Dating Grimes Graves

Abstract

ABSTRACT. More radiocarbon analyses have been produced for the Neolithic flint mines of Grimes Graves than for any other site with which the British Museum's Radiocarbon Laboratory has been involved. Despite this heavy concentration of effort, a recent review of these figures concluded that poor sample selection, combined with a lack of sufficient quality assurance procedures, severely limit the use that can be made of this database. To overcome these difficulties, a redating program has been undertaken using a carefully selected subset of the original material. In this paper I discuss the flaws in the original data set, due to both technical and sampling problems; set out ways to avoid similar problems in the future, with particular ref erence to quality assurance; and discuss the new results and their archaeological implications.

When and Why? The Chronology and Context of Flint Mining at Grime’s Graves, Norfolk, England

“…These were collected and reviewed by the late Janet Ambers, of the British Museum’s Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, who spelt out the problems of working with them, stemming from questions of the identification, suitability, and contexts of the samples, and of the accuracy and precision of the measurements (Ambers 1996, 100; 1998, 591; 2012, 158). She began to redress these deficiencies by undertaking a selective programme of dating 13 further samples, using only those of high intrinsic and contextual integrity, modern measurement techniques, and high standard of quality control, and applying Bayesian analysis to the results (Ambers 1998; 2012).…”

Radiocarbon and the Old World Archaeology: Shaping a Chronological Framework

“…In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Libby (1965) Ambers 1998:599). Further 14 C dating of the Grimes Graves is summarized by Ambers (1998). As for early historic sites and finds, the age of the Oseberg clinker-built ship (Norway), used for the burial of a Viking chief, was determined as 1190 ± 60 BP (T-37) [Radiocarbon 1:79], which corresponds to a calendar age of cal AD 730-940, and it is in accord with the historical date of ship of around AD 815-820 and dendrochronological date of the burial as AD 834 (e.g.…”