Hans-Arno Synal
Biographic Data
| ID | 5597053 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Hans-Arno Synal |
| GIVEN NAMES | Hans-Arno |
| FAMILY NAME | Synal |
| SIGNATURE | SYNAL H |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 57 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Advances and limitations of 14C dating in the field of heritage sciences
In heritage sciences, the ability to obtain information about the origin and dating of cultural heritage objects is fundamental for placing an object into its historical context. Radiocarbon (14C) dating can help to identify the period during which a work of art was created by dating its constitutive materials. Such information can, however, only be obtained by removing a sample from the object, which is critical since art is irreplaceable and de…
Quality Dating
Advances in accelerator mass spectrometry have resulted in an unprecedented amount of new high-precision radiocarbon ( 14 C) -dates, some of which will redefine the international 14 C calibration curves (IntCal and SHCal). Often these datasets are unaccompanied by detailed quality insurances in place at the laboratory, questioning whether the 14 C structure is real, a result of a laboratory variation or measurement-scatter. A handful of intercomp…
Radiocarbon Dating and the Protection of Cultural Heritage
The modern antiquities market uses radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating to screen for forged objects. Although this fact shows the potential and power of the method, the circumstances where it is applied can be questionable and call for our attention. Here we present an outline of a call to radiocarbon laboratories for due diligence and best practice approaches to the analysis of antique objects requested by non-research clients
Selective Dating of Paint Components
Lead white is a man-made white pigment commonly used in works of art. In this study, the possibility of radiocarbon dating lead white pigments alone and in oil paints was explored using well-dated lead white pigments and paints. Resulting 14 C ages on lead white pigments produced following the traditional stack process, where carbonate groups results from the incorporation of CO 2 originating from fermentation, matched the production years, while…
Combined 14 C Analysis of Canvas and Organic Binder for Dating a Painting
The use of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for age determinations of paintings is growing due to decreasing sample size requirements. However, as only the support material is usually dated, the validity of the results may be questioned. This work describes a novel sampling and preparation technique for dating the natural organic binder using radiocarbon ( 14 C) AMS. In the particular case of oil paintings, the natural oil used has a high prob…
The “Enhancement” of Cultural Heritage by AMS Dating
The looting of archaeological and ethnographic objects from emerging countries and areas of conflict has prospered due to the high prices that these objects can achieve on the art market. This commercial value now almost necessarily requires proof of authenticity by the object’s age. To do so, absolute dating has been conducted since the end of the 1970s on terra cotta art objects using the thermoluminescence method, a practice that has since bee…
Online 13 C and 14 C Gas Measurements by EA-IRMS–AMS at ETH Zürich
Studies using carbon isotopes to understand the global carbon cycle are critical to identify and quantify sources, sinks, and processes and how humans may impact them. 13 C and 14 C are routinely measured individually; however, there is a need to develop instrumentation that can perform concurrent online analyses that can generate rich data sets conveniently and efficiently. To satisfy these requirements, we coupled an elemental analyzer to a sta…
C Contamination Testing in Natural Abundance Laboratories
Substances enriched with radiocarbon can easily contaminate samples and laboratories used for natural abundance measurements. We have developed a new method using wet chemical oxidation for swabbing laboratories and equipment to test for 14 C contamination. Here, we report the findings of 18 months’ work and more than 800 tests covering studies at multiple locations. Evidence of past and current use of enriched 14 C was found at all but one locat…
C Analysis and Sample Preparation at the New Bern Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (Lara)
The University of Bern has set up the new Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA) equipped with an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) MICADAS (MIni CArbon Dating System) to continue its long history of 14 C analysis based on conventional counting. The new laboratory is designated to provide routine 14 C dating for archaeology, climate research, and other disciplines at the University of Bern and to develop new analytical syste…
Mams – A new AMS facility at the Curt-Engelhorn-Centre for Achaeometry, Mannheim, Germany
A Simple Way to Upgrade a Compact Radiocarbon AMS Facility for 10 Be
