The Radiocarbon Dating and Authentication of Iron Artifacts

Craddock, Paul; Wayman, Michael L.; Jull, A. J. T.

doi:10.1017/s0033822200032173

Cited by 20 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…Cast iron cannot serve as a practical dating material unless it is free from contamination that may occur in smelting or remelting by the use of ores, fuels, and fluxes originating from sources having widely different ages, as described in detail by Craddock et al (2002). Little information is available on the engineering processes used in the production of the cast iron objects under consideration, and it is difficult to know how their 14 C ages relate to their real dates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Thermal and Acid Treatment for Carbon Extraction from Cast Iron and Its Application to Ams Dating of Cast Iron Objects from Ancient Korea

2010

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ABSTRACT.A method of thermal and acid treatments was developed at the Archaeo-metallurgy Laboratory of Hongik University in Korea to extract carbon from cast iron, and carbon objects thus prepared from cast iron artifacts of ancient Korea were dated at the University of Arizona's AMS Facility. The thermal treatments consist of heating a specimen to ~1000 C in a controlled environment with reduced oxygen potential, then cooling it rapidly to room temperature. The heating causes the cementite phase in white cast iron to be graphitized and the quenching suppresses pearlite formation. The specimen then consists of flakes of graphite embedded in a matrix of martensite. The next stage of the treatment is to dissolve the martensite matrix in a solution of nitric and hydrochloric acids to release the graphite as a powder. This material is then cleaned, dried, and pressed into target holders for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) analysis. The method was applied to a collection of artifacts from the Korean Three Kingdoms period (about AD 300-668) and the AMS results were compared with chronological estimates from other means.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Thermal and Acid Treatment for Carbon Extraction from Cast Iron and Its Application to Ams Dating of Cast Iron Objects from Ancient Korea

2010

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“…This consistency may not be attained if unpredictable errors, as detailed by Craddock et al (2002), have been incorporated somewhere in the processes of charcoal making, smelting and casting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

A technological transition in Mongolia evident in microstructure, chemical composition and radiocarbon age of cast iron artifacts

Park

Amartuvshin

Eregzen

2008

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…2004). However, Craddock et al . (2002) pointed out that carbon in ancient iron can derive from various sources, including geological ones such as limestone, which decomposes to carbon dioxide in the furnace, resulting in erroneously high ages.…”

Section: Analysing Archaeometallurgymentioning

confidence: 99%

COINS, ARTEFACTS AND ISOTOPES—ARCHAEOMETALLURGY ANDARCHAEOMETRY*

Rehren

Pernicka

2008

Archaeometry

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Archaeometallurgy is one of the earliest manifestations of archaeometric research, using science-based approaches to address cultural-historical questions. This review first outlines the extent of the field, defining in some detail the main branches of archaeometallurgy, and their specific methodological approaches. It then looks at some of the early publications pioneering archaeometallurgical research, to set the scene for the publication pattern of archaeometallurgy in general, and the role that Archaeometry played in publishing archaeometallurgical research. The analysis of archaeometallurgy-themed publications in Archaeometry , their change over time and their relationship to the total range of work done in the field indicates that there is a rather narrowly defined and specific type of archaeometallurgy that gets published in Archaeometry , initially with a strong focus on coin and object analysis, often combined with method developments. The more recent developments in isotope-based studies in archaeometallurgy find only a limited representation in the journal, despite the leading role that the Isotrace Laboratory played in this discipline, for some considerable length of time. More recently, this Archaeometry -specific 'flavour' of archaeometallurgy seems to weaken, with an increase of papers on iron and on primary production in general, subjects still much under-represented.(tin-lead) and iron (iron-carbon and iron-phosphorus), although there are good reasons to extend archaeometallurgy to much more recent periods (e.g., Goodway and Odell 1988;Gilmour and Northover 2003;Rehren 2006;Bourgarit and Plateau 2007). Thus, it is not primarily the age of the material studied that defines archaeometallurgy, but the application of scientific methods to address cultural-historical questions. Reliance on scientific methods is often dictated by the 'ahistorical' nature of the crafts well into the recent past, resulting in at best patchy contemporary textual documentation being available.The first use of metals some 10 000 years ago was from natural occurrences as native metals, which did not require elaborate mining and smelting. This early metallurgy is limited to specific geological areas and is typical of the earliest use of gold, silver, copper, iron and mercury. The use of these native metals initially followed earlier, rather mechanical, approaches to lithic materials. However, supply of metals increased dramatically with the inception and spread of mining and extractive metallurgy, the origin of which is not yet clear, but seems to have risen in the late sixth millennium bc ; at the same time, genuinely metallurgical production and manufacturing techniques were developed, considerably expanding the use and versatility of metals. The emergence of alloys, both natural and intentional, further widened the range and appeal of metals available. In spite of these innovations and the subsequent, almost global, spread of metallurgy, the geological limitation of metal production to areas rich in specific ores remained....

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The Radiocarbon Dating and Authentication of Iron Artifacts

Cited by 20 publications

References 17 publications

A Thermal and Acid Treatment for Carbon Extraction from Cast Iron and Its Application to Ams Dating of Cast Iron Objects from Ancient Korea

A Thermal and Acid Treatment for Carbon Extraction from Cast Iron and Its Application to Ams Dating of Cast Iron Objects from Ancient Korea

A technological transition in Mongolia evident in microstructure, chemical composition and radiocarbon age of cast iron artifacts

COINS, ARTEFACTS AND ISOTOPES—ARCHAEOMETALLURGY ANDARCHAEOMETRY*

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