Publications
The chronology of Tell el-Daba: A crucial meeting point of Radiocarbon dating, Archaeology, and Egyptology in the Second Millenium BC
- Author(s)
- Walter Kutschera, Manfred Bietak, Eva Maria Wild, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Michael W. Dee, Robin Golser, Karin Kopetzky, Peter Stadler, Ursula Thanheiser, Franz Weninger
- Abstract
Radiocarbon dating at the Tell el-Daba site in the Nile Delta has
created an enigma for many years. Despite great efforts, the difference
of about 120 yr between the chronology based on 14C dates and the one
based on archaeological evidence linked to the Egyptian historical
chronology has not been solved. In order to foster open discussions on
this discrepancy, we present here the results of 40 14C accelerator mass
spectrometry (AMS) measurements on short-lived plant material assigned
to 14 different phases of the Tell el-Daba excavation, spanning 600 yr
(about 2000–1400 BC). On the one hand, the recently established
agreement between 14C dates and dynastic Egypt (Bronk Ramsey et al.
2010) makes it unlikely that the problem lies in the 14C dates and/or
the Egyptian historical chronology. On the other hand, the extensive
archaeological evidence from Tell el-Daba linked to many different
cultures in the eastern Mediterranean and to the Egyptian historical
chronology provides strong evidence for an absolute chronology shifted
by about 120 yr with respect to the 14C dates.
- Organisation(s)
- Isotope Physics, Department of Egyptology, Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology
- External organisation(s)
- University of Oxford, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW)
- Journal
- Radiocarbon
- Volume
- 54
- Pages
- 407-422
- No. of pages
- 16
- ISSN
- 0033-8222
- Publication date
- 2012
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 1030 Physics, Astronomy
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/e2a68b0b-bbe8-40b0-b1cb-aa494964c122