A simple way to upgrade the Peking University 500kV NEC radiocarbon facility (CAMS) for 10 Be measurements is presented. In a first phase, a silicon nitride foil as passive boron degrader was mounted in front of the electrostatic deflector near the focal plane of 10 Be. The Si detector at the end of the beam line was replaced with a high-resolution ΔE-E res gas ionization chamber. In addition, a Faraday cup for the measurement of 9 Be 1+ was inst…
Micadas
C Analysis and Sample Preparation at the New Bern Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (Lara)
The University of Bern has set up the new Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA) equipped with an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) MICADAS (MIni CArbon Dating System) to continue its long history of 14 C analysis based on conventional counting. The new laboratory is designated to provide routine 14 C dating for archaeology, climate research, and other disciplines at the University of Bern and to develop new analytical syste…
Quality Dating
Advances in accelerator mass spectrometry have resulted in an unprecedented amount of new high-precision radiocarbon ( 14 C) -dates, some of which will redefine the international 14 C calibration curves (IntCal and SHCal). Often these datasets are unaccompanied by detailed quality insurances in place at the laboratory, questioning whether the 14 C structure is real, a result of a laboratory variation or measurement-scatter. A handful of intercomp…
Selective Dating of Paint Components
Lead white is a man-made white pigment commonly used in works of art. In this study, the possibility of radiocarbon dating lead white pigments alone and in oil paints was explored using well-dated lead white pigments and paints. Resulting 14 C ages on lead white pigments produced following the traditional stack process, where carbonate groups results from the incorporation of CO 2 originating from fermentation, matched the production years, while…
Combined 14 C Analysis of Canvas and Organic Binder for Dating a Painting
The use of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for age determinations of paintings is growing due to decreasing sample size requirements. However, as only the support material is usually dated, the validity of the results may be questioned. This work describes a novel sampling and preparation technique for dating the natural organic binder using radiocarbon ( 14 C) AMS. In the particular case of oil paintings, the natural oil used has a high prob…
Radiocarbon Dating and the Protection of Cultural Heritage
The modern antiquities market uses radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating to screen for forged objects. Although this fact shows the potential and power of the method, the circumstances where it is applied can be questionable and call for our attention. Here we present an outline of a call to radiocarbon laboratories for due diligence and best practice approaches to the analysis of antique objects requested by non-research clients
Online 13 C and 14 C Gas Measurements by EA-IRMS–AMS at ETH Zürich
Studies using carbon isotopes to understand the global carbon cycle are critical to identify and quantify sources, sinks, and processes and how humans may impact them. 13 C and 14 C are routinely measured individually; however, there is a need to develop instrumentation that can perform concurrent online analyses that can generate rich data sets conveniently and efficiently. To satisfy these requirements, we coupled an elemental analyzer to a sta…
The “Enhancement” of Cultural Heritage by AMS Dating
The looting of archaeological and ethnographic objects from emerging countries and areas of conflict has prospered due to the high prices that these objects can achieve on the art market. This commercial value now almost necessarily requires proof of authenticity by the object’s age. To do so, absolute dating has been conducted since the end of the 1970s on terra cotta art objects using the thermoluminescence method, a practice that has since bee…
C Contamination Testing in Natural Abundance Laboratories
Substances enriched with radiocarbon can easily contaminate samples and laboratories used for natural abundance measurements. We have developed a new method using wet chemical oxidation for swabbing laboratories and equipment to test for 14 C contamination. Here, we report the findings of 18 months’ work and more than 800 tests covering studies at multiple locations. Evidence of past and current use of enriched 14 C was found at all but one locat…
Micadas
Mams – A new AMS facility at the Curt-Engelhorn-Centre for Achaeometry, Mannheim, Germany
A Simple Way to Upgrade a Compact Radiocarbon AMS Facility for 10 Be
A simple way to upgrade the Peking University 500kV NEC radiocarbon facility (CAMS) for 10 Be measurements is presented. In a first phase, a silicon nitride foil as passive boron degrader was mounted in front of the electrostatic deflector near the focal plane of 10 Be. The Si detector at the end of the beam line was replaced with a high-resolution ΔE-E res gas ionization chamber. In addition, a Faraday cup for the measurement of 9 Be 1+ was inst…
