Comparison of sample preparation procedures for mortar radiocarbon dating: Case study of Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain)

Graciela Ponce-Antón; Alf Lindroos; Åsa Ringbom; Luis Angel Ortega; Maria Cruz Zuluaga; Irka Hajdas; Jesper Olsen; Juantxo Agirre Mauleon

doi:10.1016/j.quageo.2020.101110

Comparison of sample preparation procedures for mortar radiocarbon dating: Case study of Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain)

Graciela Ponce-Antón^*, Alf Lindroos, Åsa Ringbom, Luis Angel Ortega, Maria Cruz Zuluaga, Irka Hajdas, Jesper Olsen, Juantxo Agirre Mauleon

^*Corresponding author for this work

Culture, History and Philosophy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

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Abstract

A comparison of two different mechanical separation procedures, a settling process and sieving process, was performed in the samples preparation for radiocarbon dating of archaeological lime mortars from the Tower Keep at Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain). The different fractions obtained by the two different mechanical separation procedures were converted to carbon dioxide by sequential dissolution in order to compare the yielded ¹⁴C ages. Fifteen AMS ¹⁴C measurements were performed from the lime mortars, as well as for a tooth and a charcoal fragment embedded in the mortar. Samples obtained by the settling process (grain-size window of 0.5–2 μm) led to more accurate radiocarbon results than samples obtained by sieving (grain-size window of 46–75 μm). The results point to Irulegi Castle existing during the 10th century as well as to the renovation of the castle defences and different repairs in the Tower Keep during the 13th and 14th centuries. Mineralogical characterization of samples was essential when discussing the radiocarbon dating results. For this end, petrographic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyses and cathodoluminescence analyses were performed.

Original language	English
Article number	101110
Journal	Quaternary Geochronology
Volume	60
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2020.101110
Publication status	Published - Oct 2020
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

This work was supported financially by GIC18/133 Research Group of the University of the Basque Country ( UPV/EHU ) and the International Mortar Dating Project supported by The Academy of Finland , The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters , The Foundation for Åbo Akademi University Research Institute and The Åland Cultural Foundation. G.P.-A. also acknowledges the PhD research grant of the Basque Government [ 2015-1-02-35 ]. The authors would like to thank Peter Smith for reviewing the use of English in the manuscript.

Keywords

Lime mortar
Mineralogy
Particle-size differentiation
Radiocarbon dating
Sample preparation

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Cite this

@article{fc17bcad613947758c8a3bb53e4dd73b,

title = "Comparison of sample preparation procedures for mortar radiocarbon dating: Case study of Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain)",

abstract = "A comparison of two different mechanical separation procedures, a settling process and sieving process, was performed in the samples preparation for radiocarbon dating of archaeological lime mortars from the Tower Keep at Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain). The different fractions obtained by the two different mechanical separation procedures were converted to carbon dioxide by sequential dissolution in order to compare the yielded 14C ages. Fifteen AMS 14C measurements were performed from the lime mortars, as well as for a tooth and a charcoal fragment embedded in the mortar. Samples obtained by the settling process (grain-size window of 0.5–2 μm) led to more accurate radiocarbon results than samples obtained by sieving (grain-size window of 46–75 μm). The results point to Irulegi Castle existing during the 10th century as well as to the renovation of the castle defences and different repairs in the Tower Keep during the 13th and 14th centuries. Mineralogical characterization of samples was essential when discussing the radiocarbon dating results. For this end, petrographic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyses and cathodoluminescence analyses were performed.",

keywords = "Lime mortar, Mineralogy, Particle-size differentiation, Radiocarbon dating, Sample preparation",

