the measurements from initially formed carbon dioxide are disregarded. However, if a mortar was made waterproof deliberately by adding crushed or ground tile, as in Roman cocciopesto mortars, it may be very difficult to get a conclusive dating.

Keywords

cocciopestoMéridapozzolana mortarTrajan’s Market
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 62 , Issue 3: MoDIM 2018 Proceedings of the Mortar Dating International Meeting , June 2020 , pp. 565 - 577
Copyright
© 2020 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the Mortar Dating International Meeting, Pessac, France, 25–27 Oct. 2018

References

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