A series of samples for radiocarbon dating were collected in 2005 from the Biblioteca Magliabechiana archaeological excavation area in the center of Florence, Italy, in a project directed by the Dipartimento di Archeologia e Storia delle Arti of the University of Siena, in cooperation with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e per il Paesaggio per le province di Firenze e Prato. This area is located near the Uffizi Galleries, close to the Roman town, the Arno River and one of its former tributaries. The area is peculiar for the Florentine urban context because it was free from urban development until the 12th century AD. The exposed stratigraphy showed the presence of several layers composed of natural sediments, partly the result of historical floods. Here, we report a series of 14C measurements on charcoal and seed samples collected on this excavation. 14C dating has been performed in the LABEC laboratory in Florence, on the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) beam line of the AMS-IBA 3MV Tandetron accelerator. We also had the opportunity to compare the 14C dates obtained with several series of samples previously collected in nearby archaeological areas. Results were consistent with the data obtained previously and, moreover, offer interesting new aspects to the interpretation of the archaeological findings.

The famous single-arch stone bridge over the Neretva River in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was built in 1557–1566 by the order of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. During the reconstruction of the Old Bridge, which was destroyed during the war in 1993, remnants of 2 older wooden bridges were found at the same location. Six wood and 2 charcoal samples were dated using the radiocarbon method. Wood samples with visible tree rings were taken for dendrochronological dating. The results point to several periods of construction and repairs to the bridge and the towers at each end, spanning from the 12th to 18th century. Calibrated 14C and dendrochronological ages were in good agreement.

Carbonate binders from mortars and plasters as well as charcoal fragments sampled at the ancient settlement of Hippos (Sussita) have been subjected to radiocarbon dating by gas proportional counting (GPC) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Hippos is situated on the east coast of the Sea of Galilee (32°46′N, 35°39′E) at the top of a hill in the Golan Heights area, Israel. According to historical-archaeological data, the town had functioned since the 3rd century BC until AD 749, when it eventually crumbled into ruins after an earthquake. The appropriate sample selection and preparation based on the results of petrographic observations permitted us to distinguish different phases involved in the expansion of the settlement. More than 200 samples were taken from the settlement and subjected to petrographic and chemical analyses. Of the 200 total samples, about 20 were selected for dating. Here, we present the first 10 results of 14C dating carried out for Hippos. The oldest sample dated thus far gave an age corresponding with the 2nd century BC to 1st century AD—probably indicating an old Roman temple, on the base of which the North-West church (NWC) was later erected. The next dates extend up to the 8th century AD, the age related to the last phase of settlement inhabitation. Research is continuing as new excavations take place.

The radiocarbon results (and Bayesian modeling) of 15 samples of carbonized food residues removed from the external surface of rim sherds of cooking pots indicate that shellyware pottery first appeared in Perth, Scotland, around cal AD 910–1020 (95% probability) and that it had disappeared by cal AD 1020–1140 (95% probability). Previously, it had been suggested that this pottery could not date to before AD 1150. These data, together with 14C analyses carried out on leather artifacts and a sample of wattle from a ditch lining, also demonstrate that there was occupation in Perth about 100 yr or more prior to the granting of royal burgh status to Perth in the 1120s.

This paper focuses on the chronological study of 2 Scythian period monuments that are the key to the chronology of the entire Eurasian Scythian culture. These are the unique monuments of Arzhan-1 and Arzhan-2 in Central Asia (Tuva Republic). The dating of both these monuments began immediately after their discovery, but discussion about their chronological position is still current. Both monuments contained considerable wooden material from their construction suitable for dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. The first results for the Arzhan-1 barrow were obtained by wiggle-matching in 2004–2005, while the Arzhan-2 barrow was first dated in 2003. It is now possible to compare the chronological position of these barrows using the same methods. As postulated earlier, Arzhan-1 is the oldest Scythian period monument and is dated to the boundary of the 8–9th centuries BC. The position of the Arzhan-2 monument stretches to the middle of the 7th century BC. δ13C values for annual tree rings in logs from both barrows were also determined to gain a better understanding of the climatic conditions at the time of barrow construction.

