Dating Historical Contexts: Issues, Plant Material, and Methods to Date the Late Roman Site of Faragola, Apulia (SE Italy)

Abstract

Charred plant materials found in archaeological contexts are usually considered the most reliable remains for radiocarbon dating. Usually, seeds and fruits are preferred to wood fragments because their short lifecycle reduces the range of uncertainty of the14C measurement. A selection of short-lived samples, mainly from barley and wheat, from the Late Roman site of Faragola (SE Italy) were14C dated; however, the14C dates obtained were not always consistent with the chronology provided by other archaeological evidence. A careful analysis of all the macrobotanical remains found in each of the dated contexts provides insight into the origin of the plant material, helping to distinguish betweenin situand non-in situmaterial. The14C dates are reconsidered in the context of findings and the kind of material selected for dating. Using the archaeological context, a Bayesian model was employed to reduce the range of the calibrated date and thereby refine the chronology of the site on an absolute basis.