Project
14C Database
EARTH INTEGRATED ARCHAEOLOGY &
DANS
Determining the age of archaeological remains in the Dutch soil archive is a crucial part of archaeological work in the Netherlands. The so-called carbon-14 technique (carbon measurement) can be used to determine the age of organic samples. The radioactive 14C isotope is found in our atmosphere and is absorbed into the cellular structure of plants through photosynthesis. It then enters the biosphere through the food chain. When an organism dies, it stops taking in food and the number of 14C isotopes in its body begins to decline. By measuring the 14C concentration in a fossil, it is possible to determine when the organism died. Since the 1950s, this technique has been used thousands of times to refine and improve the chronology of Dutch history and prehistory. However, there is no sustainable and accessible overview of carbon-14 datings carried out in the Netherlands. It is currently almost impossible to quickly and efficiently generate an overview by, for instance, region, period or type of archaeological remains.
The purpose of the 14C Database project is to create a central, sustainable database for carbon-14 dating research. This will unlock a larger number of datings of Dutch archaeological material, and of archaeologically relevant material. Initially, the focus will be on datings carried out in the Netherlands, but the goal is to eventually collect datings performed on ‘Dutch material’ by foreign laboratories as well. A ‘pilot’ dataset has already been compiled (but not yet been made public), and various ways of further developing this dataset are being considered. Available datings are being collected and where possible supplemented with references to publications in which they have been cited.
The availability of this information constitutes an important contribution to international archaeology.
In line with international agreements on data storage and reporting, the database will be open source. The aim is to adhere to FAIR data principles as much as possible by making agreements on how to handle metadata and the standardisation of data entry, and to create a vital ‘living’ database that will continue to be used and added to in the future.
14The purpose of the 14C Database project is to create a central, sustainable database for carbon-14 dating research. This will unlock a larger number of datings of Dutch archaeological material, and of archaeologically relevant material. Initially, the focus will be on datings carried out in the Netherlands, but the goal is to eventually collect datings performed on ‘Dutch material’ by foreign laboratories as well. A ‘pilot’ dataset has already been compiled (but not yet been made public), and various ways of further developing this dataset are being considered. Available datings are being collected and where possible supplemented with references to publications in which they have been cited.
The availability of this information constitutes an important contribution to international archaeology.
14C occurs in our atmosphere and is absorbed by plants into their cell structure through photosynthesis. It then enters the biosphere via the food chain. When the organism dies, it stops absorbing food and takes 14C content decreases. By the 14Measuring C concentration in a fossil can be determined when the death of the organism has occurred. Thousands of these dates have been made since the 1950s, which contribute to further refinement and improvement of the chronology of Dutch (pre)history. However, there is no sustainable and consultable overview available 14C dating from the Netherlands. It is currently almost impossible to quickly and efficiently generate an overview by region, period, type of archaeological remains, etc.
Purpose of the project 14C Database is a central, sustainable database 14Establish C dating. This makes many past datings of Dutch archaeological material or material relevant to archaeology available. The focus is first on the dating carried out in the Netherlands. In addition, we also want to collect the dating carried out on 'Dutch material' by foreign laboratories. A (not yet public) 'pilot' dataset is currently ready and we are looking at how it can be further developed. The performed and available dates are collected and, where possible, supplemented with bibliographic references of the publication in which the dates were published.
This makes an important contribution to the international archaeological field.
The database will be set up on an open source basis, in accordance with international agreements on data storage and reporting. The aim is to follow FAIR data principles as much as possible by making agreements about metadata and standardization of data entry. The intention is to create a 'living', vital database that will also be used and supplemented in the future.