Brief Overview Of The Dating Process
Process involves five steps:
- Removal of a suitable sample from the object.
- Physical and chemical cleaning of the sample.
- Conversion of the sample to pure carbon dioxide
(CO2).
- Determination of the 14C concentration in the
CO2. For this the sample is sent to a specialist AMS
laboratory.
- Calibration of this 14C concentration to produce
a calendar age.
Points To Consider About Carbon Dating
- Carbon dating can only be performed on materials which have
once been alive and contain carbon e.g. wood, textiles, ivory
and bone.
- A carbon date only tells you the age of the material from
which the object is made, not when it was made.
- Carbon dating is a destructive technique and requires a
small sample to be taken from the object. This can usually be
taken from an inconspicuous place.
- Objects with ages which are suspected to lie in the range
of ca. 1650 to 1950 AD are usually unsuitable for carbon
dating as the calibration curve used to convert a carbon-14
measurement into a calendar age is irregular in this 'period of
uncertainty'.
Getting Your Object Sampled
Please contact us to discuss your
object and requirements first before proceeding
- We usually recommend that our staff, or our representatives
sample the object.
- Sampling is free for central London. There may be an
additional charge for travel outside London.
- Alternatively, by prearrangement, the object can be brought
to our laboratory for sampling or a sample of the object can be
sent to us.
We recommend that if at all possible, we take the sample for
you. This allows us to discuss the sampling and measurement
procedure with you at the time. Authenticity of the sampling is
up-held by a photograph taken together with our unique laboratory
reference number for the object.
How Much Sample Is Required
The quantity of sample that we require depends on the material
being sampled. As a rough guide we need 50 to 100 mg of material.
This equates to about one match stick sized piece for wood, or
approximately half a postage stamp sized piece of textile.
Smaller sample sizes can be accommodated, but please contact
us.
How You Will Receive Your Results
- Samples are normally processed between 6 to 8 weeks from
the sample being taken or received by us.
- Each sample will be given an unique laboratory reference
number. One report will be issued for each sample/object.
Original, signed reports will be sent by mail.
Confidentiality
No results will be disclosed to a third party unless we are
instructed to do so by you.