engleski

Radiocarbon dating of paper and parchment

Absolute dating of object of cultural heritage and art is one of the most important issues in art history studies and in archaeology. Accurate dating is essential for valuation of original objects of arts, for differentiation between the original works and later imitations and/or frauds and for recognition of reparation and restauration works. Radiocarbon dating (14C dating) method can be applied for dating materials of biogenic origin, such as wood, charcoal, bones, grains, paper, parchment, textile, etc. The range of 14C age determination spans from 19th century up to ~60, 000 years in the past. Even the anthropogenic influence on the natural 14C distribution during 20th century can be used for recognition of frauds. Due to very low natural 14C concentration the radiocarbon dating method requires special techniques for chemical preparation of samples and measurement of 14C. Particular care has to be taken for sample collection and/or storage as well as during sample pretreatment and chemical preparation. The accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement technique enables analysis of very small amount of samples, e.g. micro-sized samples containing a few milligrams of carbon, or less, and is therefore applicable to various objects of cultural heritage. Here we present several results of 14C dating of paper from Ahdnama document and from manuscript Fojnica Armorial (Fojnički grbovnik) from the Franciscan Monastery in Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and parchment fragments of two manuscripts with liturgical texts in Latin from the Archives of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Serbia. Special attention will be paid to the interpretation of calibrated ages and the meaning of the radiocarbon dates. One has to keep in mind that radiocarbon dating gives the age of material and not the time of the creation of the art work, and that the creation of the art work cannot precede the formation of the material.

14C; dating; paper; parchment

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