Timber procurement and the use of woodlands are key issues in understanding the open landscapes of the Norse and Medieval periods in the North Atlantic islands. This paper outlines evidence for the timing and mechanisms of woodland use and deforestation in an area of southern Iceland, which is tracked through the mapping and analysis of charcoal production pits. Precise dating of the use of these charcoal production pits within a Bayesian framework is demonstrated through the combination of tephrochronology, sediment accumulation rates, and multiple radiocarbon dates on the archaeological charcoal. Two phases of charcoal production and woodland exploitation have been demonstrated, the first within the first 2 centuries of settlement (cal AD 870–1050) and the second phase over 100 yr later (cal AD 1185–1295). The implications for using charcoal as a medium for 14C dating in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic are then explored. Archaeobotanical analysis of the charcoal sampled from the pits has indicated that birch roundwood was the dominant wood used, that the roundwood was stripped from larger shrubs/trees in late spring/early summer, and that certain sizes and ages of roundwood were harvested. Finally, the timing of the charcoal production is placed into the wider debate on deforestation across Iceland during the Norse and early Medieval periods.

Crannogs are ancient artificial islands found in Scotland and Ireland, which typically had some sort of dwelling place constructed on them that served variously as farmers' homesteads, status symbols, refuges in times of trouble, hunting and fishing stations, etc. Substantial research has been carried out for similar sites in mainland Europe, which has demonstrated that they were lakeside settlements, mostly dating to the Neolithic period and not built over open water. In contrast, the Scottish and Irish sites were built in open water, clearly separate from the shore. In Perthshire, some prehistoric crannogs were originally timber-built roundhouses supported on piles or stilts driven into the loch bed. Today, these crannogs appear as tree-covered islands or remain hidden as submerged stony mounds. Until recently, there were few radiocarbon dates for these structures and so the sites appeared as a homogeneous group. Not only did this make it impossible to examine them in sub-groupings but it also inhibited research, as they did not fit into known periods or architecturally distinct sub-groups, except that they were surrounded by water. Recent work in Loch Tay has resulted in 14C dating of the timber piles from 13 of the 18 crannogs in the loch, allowing them to be fitted into different classes. A major group was constructed in the Early Iron Age around 400–800 BC, with smaller groups constructed around 200–300 BC and 0 BC/AD. There is also evidence of repair/reoccupation of some of these crannogs in the 6th–9th centuries AD. A number of the sites were also known to be inhabited into the recent past, with one, Priory Island, occupied until the 17th century. The dates of construction also raise important issues relating to the loch-level changes that have taken place. The 14C results will be discussed in relation to the periods of origin and habitation of the crannogs.

The Tavan Tolgoi (Five Holy Hills) site, located in Ongon sum, Sukhbaatar aimag, in southeastern Mongolia, consists of about 20 burials. During the preliminary 2004 excavations conducted by the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia, 7 graves were unearthed. In grave 1 (2004), the skeleton of a woman 40 yr old, wearing golden rings with the inscription of a Siberian falcon, was found together with other ornamental artifacts. In grave 2 (2004), a man with a gold-gilded saddle and a horse were buried. Adornments strongly indicate that these burials date to the Great Mongol Empire period and may relate to the Golden Horde lineage of Genghis Khan. Initial accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of wood from a coffin at burial 2004–6 (Table 1) gave an age of 860 ± 60 BP, and the age of a human bone sample from burial 2004–1 was determined as 890 ± 40 BP. Subsequent excavations yielded 13 samples for 14C dating, and 7 of them have been dated thus far. The calibrated dates were in the range of AD 1130–1250, which is in agreement with Genghis Khan's life span. Artifacts strongly suggest that these burials belong to nobility or members of the royal family. Given that such burials are hard to find, the Tavan Tolgoi site is expected to yield important archaeological and historical information. In this paper, the historical importance of the artifacts recovered is discussed in light of 14C dating and the results of additional scientific analyses.

