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Structural Characterization and Thermal Decomposition of Lime Binders Allow Accurate Radiocarbon Age Determinations of Aerial Lime Plaster

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2020

Michael B Toffolo Open the ORCID record for Michael B Toffolo [Opens in a new window] ,
Lior Regev Open the ORCID record for Lior Regev [Opens in a new window] ,
Eugenia Mintz ,
Ifat Kaplan-Ashiri ,
Francesco Berna ,
Stéphan Dubernet Open the ORCID record for Stéphan Dubernet [Opens in a new window] ,
Xin Yan ,
Johanna Regev  and
Elisabetta Boaretto
Michael B Toffolo*
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux-Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (IRAMAT-CRP2A), UMR 5060 CNRS, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 8 Esplanade des Antilles, Pessac33607, France
Lior Regev
Affiliation:
D-REAMS Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot7610001, Israel
Eugenia Mintz
Affiliation:
D-REAMS Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot7610001, Israel
Ifat Kaplan-Ashiri
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot7610001, Israel
Francesco Berna
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BCV5A 1S6, Canada
Stéphan Dubernet
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux-Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (IRAMAT-CRP2A), UMR 5060 CNRS, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 8 Esplanade des Antilles, Pessac33607, France
Xin Yan
Affiliation:
D-REAMS Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot7610001, Israel
Johanna Regev
Affiliation:
D-REAMS Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot7610001, Israel
Elisabetta Boaretto
Affiliation:
D-REAMS Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot7610001, Israel
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Radiocarbon (14C) dating of anthropogenic carbonates (CaCO3) such as ash, lime plaster and lime mortar, has proven a difficult task due to the occurrence of a number of contaminants embedded within the CaCO3 pyrogenic binder. These include 14C-free geologic components and/or secondary phases bearing an unknown amount of 14C, and thus the alteration of the original pyrogenic isotopic signature of the material results in major age offsets when carbon recovery is performed through acid hydrolysis. Here we present a characterization/quantification approach to anthropogenic carbonates that includes Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction, thin section petrography, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy coupled with high-resolution cathodoluminescence, with which we identified the pyrogenic CaCO3 fraction in an aerial lime plaster and two hydraulic mortars. The preserved pyrogenic component was then isolated by density separation and its purity checked again using FTIR. Carbon was recovered through thermal decomposition in vacuum. The resulting 14C age matches the expected age of the lime plaster, whereas hydraulic mortars are slightly offset due to the carbonation of calcium hydroxide lumps. This approach highlights the importance of a dedicated characterization strategy prior to dating and may be applied to aerial lime plasters to obtain accurate ages.

Keywords

calcitecarbonatehydrauliclime mortarlime plaster
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 62 , Issue 3: MoDIM 2018 Proceedings of the Mortar Dating International Meeting , June 2020 , pp. 633 - 655
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

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