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Radiocarbon Dating of Iron: A Northern Contribution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

M Oinonen ,
G Haggren ,
A Kaskela ,
M Lavento ,
V Palonen  and
P Tikkanen
M Oinonen*
Affiliation:
Dating Laboratory, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Finland
G Haggren
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Helsinki, Finland
A Kaskela
Affiliation:
Dating Laboratory, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Finland
M Lavento
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Helsinki, Finland
V Palonen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland
P Tikkanen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland
*
Corresponding author. Email: markku.j.oinonen@helsinki.fi
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Abstract

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The iron dating project Aikarauta has been launched in Finland. This paper presents the results of the preliminary investigations. The ability for radiocarbon measurement by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) of iron in Finland has been demonstrated by using coal-produced iron as reference material. An elemental analyzer has been harnessed to measure the carbon content of small iron samples. In addition, we have hypothesized that a fingerprint of the limestone usage in the smelting process is the high Ca content of iron and slag. This has been examined by performing an iron smelting experiment with limestone as flux, by making elemental analyses of ingredients and the resulting slag and iron, and by a 14C analysis of the produced iron. It is possible that limestone dilutes the 14C contents of the produced iron, making its age determination challenging.

Type
How to Improve Chronologies of Archaeological Sites
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 51 , Issue 2 , 2009 , pp. 873 - 881
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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