We obtained over 200 archaeological wood specimens from the southeastern part of the Altai Mountains (Russia) to establish accurate calendar dates of the timbers using both radiocarbon and tree-ring analyses. Most timbers came from small and elite tombs of the Pazyryk culture (Siberian Scythians of the Iron Age period). Timbers from Hun-Sarmatian and Turk times (1st millennium AD) were studied for the first time. Three floating tree-ring width chronologies of larch (Larix sibirica) with lengths of 486 yr to 144 yr were developed from the tree-ring data. Tree rings of the composite 486-yr chronology of the Pazyryk culture represent the regional scale of Altai tree-ring width variability between about 720–240 BC. The composite chronology dates the earliest construction of Pazyryk culture tombs to ∼320 BC (ordinary tombs) and the latest ones at 240 BC (Pazyryk noble tomb #5). The composite chronology might be used for tree-ring dating wood from Scythian tombs in the region. It will also help confirm the precision of 14C dating of the Scythian tombs around the Hallstatt plateau of 14C calibration curves. We developed a 110-yr decadal 14C sequence from the Kurayka site that dates Kok-Pash culture timbers back to cal AD 240 (Hun-Sarmatian period). 14C dates of wooden poles from 3 sites of Turk stone enclosures suggested wood cutting dates between cal AD 470 and 830. The results demonstrate that crossdating tree rings along with 14C dating of crossdated rings provide the most reliable and highest precision dates for these archaeological sites.

Sohr Damb/Nal, the type site of the Nal complex, is located in Balochistan, Pakistan. After 1 season of excavation by H Hargreaves in 1924, which made the polychrome Nal pottery widely known, no further work took place until the Joint German-Pakistani Archaeological Mission to Kalat resumed excavations in 2001. So far, 4 seasons of excavations have been undertaken, which have revealed 4 periods of occupation, dated from about 3800 to 2000 BC. The well-stratified assemblages provide new insights into cultural processes and developments, and enhance the comparative frameworks through typological series and a comprehensive set of radiocarbon dates. This information is essential for assessing cross-cultural relations and the date of urbanization. In this paper, the 14C dates from Sohr Damb/Nal are presented and their cultural context is discussed. Period III has several links to sites in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, such as Miri Qalat IIIb–c, Mehrgarh VI–VII/Nausharo I, Quetta III, Mundigak IV, and Shahr-e Sokhta II–III. Period IV represents a Kulli-Harappan occupation, which is dated to the second half of the 3rd millennium BC.

For the Bronze Age Catacomb cultures of the North-West Caspian steppe area in Russia, there is a conflict between the traditional relative archaeological chronology and the chronology based on radiocarbon dates. We show that this conflict can be explained largely by the fact that most dates have been obtained on human bone material and are subject to 14C reservoir effects. This was demonstrated by comparing paired 14C dates derived from human and terrestrial herbivore bone collagen. In addition, values of stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) and analysis of food remains from vessels and the stomach contents of buried individuals indicate that a large part of the diet of these cultures consisted of fish and mollusks, and we conclude that this is the source of the reservoir effect.

Ajdovska Jama (The Pagan's Cave) in southeast Slovenia lies within the catchment of the River Sava, a major tributary of the Danube. The site is well known for its Neolithic burials and has been excavated to a high standard on various occasions since 1884. The human remains at the site occurred as distinct clusters of mainly disarticulated bones belonging to at least 31 individuals. Hitherto, dating of the burials has been based on the associated archaeological finds, including a few low-precision radiometric radiocarbon measurements on charred plant material. In the present study, bones from 15 individuals were subsampled for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and stable isotope analyses. These comprised adults and children from 3 of the clusters. The results of the study indicate that the burials all belong to a relatively short time interval, while the stable isotope data indicate a mixed diet based on C3 plant and animal food sources. These interpretations differ somewhat from those of previous researchers. The AMS 14C and stable isotope analyses form part of a wider investigation of dietary and demographic change from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age in the Danube Basin.

Upper Paleolithic humans occupied southern Siberia by about 43,000–38,000 BP (14C yr), and afterward continued to live there despite the very cold climate. If climatic conditions limited expansion of the colonizing population in northern Siberia, the Paleolithic ecumene should have contracted during the coldest episodes within the last 40,000 yr, and fewer 14C-dated sites should be known from those periods. In fact, the human population seems to have remained stable or even expanded during cold periods. Comparison of calibrated 14C dates for Siberian occupations with Greenland ice cores fails to demonstrate a simple correlation between climatic fluctuations and the dynamics of human colonization and persistence in Siberia between about 36,000 and 12,000 BP. Cold climate does not appear to have posed any significant challenge to humans in Siberia in the Late Pleistocene, and a supposed Last Glacial Maximum “hiatus” in population dynamics seems illusory.

