When two people do the same thing, it's not the same thing: Same churches, same 14C data, different absolute ages

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985912%3A_____%2F25%3A00645026" target="_blank" >RIV/67985912:_____/25:00645026 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.radiocarbon25.agh.edu.pl/en/program/conference-program/book-of-abstracts/Book_of_Abstracts_latest.pdf" target="_blank" >https://www.radiocarbon25.agh.edu.pl/en/program/conference-program/book-of-abstracts/Book_of_Abstracts_latest.pdf</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

When two people do the same thing, it's not the same thing: Same churches, same 14C data, different absolute ages

Original language description

The earliest churches in Central Europe, specifically in Slovakia and Czechia, are dated—based on archaeological, stylistic, and historical evidence—to the late 9th and 10th centuries. To confirm this dating and clarify the construction sequence, some of these churches have been radiocarbon dated using samples of wood from the construction, as well as mortars and charcoal embedded within the mortars. This paper presents two case studies: the St George Rotunda at Nitranska Blatnica (SK) and the St Peter and Paul Rotunda at Budeč (CZ). In both cases, the primary ¹⁴C data indicated similar conventional ages. However, the data were approached and interpreted differently. In the first case, the interpretation selectively emphasised a portion of the calibrated time interval to shift the construction of the church to an earlier chronological horizon than previously assumed and the results remain open. In the second case, the primary ¹⁴C data were assessed more critically, taking into account the results of petrographic analysis of the mortars, as well as archaeological and written sources. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how differing approaches to the interpretation of ¹⁴C data can influence the absolute dating of early church construction in Central Europe. Moreover, it seeks to highlight the importance of a critical approach to the interpretation of primary data, and the need to consider the archaeological context within the interpretive process.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60102 - Archaeology

Project

<a href="/en/project/EH22_010%2F0008977" target="_blank" >EH22_010/0008977: Towards successful 14C MORtar DATing of historical monuments (MORDAT)</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů