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Extended Radiocarbon Calibration in the Anglo-Saxon Period, AD 395–485 and AD 735–805

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

F G McCormac ,
A Bayliss ,
D M Brown ,
P J Reimer  and
M M Thompson
F G McCormac*
Affiliation:
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
A Bayliss
Affiliation:
English Heritage, 1 Waterhouse Square, 138–142 Holborn, London EC1N 2ST, United Kingdom
D M Brown
Affiliation:
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
P J Reimer
Affiliation:
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
M M Thompson
Affiliation:
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, 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 used infrequently as a chronological tool for research in Anglo-Saxon archaeology. Primarily, this is because the uncertainty of calibrated dates provides little advantage over traditional archaeological dating in this period. Recent advances in Bayesian methodology in conjunction with high-precision 14C dating have, however, created the possibility of both testing and refining the established Anglo-Saxon chronologies based on typology of artifacts. The calibration process within such a confined age range, however, relies heavily on the structural accuracy of the calibration curve. We have previously reported decadal measurements on a section of the Irish oak chronology for the period AD 495–725 (McCormac et al. 2004). In this paper, we present decadal measurements for the periods AD 395–485 and AD 735–805, which extends the original calibration set.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , 2008 , pp. 11 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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