Historic Lime-Mortar 14C Dating of Santa María La Real (Zarautz, Northern Spain)

Extraction of Suitable Grain Size for Reliable 14C Dating

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9244286
AutoresLuis Angel Ortega, Maria Cruz Zuluaga, Ainhoa Alonso-Olazabal, Xabier Murelaga, Maite Insausti (0000-0002-3019-0242), Alex Ibáñez-Etxeberria (0000-0001-9495-5155)
Año2012
Volumen54
Número01
Páginas23-36
Fecha de publicación2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaRadiocarbon (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0033-8222 • E-ISSN: 1945-5755
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0033822200046713
OpenAlexW4255927691
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas6

This paper describes a method for effective separation of the pure binder fraction of lime mortars for reliable radiocarbon dating. The methodology allows removal of the detrital carbonate fraction and the unburnt limestone particles, obtaining particles of under 1 μm. The extracted fraction ensured that all carbonate has been generated by slaked lime carbonation. Consequently, the measured carbon corresponds to atmospheric carbon. The proposed method allows to obtain pure datable binder, simplifying considerably the performance of radiometric measurements because dating other grain-size fraction is unnecessary. In order to prove the effectiveness of binder refining, the extraction method has been applied to 5 lime mortars of different archaeological periods from the perimeter walls of Santa María la Real parish church (Zarautz, northern Spain)

Archaeology · Carbonate · Carbonation · Composite material · Geochemistry · Geography · Geomorphology · Grain size · Lime · Metallurgy · Mineralogy · Mortar · Radiocarbon dating · Building materials and conservation · Chemistry · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Materials Science · Medieval Architecture and Archaeology · Geology · Paleontology