Comparative Dendrochronological and¹⁴C Dating of 15th Century Russian Icon

Abstract

A 15th century Russian icon from the Novgorod region was analyzed using both dendrochronological and radiocarbon methods [liquid scintillation counting (LSC) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)]. This orthodox icon represents the Mother of God (Dexiokratusa). Fine art experts attribute the icon to between the late 14th to the early 15th centuries. The last complete tree ring was dated to AD 1409. There are indications that the trees were cut down during the summer of AD 1410. Taking into account the time for seasoning (about 8 months), the icon would have been painted in AD 1411. Wiggle-matching of the six AMS samples failed. Two of six AMS dates correspond to dendrochronological dates, while four of the six AMS dates showed differences with the dendrochronological dates by 5-39 yr. This discrepancy raises the issue of a possible regional offset from the calibration curve for the 13th century AD in NW Russia.

Dendrochronology in European Russia in the Early 21st Century: State of the Art

“…Using the above-mentioned long chronologies, and also those from Belarus (Yermokhin, 2012), a number of unique monuments were dated, such as the Landskrona Fortress in St. Petersburg (1300 CE, unpublished), the chapel of Cyril (1510s CE, rebuilt in 1557 CE) and the Church of the Ordination (1778 CE) in the Cyril-Belozersky monastery (Matskovsky, 2014), the Church of St. Andrew on the Zayatsky Island of the Solovetsky Archipelago (1699 CE, Matskovsky et al, 2013), a number of wooden churches around Onega lake (Karpukhin et al, 2019) and Arkhangelsk region. The Vologda chronology was used for the dating of several medieval icons, including Novgorod icon "The Mother of God Dexiocratussa" (1410 CE) (Voronin et al, 2015;Matskovsky et al, 2016a;Dolgikh et al, 2017).…”

Chemical-technological research and radiocarbon AMS dating of wall painting fragments from the ruins of the XIIth-XIIIth centuries AD church from archaeological excavations in the city of Smolensk, Russia

“…To determine the radiocarbon age of the wall painting fragments, radiocarbon AMC dating of 4 samples of mural fragments, was carried out in the Center for Applied Isotope Studies (CAIS) at the University of Georgia, USA. The samples of carbonates and coal from the collected fragments of the mural were analyzed by the AMS technique according to the established method, normally used for fine art objects [3]. The samples were treated with 5% HCl at 80 °C for 1 h, then washed with deionized water through the fiberglass filter, and rinsed with diluted NaOH to remove possible contamination by humic acids.…”