Radiocarbon Dating and the Egyptian Historical Chronology

What is Radiocarbon Dating? The Egyptian Historical Chronology Project Objective Wider Implications Sampling & Analysis Project Team
Step Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara	View over cultivated fields from the sand gezira at Quesna	Red Pyramid of Sneferu, Dahshur

What is Radiocarbon Dating?

Radiocarbon dating is the technique used to determine the age of an object by measuring its radioactive carbon concentration. It is the most widely used scientific method for dating archaeological artefacts and contexts.

The Egyptian Historical Chronology

The Egyptian Historical Chronology (EHC) is the definitive timeline of Egyptian rulers, as constructed by historians throughout the centuries. It was compiled from ancient king-lists on papyri and stone, and has been enhanced by archaeological evidence. The chronology is pinned to absolute calendrical years by rare astronomical observations. Whilst by no means complete, an historical framework can be constructed for the full length of ancient Egyptian civilization.

Acacia trees in the southern Sinai

Project Objective

Although construction of the EHC has employed an extensive amount of historical research, comparatively few attempts have been made to cross-check it using direct scientific dating techniques. The aim of our project is to investigate the consistency of the historical chronology with dates obtained via the radiocarbon method.

Wider Implications

Remains of Pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht

Improving the accuracy and reliability of the EHC will help Egyptologists arrange essential historical and cultural information. Moreover, the EHC is intertwined with and fundamental to many other chronologies of the ancient Near East. Therefore, consolidating its position on the absolute timescale would facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the ancient history of the wider Mediterranean region.

Sampling & Analysis

We are procuring samples from major international collections which are historically datable to a given king’s reign. The samples will be subjected to high-performance Accelerator Mass Spectrometry radiocarbon dating. To ensure reliability, samples from more recent periods of Egyptian history, of precise known-age, will also be dated. Statistical modelling of these high-precision results will enable us to draw mathematically-sound conclusions. Other compositional analyses (Environmental SEM, PIXE, Raman & FTIR spectroscopy) will also be carried out on selected samples.

Canals in the Nile Delta	Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, Dahshur

Project Team

Academic Staff:

• Professor Christopher Bronk Ramsey (Lead): Director, ORAU
• Dr Tom Higham: Deputy Director, ORAU
• Dr Andrew Shortland: Centre for Archaeological and Forensic Analysis, Cranfield University
• Dr Joanne Rowland: Research Fellow in Egyptology & Archaeological Science, ORAU
• Dr Fiona Brock: Chemistry Laboratory Manager, ORAU

Collaborating Academic Staff:

• Professor Ian Shaw: Senior Lecturer in Egyptian Archaeology, University of Liverpool
• Professor Walter Kutschera: VERA-Laboratorium, Universitaet Wien, Austria
• Professor Sturt Manning: Professor of Classics, Cornell University, USA
• Dr Stephen Harris: Druce Curator of the Oxford University Herbaria
• Dr Ezra Marcus: Departments of Maritime Civilizations and Archaeology,University of Haifa

Research Technicians:

• Mr Phil Leach (AMS technician)
• Mr Martin Humm (AMS Infrastructure Manager)
• Ms Angela Bowles (Research technician)
• Mrs Christine Tompkins (Research technician)
• Ms Jane Davies (Research technician)

Students:

• Michael Dee: Research Student, ORAU