C Analysis and Sample Preparation at the New Bern Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (Lara)
The University of Bern has set up the new Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA) equipped with an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) MICADAS (MIni CArbon Dating System) to continue its long history of 14 C analysis based on conventional counting. The new laboratory is designated to provide routine 14 C dating for archaeology, climate research, and other disciplines at the University of Bern and to develop new analytical syste…
C Contamination Testing in Natural Abundance Laboratories
Substances enriched with radiocarbon can easily contaminate samples and laboratories used for natural abundance measurements. We have developed a new method using wet chemical oxidation for swabbing laboratories and equipment to test for 14 C contamination. Here, we report the findings of 18 months’ work and more than 800 tests covering studies at multiple locations. Evidence of past and current use of enriched 14 C was found at all but one locat…
The “Enhancement” of Cultural Heritage by AMS Dating
The looting of archaeological and ethnographic objects from emerging countries and areas of conflict has prospered due to the high prices that these objects can achieve on the art market. This commercial value now almost necessarily requires proof of authenticity by the object’s age. To do so, absolute dating has been conducted since the end of the 1970s on terra cotta art objects using the thermoluminescence method, a practice that has since bee…
Online 13 C and 14 C Gas Measurements by EA-IRMS–AMS at ETH Zürich
Studies using carbon isotopes to understand the global carbon cycle are critical to identify and quantify sources, sinks, and processes and how humans may impact them. 13 C and 14 C are routinely measured individually; however, there is a need to develop instrumentation that can perform concurrent online analyses that can generate rich data sets conveniently and efficiently. To satisfy these requirements, we coupled an elemental analyzer to a sta…
Combined 14 C Analysis of Canvas and Organic Binder for Dating a Painting
The use of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for age determinations of paintings is growing due to decreasing sample size requirements. However, as only the support material is usually dated, the validity of the results may be questioned. This work describes a novel sampling and preparation technique for dating the natural organic binder using radiocarbon ( 14 C) AMS. In the particular case of oil paintings, the natural oil used has a high prob…
Radiocarbon Dating and the Protection of Cultural Heritage
The modern antiquities market uses radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating to screen for forged objects. Although this fact shows the potential and power of the method, the circumstances where it is applied can be questionable and call for our attention. Here we present an outline of a call to radiocarbon laboratories for due diligence and best practice approaches to the analysis of antique objects requested by non-research clients
Selective Dating of Paint Components
Lead white is a man-made white pigment commonly used in works of art. In this study, the possibility of radiocarbon dating lead white pigments alone and in oil paints was explored using well-dated lead white pigments and paints. Resulting 14 C ages on lead white pigments produced following the traditional stack process, where carbonate groups results from the incorporation of CO 2 originating from fermentation, matched the production years, while…
Quality Dating
Advances in accelerator mass spectrometry have resulted in an unprecedented amount of new high-precision radiocarbon ( 14 C) -dates, some of which will redefine the international 14 C calibration curves (IntCal and SHCal). Often these datasets are unaccompanied by detailed quality insurances in place at the laboratory, questioning whether the 14 C structure is real, a result of a laboratory variation or measurement-scatter. A handful of intercomp…
Advances and limitations of 14C dating in the field of heritage sciences
In heritage sciences, the ability to obtain information about the origin and dating of cultural heritage objects is fundamental for placing an object into its historical context. Radiocarbon (14C) dating can help to identify the period during which a work of art was created by dating its constitutive materials. Such information can, however, only be obtained by removing a sample from the object, which is critical since art is irreplaceable and de…
Archaeology (8 works) · Radiocarbon dating (8 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (7 works) · History (6 works) · Accelerator mass spectrometry (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Geology (5 works) · Chemistry (4 works) · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis (4 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (4 works)