In Siberia, the accumulation of radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites since the 1960s makes it possible to compile a general Paleolithic 14C database, which contains about 440 entries as of late 2005. With these data, we can reveal the main chronological patterns of Paleolithic complexes, with a focus on the late Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) and Upper Paleolithic. The 14C dates for late Middle Paleolithic industries in Siberia are quite “young,” up to about 30,000–28,500 BP and perhaps ∼27,000 BP. The emergence of the Upper Paleolithic in Siberia took place relatively early compared with Eastern Europe. At about 43,000–35,000 BP, blade-dominated industries existed in the Altai Mountains and Lake Baikal region, and numerous adornments are known from several sites of that age. The late Upper Paleolithic complexes with microblade technology from the Altai Mountains are 14C dated to about 35,000–28,000 BP, and represent the earliest unequivocal evidence of microblade manufacture in northern Eurasia. The end of the Paleolithic in Siberia is related to the appearance of pottery, which indicates the beginning of the Neolithic period. In northern Transbaikal, the earliest pottery complexes are dated to about 12,000–11,000 BP and in the Russian Far East even to ∼13,000 BP, while in most of Siberia they date to approximately 8000–6000 BP. The most important features of the Siberian Paleolithic chronology are: a) the long persistence of Middle Paleolithic complexes, until about 30,000–27,000 BP; b) very early Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition, ∼43,000 BP, closely connected with the emergence of art and symbolic behavior in the earliest Upper Paleolithic at this time; c) the very early origin of microblade complexes, at least at about 35,000 BP; and d) a gradual Paleolithic–Neolithic transition, beginning in the Russian Far East at ∼13,000 BP and in Transbaikal about 12,000–11,000 BP, in most of Siberia at about 8000–6000 BP, and even later in some northern regions.

To investigate the sources and cycling of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in a lacustrine environment, isotopic measurements of 14C and 13C in DOC were carried out for Lake Kasumigaura—which is famous as a very eutrophic and shallow (mean depth 4.0 m) lake in central Japan—and its tributary rivers. Lake and river samples were collected in the spring and autumn (May and September) of 2003. The Δ14C measurements of DOC were performed using the accelerator mass spectrometer at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES-TERRA), Japan. In September, the 14C values of DOC were light (around −200%) and did not differ significantly between lake and river water samples, indicating that DOC in Lake Kasumigaura and its tributary rivers yields older 14C ages than the age expected from the lake-water residence time (average 200 days). This result suggests that terrestrial sources are important contributors to DOC in Lake Kasumigaura. Nevertheless, δ13C values indicated that during spring, DOC in the lake is mainly autochthonous. Thus, sources and cycling of DOC in Lake Kasumigaura may vary seasonally.

New records of δ13C and Δ14C values in annual rings of pine and oak from different sites around the world were obtained with a time resolution of 1 yr. The results obtained for Europe (Poland), east Asia (Japan), and South America (Peru) are presented in this paper. The δ13C and radiocarbon concentration of α-cellulose from annual tree rings of pine and of the latewood of oak were measured by both accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and liquid scintillation spectrometry (LSC). The values of 14S, which represent decreasing 14C concentrations caused by the emission of CO2 from fossil fuel use (Suess effect; Suess 1955), were calculated for each site. Low average 14S (about −0.4 to 0.8%) values for clean areas and high values (about 3.4–3.6%) for industrial and/or urbanized areas were noted. Records of the δ13C values obtained for pine and oak from Poland were used to reconstruct climate changes during the last 400 yr. The results clearly indicate the climate cooling during the periods of the Maunder minimum (1645–1715) and the Dalton minimum (1790–1820). The anti-correlation between the δ13C and Δ14C records during those 2 periods is clear if the 14C record is shifted toward older ages by 24 yr.

