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14C Dating of the Lime Burial of Cova de Na Dent (Mallorca, Spain): Optimization of the Sample Preparation and Limitations of the Method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2016

Mark van Strydonck ,
Roald Hayen ,
Mathieu Boudin ,
Tess van den Brande ,
Magdalena Salas Burguera ,
Damià Ramis ,
Herlinde Borms  and
Guy De Mulder
Mark van Strydonck*
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Roald Hayen
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Mathieu Boudin
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tess van den Brande
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Magdalena Salas Burguera
Affiliation:
Museum of Manacor's History, Carretera Cales de Mallorca km. 1,5, 07500 Manacor, Balearic Islands, Spain
Damià Ramis
Affiliation:
Natural History Society of the Balearics, Margarida Xirgú 16, 07011 Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Herlinde Borms
Affiliation:
Antwerp Society for Roman Archaeology (AVRA), Groenenborgerlaan 35, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
Guy De Mulder
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
*
Corresponding author. Email: mark.vanstrydonck@kikirpa.be.
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Abstract

Lime burials are a characteristic phenomenon of the protohistoric funerary tradition on the Balearic Islands. At Cova de Na Dent, six samples, representing the entire stratigraphy of the lime burial, were taken for analysis. The radiocarbon dates suggested that the lowest levels of the burial were Late Bronze Age. This is in contradiction with the general belief that the lime burials are a late Iron Age phenomenon. Therefore, a new analysis strategy is put forward, focusing on the so-called 1st fraction, the first CO2 released during the acid lime reaction, which is supposed to be free of fossil carbon. The analysis demonstrates the impossibility to eliminate the fossil carbon fraction completely. This is probably due to the different geological formation of the local limestone deposits (ancient reef barriers) compared to the previous lime burials of Mallorca all coming from mountain areas. 14C analysis from a cremation layer without lime at the onset of the lime burial reveals an Iron Age origin of the Cova de Na Dent lime burial.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 57 , Issue 1 , 2015 , pp. 161 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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