A Review of the Application of Radiocarbon Dating of Archaeological Textiles from Greece at Different States of Preservation

Abstract

Abstract Archaeological textiles are suitable material for radiocarbon dating since they are mainly made of organic matter, like plant and/or animal fibres. Radiocarbon dating provides objective age estimates of archaeological finds, based on measurements of the carbon-14 isotope present in the organic matter against an internationally used reference standard. However, the quantity and quality of carbon present in the organic matter of archaeological textiles, can be affected either by the conditions under which the find was preserved (such as, carbonisation, the chemical change of organic matter to inert carbon, and mineralisation, the gradual replacement of organic matter by metal degradation products), or by the application of certain interventive methods of conservation (such as, consolidation and the application of organic adhesives, that add foreign organic matter/carbon to the textile). Six case studies of archaeological textiles that were dated using the carbon-14 method are presented here. Two carbonised textile finds, two mineralised (one treated with adhesives in the past), and two textile finds coming from inhumation burials (similarly one previously treated with adhesives). The paper includes a discussion and review of the dating method, focusing on sample selection, sample preparation, and an evaluation of the efficiency of the technique on textile finds at various states of preservation. In essence, the efficiency of the technique is highly dependable on the amount of carbon present in the finds, which does not seem to be affected by carbonisation, but is greatly negatively affected by mineralisation and the incorporation of foreign organic matter, like synthetic consolidants.