Dating Ancient Burial Mounds in Denmark – Revealing Problematic Ancient Charcoal
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6095047 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Steen Henriksen (0000-0003-0728-4029, Department of Conservation and Science, Environmental Archaeology and Material Science, The National Museum of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected], corresponding author), Sandie Holst (0000-0001-6419-5255, Department of Research and Exhibitions, Ancient Cultures of Denmark and the Mediterranean, The National Museum of Denmark, København, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected]), Henrik Breuning-Madsen (University of Copenhagen), Henrik Breuning‐madsen |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 170-178 |
| Publication date | 2019-07-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Norwegian Archaeological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0029-3652 • E-ISSN: 1502-7678 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00293652.2019.1670250 |
| OpenAlex | W2977807776 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 5 |
The National Museum of Denmark and the Department of Geography at the University of Copenhagen have collaborated on a project investigating burial mounds near early Medieval churches. The aim was to identify a possible continuity in cult sites across the shift to Christianity in the late Viking Age. Charcoal samples from 18 mounds were radiocarbon dated but the results showed they were far older than expected. Control dating undertaken on burial mounds of known age confirmed that charcoal in the mound fill can at least be up to 3000 years older than the mound itself. As charcoal can survive in the surface soil layer for millennia, in spite of ploughing, bioturbation and frost, it may also dominate the charcoal pool of the grass or heather turfs used in the mound construction. Therefore, the article concludes, charcoal cannot be used to securely date archaeological features built with turfs and it is important to be aware of the possible presence of very old charcoal when selecting material for dating archaeological features, even those which otherwise would be judged unaffected by material from earlier archaeological periods
Archaeology · Bioturbation · Charcoal · Geography · Radiocarbon dating · Taphonomy · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction · Paleontology
The hydrology and preservation condition in the flat-topped burial mound – Klangshøj at Vennebjerg in Vendsyssel
Old wood’ effect in radiocarbon dating of prehistoric cremated bones
The hydrology in huge burial mounds built of loamy tills
IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP
Dating of Prehistoric Burial Mounds by 14 C Analysis of Soil Organic Matter Fractions
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |