14C Dating of Carbonate Mortars from Polish and Israeli Sites

Abstract

The presented research involves the analysis and radiocarbon dating of 2 different groups of carbonate mortars, from Kraków, Poland and Hippos, Israel. Differences in composition of the mortars are reflected in different rates of their acid leaching. The Israeli mortars contain carbonate-basaltic aggregates, which may cause overestimation of 14C age. Preliminary processing of these samples (choice of selected grain-size fraction and collection of CO2 released during the first phase of the acid-leaching reaction), enabled us to obtain good agreement between the 14C dates and the age derived from historical contexts. A similar method of preliminary processing was applied to the carbonate mortars of the Medieval building in Kraków. The Polish samples represent carbonate mortars with some admixture of quartz aggregates, suggesting that they would be an ideal material for 14C dating. However, these samples contained white lumps of carbonates, the structure of which differed from that of the binder. These admixtures, possibly related to the hydrological conditions at the site and to the character of the ingredients, appeared modern, and if not removed prior to acid leaching, they could cause underestimation of the age of samples. The 14C dates of the mortars from the walls of the Small Scales building in Kraków are the first obtained for this object, and their sequence does not contradict archaeological indications on several phases of the building construction.