We present a high-resolution multiproxy record (geochemistry, macrofossil, and pollen) from a peatland in the Dajiuhu Basin in eastern central China. The chronology of the 120-cm peat profile was controlled by 6 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates on plant remains, including 2 post-bomb dates. The age model was based on linear interpolations of calibrated ages. Plant macrofossil results indicate a major transition around 3600 cal BP from Sphagnum section Subsecunda and Drepanocladus sp. to Sphagnum imbricatum dominance, followed by the disappearance of S. imbricatum at 700 cal BP. These changes suggest a general sequence of local environment changes from a wet fen, through a Sphagnum-dominated peatland, to a dry sedge-dominated marsh, which are also reflected by change in peat lithology and composition. The drying trend after 3600 cal BP is in general agreement with the speleothem isotope record from this region and other paleoclimate records from east China, indicating a weakening summer monsoon resulting from a decrease in summer insolation. The shift to a dry environment at 700 cal BP might have been caused by human activities. Appearance of Cerealia pollen at 3600–3200 cal BP suggests the first introduction of crop farming in the region, while its absence at 3200–2000 cal BP could be attributed to abandonment of farmland. The increase of Ti and Si since 1300 cal BP may be related to agricultural activity and landscape erosion. A 2-step increase in Pb concentration at 1600 and 600 cal BP suggests 2 phases of industrial pollution intensity.

Large sets of radiocarbon dates of 1019 peat, 155 speleothem, and 100 tufa samples, as well as dates of 330 fluvial samples, were investigated in order to estimate environmental variability during the last 16,000 calendar years in Poland. All 14C dating was carried out in the Gliwice Radiocarbon Laboratory, and results are stored in the RoS database. Probability density functions (PDFs) were created by summing up (on the calendar timescale) individual age probability distributions of all dates for different types of material and for different regions of Poland. We used an updated version of the Gliwice Radiocarbon Laboratory calibration program GdCALIB. The 14C dates were calibrated using the IntCal04 calibration curve (Reimer et al. 2004), and results were compared with other paleoenvironmental records. The authors conclude that analyzing PDFs of different types of sediments can be helpful in the qualitative reconstruction of the past environment. The PDF for peat samples primarily reflects paleohydrological conditions; the PDFs for speleothem and tufa samples reflect changes in temperature and humidity, while analysis of the PDF created for fluvial data is in a general agreement with the PDFs constructed for peat samples.

Time series are presented of radiocarbon and 13C contents in atmospheric carbon dioxide over eastern Europe (southern Poland), covering the periods 1983–1994 and 2000–2004. The carbon isotope composition was measured in biweekly composite samples of atmospheric CO2, collected about 20 m above the local ground level. The data for 2 observational sites are presented: i) city of Kraków (50°04′N, 19°55′E; 220 m asl; for 1983–1994 and 2000–2004); and ii) Kasprowy Wierch, Tatra Mountains (49°14′N, 19°56′E; 1989 m asl; for 2000–2004). The latter site is considered a regional reference station, relatively free of anthropogenic influences. During the period 1983–1994, observations in the Kraków area revealed a gradual decrease of 14C content with a broad minimum around 1991 and a small increase by about 10% in the subsequent years. δ13C also changes with time, showing a decreasing trend from approximately −9.6% in 1983, with a slope of −0.02%/yr. The observed trends for both isotopes coincide well with a substantial reduction of coal consumption in Poland and partial replacement of coal by natural gas, especially in urban regions. After 2000, the δ13C slightly increases, reaching a mean value of −10% in 2004, while Δ14C is below the reference level by ∼3.5%. Observations at Kasprowy Wierch (regional reference station) also reflect a diminishing input of fossil carbon into the regional atmosphere. The fossil component in atmospheric CO2, calculated with the aid of 14C data available for the 2 study periods, shows a reduction of anthropogenic input by a factor of 2, which is confirmed by annual statistics of coal consumption.

The shell carbonate of pre- and post-bomb samples of 2 species of terrestrial gastropods (Theba pisana and Cernuella virgata) sampled along the coast of Apulia, southern Italy, were dated using accelerator mass spectrometry and carbon stable isotopes were analyzed. The analyses show, for both species, significant anomalies in the radiocarbon age due to the possible presence of a 14C-depleted source of carbon in the formation of the shell aragonite. The magnitude of the age anomaly was quantified in the studied area to ∼1000 14C yr.