Dating a burnt mound from Kilmartin, Argyll, Scotland

Anthony, I.M.C; Sanderson, David; Abernethy, Duncan; Housley, R. A.

doi:10.1016/s0277-3791(00)00025-1

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Field (ranging from 11 to 16% of dry weight) and saturated (25e27% of dry weight) water contents were determined from all samples in the laboratory (Table S3.3) and a working value of 19 ± 7% adopted for effective dose rate evaluation. The internal alpha effective dose rate was estimated on the basis of an alpha efficiency of 6.7% (based on Burbidge et al, in prep), and mean U and Th internal contents of 0.18 ppm and 0.55 ppm, respectively (Anthony et al, 2001). The internal alpha effective dose rate as calculated for these samples is 0.06 ± 0.03 mGy a À1 .…”

Section: Dosimetry Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feldspar SARA IRSL dating of very low dose rate aeolian sediments from Sandwick South, Unst, Shetland

Kinnaird

Sanderson

Bigelow

2015

Quaternary Geochronology

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a b s t r a c tYoung sediments, with low sensitivity and low dose rates, are challenging for luminescence dating. Here, we present work on the site of Sandwick South, a Norse settlement, in which these challenges were present. Field gamma dose rates below 0.1 mGy a À1 , and total dose rates of 0.4e0.5 mGy a À1 , combined with expected ages of less than 1 ka, resulted in a requirement for quantitative determination of equivalent doses of 0.2e0.4 Gy. The bedrock geology of the area are metagabbros, which explain both the exceptionally low dose rates and the lack of autochthonous quartz. Luminescence profiling during fieldwork revealed stratigraphically progressive OSL and IRSL signals, indicating phases in the sediments with dating potential. While laboratory characterisation recovered some quartz, its low yields and luminescence sensitivity precluded application of quartz methods. Electron microscopy confirmed the presence of feldspars, which were separated and used for IRSL Single Aliquot Regeneration Additive (SARA) analysis. Counting times for both high resolution gamma spectrometry (HRGS) and thick source beta counting (TSBC) measurements were extended by 1 order of magnitude, resulting in overall uncertainties of <6% for these low dose rates. Dose estimates were obtained using an adapted SARA protocol, incorporating long overnight preheats before first measurement, with the aim of mitigating shortterm fading effects. Using these procedures, archaeologically meaningful dates were obtained from this difficult material, which are internally consistent, coherent with stratigraphy, and concordant with the radiocarbon constraints of the associated archaeological settlement. The dates demonstrate sand accumulation in the early to mid-13th century AD and also in the 18th century AD, which are contemporary with disruptive sand movements registered in other coastal regions of the Northeast Atlantic and North Sea regions. The approaches adopted here have provided solutions to the challenging conditions of this young, insensitive material and can therefore be considered to extend the range and applicability of luminescence dating methods.

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Section: Dosimetry Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feldspar SARA IRSL dating of very low dose rate aeolian sediments from Sandwick South, Unst, Shetland

Kinnaird

Sanderson

Bigelow

2015

Quaternary Geochronology

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“…This leads to much lower residual ages, which in turn means that in most cases younger samples can be dated using optical dating than can be using TL dating. It is therefore no surprise that optical dating is now used almost exclusively to date sediments where sunlight exposure has occurred, whereas TL dating is still used extensively to date heated sedimentsee Huxtable and Aitken (1977), Bell (1991), Downey and Frankel (1992), Anthony et al (2001) and the review by Roberts (1997), for examples of the application of TL dating to heated sediment. However, optical dating can be used to date heated minerals as well.…”

Section: Luminescence Datingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical dating studies of mud-dominated alluvium and buried hearth-like features from Red River Valley, southern Manitoba, Canada

Lian

Brooks

2004

The Holocene

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Optical dating studies of samples of late-Holocene mud-dominated alluvium, and heated alluvium in features interpreted to be hearths, collected from the banks of the Red River, southern Manitoba, Canada, were undertaken to assess the viability of these deposits as chronometers for floodplain evolution. Optical dating was done by utilizing the violet luminescence emitted during infrared excitation of the potassium feldspar in the fine-silt polymineral fraction. The alluvial samples, dated by radiocarbon to be about 1 ka old, yielded maximum limiting optical ages between about 1 and 5 ka, indicating that optical dating of such samples may provide useful chronological information in cases where material suitable for radiocarbon dating is lacking, or in cases where a radiocarbon chronology needs support. Furthermore, the surprisingly low residual optical ages from sediments of this type indicate that there is a high proability that sediments representing similar mud-dominated alluvial environments in the Pleistocene record will yield ages with adequate precision and accuracy. Bulk sediment extracted from the centre of a buried hearth yielded an optical age (1.4 ± 0.2 ka) that was broadly consistent with its associated calibrated radiocarbon age (0.23-1.05 ka), but good agreement (0.79 ± 0.09 ka) was achieved when small fragments of hard-baked mud (ñ0.5 g) extracted from within the feature were optically dated separately; hard-baked fragments from two other hearths yielded similar results. Optical dating of sediments from hearths formed in mud-dominated alluvial sediments thus represents a viable method for obtaining a useful chronology in circumstances where organic material suitable for radiocarbon dating is absent.

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“…Burnt mounds or 'fulacht fiadh' are a common feature in the Irish and British archaeological record (Brindley et al 1989;Buckley 1990;Feehan 1991), dating from the Neolithic to the medieval period (Anthony et al 2001;Ó Néill 2009), but their function has been long debated (see Hawkes 2013) and as such they remain an archaeological enigma. Until, recently, few palaeoenvironmental studies have focussed specifically on understanding the function and wider environmental context of burnt mounds (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation Changes and Woodland Management Associated with a Prehistoric to Medieval Burnt Mound Complex at Ballygawley, Northern Ireland

Mighall

Timpany²,

Wheeler

et al. 2017

Environmental Archaeology

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This paper examines the impact on woodlands associated with burnt mound use 6 from floodplain sediments and peats, using a combination of pollen, non-pollen 7 palynomorphs, micro-and micro-charcoal and worked wood for the first time. We 8 present this data from a multi-period burnt mound complex, dating from the Late 9 Neolithic to the Medieval period, at Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to 10 reconstruct vegetation changes from the Neolithic onwards to establish the 11 significance of these changes, in particular on woodlands, whilst the burnt mounds 12 were in use. The findings from the macroscopic charcoal suggests the most abundant 13 trees were commonly, but not exclusively, exploited. Local woodland was seemingly 14 unaffected by use of burnt mounds during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age based on pollen evidence. A sustained increase in microscopic charcoal coincides with a permanent decrease in alder-carr woodland during a period of near continuous burnt mound use between 1725 and 530 BC and a second phase of high microscopic charcoal values, c. AD 880, corresponds to the end of the penultimate phase of burnt mound use. Evidence from the worked wood indicates that some form of woodland management may have used for hazel from the Neolithic onwards.

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Dating a burnt mound from Kilmartin, Argyll, Scotland

Cited by 11 publications

References 6 publications

Feldspar SARA IRSL dating of very low dose rate aeolian sediments from Sandwick South, Unst, Shetland

Feldspar SARA IRSL dating of very low dose rate aeolian sediments from Sandwick South, Unst, Shetland

Optical dating studies of mud-dominated alluvium and buried hearth-like features from Red River Valley, southern Manitoba, Canada

Vegetation Changes and Woodland Management Associated with a Prehistoric to Medieval Burnt Mound Complex at Ballygawley, Northern Ireland

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