author = "Graciela Ponce-Ant{\'o}n and Alf Lindroos and {\AA}sa Ringbom and Ortega, \{Luis Angel\} and Zuluaga, \{Maria Cruz\} and Irka Hajdas and Jesper Olsen and \{Agirre Mauleon\}, Juantxo",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported financially by GIC18/133 Research Group of the University of the Basque Country ( UPV/EHU ) and the International Mortar Dating Project supported by The Academy of Finland , The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters , The Foundation for {\AA}bo Akademi University Research Institute and The {\AA}land Cultural Foundation. G.P.-A. also acknowledges the PhD research grant of the Basque Government [ 2015-1-02-35 ]. The authors would like to thank Peter Smith for reviewing the use of English in the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier B.V. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2020",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1016/j.quageo.2020.101110",

language = "English",

volume = "60",

journal = "Quaternary Geochronology",

issn = "1871-1014",

publisher = "Elsevier",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Comparison of sample preparation procedures for mortar radiocarbon dating

T2 - Case study of Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain)

AU - Ponce-Antón, Graciela

AU - Lindroos, Alf

AU - Ringbom, Åsa

AU - Ortega, Luis Angel

AU - Zuluaga, Maria Cruz

AU - Hajdas, Irka

AU - Olsen, Jesper

AU - Agirre Mauleon, Juantxo

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported financially by GIC18/133 Research Group of the University of the Basque Country ( UPV/EHU ) and the International Mortar Dating Project supported by The Academy of Finland , The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters , The Foundation for Åbo Akademi University Research Institute and The Åland Cultural Foundation. G.P.-A. also acknowledges the PhD research grant of the Basque Government [ 2015-1-02-35 ]. The authors would like to thank Peter Smith for reviewing the use of English in the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier B.V. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2020/10

Y1 - 2020/10

N2 - A comparison of two different mechanical separation procedures, a settling process and sieving process, was performed in the samples preparation for radiocarbon dating of archaeological lime mortars from the Tower Keep at Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain). The different fractions obtained by the two different mechanical separation procedures were converted to carbon dioxide by sequential dissolution in order to compare the yielded 14C ages. Fifteen AMS 14C measurements were performed from the lime mortars, as well as for a tooth and a charcoal fragment embedded in the mortar. Samples obtained by the settling process (grain-size window of 0.5–2 μm) led to more accurate radiocarbon results than samples obtained by sieving (grain-size window of 46–75 μm). The results point to Irulegi Castle existing during the 10th century as well as to the renovation of the castle defences and different repairs in the Tower Keep during the 13th and 14th centuries. Mineralogical characterization of samples was essential when discussing the radiocarbon dating results. For this end, petrographic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyses and cathodoluminescence analyses were performed.

AB - A comparison of two different mechanical separation procedures, a settling process and sieving process, was performed in the samples preparation for radiocarbon dating of archaeological lime mortars from the Tower Keep at Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain). The different fractions obtained by the two different mechanical separation procedures were converted to carbon dioxide by sequential dissolution in order to compare the yielded 14C ages. Fifteen AMS 14C measurements were performed from the lime mortars, as well as for a tooth and a charcoal fragment embedded in the mortar. Samples obtained by the settling process (grain-size window of 0.5–2 μm) led to more accurate radiocarbon results than samples obtained by sieving (grain-size window of 46–75 μm). The results point to Irulegi Castle existing during the 10th century as well as to the renovation of the castle defences and different repairs in the Tower Keep during the 13th and 14th centuries. Mineralogical characterization of samples was essential when discussing the radiocarbon dating results. For this end, petrographic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyses and cathodoluminescence analyses were performed.

KW - Lime mortar

KW - Mineralogy

KW - Particle-size differentiation

KW - Radiocarbon dating

KW - Sample preparation

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85088270988

U2 - 10.1016/j.quageo.2020.101110

DO - 10.1016/j.quageo.2020.101110

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85088270988

SN - 1871-1014

VL - 60

JO - Quaternary Geochronology

JF - Quaternary Geochronology

M1 - 101110

ER -

Comparison of sample preparation procedures for mortar radiocarbon dating: Case study of Irulegi Castle (Navarre, Spain)

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