NEW ARCHAEOINTENSITY RESULTS FROM GREEK MATERIALS*

This paper reports palaeointensity results from Greek materials from EC and AD periods, recently obtained in the Sofia palaeomagnetic laboratory. The classical Thellier method was applied and of 26 specimens studied 20 gave acceptable results. The paper aims to compare the newly obtained results with previously published ones from Greece and neighbouring territories relating to the same period of time. The trend of palaeointensity obtained for the period 2900–1700 BC coincides well with the Bulgarian intensity variation curve, while the younger period, 1900–1200 BC, needs further investigation because of the contradictory results obtained by different authors. It is also established that the bricks from the church of Agios Ioannis are earlier than the date of the building's construction and are reused.     

ISSUES RELATED TO DETERMINING BURIAL CHRONOLOGY BY FLUORIDE ANALYSIS OF BONE FROM THE MAYA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF CHAU HIIX,BELIZE*

Fluoride percentage of bone is often used to determine relative dates of burials in archaeological contexts. An analysis of prehistoric Maya burials at Chau Hiix, Belize, identifies taphonomic factors, including soil composition, grave depth, soil disturbance, age at death and cortical bone thickness, that cause variations in the rate of fluoride absorption by altering the access of water to bone. This example demonstrates that fluoride dating is unlikely to be useful at most prehistoric Maya sites because of the inconsistent taphonomy due to typically diverse mortuary practices, and it also serves as a cautionary tale for applications of this methodology in other contexts.     

THE CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY AND GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AN ALLUVIAL GEOARCHIVE: COMPARATIVE OSL AND AMS 14C DATING FROM GREECE*

The Basin of Phlious in southern Greece is known for its thick colluvial and alluvial deposits from the Holocene. It offers a good opportunity to reconstruct the history of Holocene soil erosion and its interaction with historical farming activities. In this study, we present new results based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating from the Basin of Phlious. The comparison between OSL and ¹⁴C AMS ages shows good agreement, and demonstrates the need for the detection of insufficiently bleached OSL samples in order to obtain accurate results. The discovery of a Neolithic site, buried under thick alluvial deposits, confirms the hitherto postulated Neolithic human impact on the landscape.     

An Independent Confirmation of the 4 ka Antiquity of a Beeswax Figure in Western Arnhem Land,Northern Australia

Critical to any chronology is reliability in the determination of age for a distinctive artefact that is related to other components in a series. Therefore, the independent testing and verification of the antiquity of an apparent anomalous measurement for an old beeswax figure in northern Australia is of fundamental interest in rock art studies. Replication of the radiocarbon dating process has confirmed that one exceptional figure in early X‐ray style at the Gunbilngmurrung site in western Arnhem Land is indeed c. 4–4.5 ka. The result also confirms the great antiquity of paintings over which the beeswax was applied.     

DETECTING FORGERIES AMONG ANCIENT GOLD OBJECTS USING THE U,Th–4He DATING METHOD*

Forgeries of ancient gold objects are prevalent in almost every collection and some public exhibitions in the past have been exposed as containing forgeries to an embarrassing extent. This situation comes from the fact that it is sometimes impossible to unequivocally recognize forgeries based on their patina or manufacturing and decoration characteristics. We demonstrate that for 13 ancient gold objects the time of their last melting process can be estimated using the U,Th–⁴He dating technique. The extremely small quantities of radiogenic ⁴He found, due to the young age and small sample size, require the use of a specially designed ultrasensitive mass spectrometer. We show that the proposed method is a powerful, and the only, quantitative tool in archaeometry for discriminating between fake and genuine ancient gold objects.     

MATHEMATICS,STATISTICS AND ARCHAEOMETRY: THE PAST 50 YEARS OR SO*

This review of developments in the use of mathematics and statistics in archaeometry over the past 50 years is partial, personal and ‘broad‐brush’. The view is expressed that it is in the past 30 years or so that the major developments have taken place. The view is also expressed that, with the exception of methods for analysing radiocarbon dates and increased computational power, mathematical and statistical methods that are currently used, and found to be useful in widespread areas of application such as provenance studies, don't differ fundamentally from what was being done 30 years ago.     

OPTICAL DATING OF ANTHROPOGENIC SEDIMENTS AT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF HERRENBRUNNENBUCKEL,BRETTEN-BAUERBACH (GERMANY)*

Optical dating was applied to natural and anthropogenic silts at an Iron Age settlement in southern Germany. The natural sediments were dated accurately and allowed study of the human impact on the landscape. The studied anthropogenic sediments were infills of cellars and ditches. Again, deposits derived from soil erosion proved to be datable using infrared-optically stimulated luminescence. However, optical dating of fine grained sediments was at its limits when sediments consisted of a mixture of bleached and unbleached grains. This is shown on sediments of known age originating from cellar infills. Improvements were obtained when using the 560 nm emission and a partial bleach approach. Experimental evidence shows that the D_E versus shine-time plot discloses insufficient bleaching only in cases in which all grains are insufficiently bleached to the same degree.     

AN ARCHAEOMAGNETIC STUDY OF POTTERY KILNS FROM BRÜHL-PINGSDORF (GERMANY)*

Four pottery kilns from Brühl-Pingsdorf (Germany) were dated by comparing their characteristic remanent magnetization with a curve of the palaeo-secular variation of the geomagnetic field. Archaeomagnetic results suggest last heating events between AD 775 and 1020. The archaeological evidence generally supports the relative temporal succession and the duration of use, but indicates that the kilns are about 150 years younger on average. Hence, a systematic offset between these independently developed chronologies must be considered. Rock magnetic parameters display radial variations through the kiln walls. These variations are controlled by the maximum temperature the rock was exposed to. These parameters were used to identify specimen which acquired a thermoremanent magnetization.     

MAGNETIZATION DATING AT A MEDIEVAL MONASTERY (TUPHOLME,LINCOLNSHIRE)*

Tupholme Abbey, founded by c. 1166, was constructed of limestone masonry, some of which was reoriented at several times through its history. The limestone progressively acquired a ‘soft’, time-dependent magnetization in the earth's magnetic field—viscous remanent mag-netization (VRM)—that acts like a clock. Although VRM is normally disregarded by geologists because of its ephemeral nature, this remanence is acquired and persists over time-scales that are useful to archaeologists. Successive VRMs were initiated, at different ages of stabilization of the masonry, thus yielding a chronometric curve that allows us to determine, at least relatively, when masonry was installed.     

ONLY TIME WILL TELL: A REVIEW OF THE METHODOLOGY OF DIRECT ROCK ART DATING

Epistemology has not kept pace with the progress experienced in the direct dating of rock art. This paper reviews the experimental methods that have been developed in recent years. While many do provide important information about the possible age of rock art, it is of concern that the precipitate archaeological interpretations these data are used for are often not warranted. Some are attributable to not understanding the severe qualifications that apply to most dating results, others perhaps to over-enthusiasm on the part of some researchers. The introduction of archaeological dynamics into direct dating of rock art threatens the reliability of this young methodology. Some of the pitfalls are considered in this paper, and a general rationale for the direct dating of rock art is developed.