No / This paper presents new chronological data applied to the problem of providing a date for the
construction of a prehistoric building, with a case study from the Old Scatness Broch, Shetland. The
innovative methodology employed utilises the combination of radiocarbon and optically stimulated
luminescence (OSL) dates with the archaeological information, which includes the stratigraphic relationships
of sampled deposits, context information, and evidence relating to the formation of the deposit.
This paper discusses the scientific validity of the dates produced, and the advantages that the methodology
employed at this site offers for archaeological interpretation. The combined dating evidence
suggests that the broch at Old Scatness is earlier than the conventionally accepted dates for broch
construction. More broadly it shows the value of integration of the specialists at the planning stages of
the excavation. The application of a Bayesian statistical model to the sequences of dates allowed
investigation of the robustness of the dates within the stratigraphic sequences, as well as increasing the
resolution of the resulting chronology. In addition, the value of utilising multiple dating techniques on
the same deposit was demonstrated, as this allowed different dated events to be directly compared as
well as issues relating to the formation of the sampled deposit. This in turn impacted on the chronological
significance of the resulting dating evidence, and therefore the confidence that could be placed in
the results.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/4667 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Outram, Zoe, Batt, Catherine M., Rhodes, E.J., Dockrill, Stephen |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, No full-text in the repository |
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