Extended Radiocarbon Calibration in the Anglo-Saxon Period, AD 395-485 and AD 735-805

Abstract

Radiocarbon dating has been used infrequently as a chronological tool for research in Anglo-Saxon archaeology. Primarily, this is because the uncertainty of calibrated dates provides little advantage over traditional archaeological dating in this period. Recent advances in Bayesian methodology in conjunction with high-precision 14C dating have, however, created the possibility of both testing and refining the established Anglo-Saxon chronologies based on typology of artifacts. The calibration process within such a confined age range, however, relies heavily on the structural accuracy of the calibration curve. We have previously reported decadal measurements on a section of the Irish oak chronology for the period AD 495-725 (McCormac et al. 2004). In this paper, we present decadal measurements for the periods AD 395-485 and AD 735-805, which extends the original calibration set.