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dc.contributor.authorBruins, Hendrik J.
dc.contributor.authorvan der Plicht, Johannes
dc.contributor.authorMacGillivray, J. Alexander
dc.date.accessioned2021-02-11T21:23:27Z
dc.date.available2021-02-11T21:23:27Z
dc.date.issued2009-01-01
dc.identifier.citationBruins, H. J., van der Plicht, J., & MacGillivray, J. A. (2009). The Minoan Santorini eruption and tsunami deposits in Palaikastro (Crete): Dating by geology, archaeology, 14C, and Egyptian chronology. Radiocarbon, 51(2), 397-411.
dc.identifier.issn0033-8222
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/S003382220005579X
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10150/654366
dc.description.abstractDeposits from the Minoan Santorini (Thera) eruption in the eastern Mediterranean region constitute the most important regional stratigraphic marker in the chronological perplexity of the 2nd millennium BCE. Extensive tsunami deposits were discovered in Crete at the Minoan archaeological site of Palaikastro, containing reworked volcanic Santorini ash. Hence, airborne deposition of volcanic ash, probably during the 1st (Plinian) eruption phase, preceded the tsunami, which was apparently generated during the 3rd or 4th phase of the eruption, based on evidence from Thera. Average radiocarbon dates (uncalibrated) of animal bones in the Palaikastro tsunami deposits along the coast (3350 +/- 25 BP) and at the inland archaeological site (3352 +/- 23 BP) are astoundingly similar to the average 14C date for the Minoan Santorini eruption at Akrotiri on Thera (3350 +/- 10 BP). The wiggle-matched 14C date of the eruption in calendar years is 1627-1600 cal BCE. Late Minoan IA pottery is the youngest element in the Palaikastro tsunami deposits, fitting with the LM IA archaeological date for the Santorini eruption, conventionally linked at ~1500 BCE with Dynasty XVIII of the historical Egyptian chronology. The reasons for the discrepancy of 100-150 yr between 14C dating and Egyptian chronology for part of the 2nd millennium BCE are unknown. 14C dates from Tell el-Dabca in the eastern Nile Delta show that the 14C age of the Santorini eruption matches with 14C results from 18th Dynasty strata C3 and C2, thereby confirming grosso modo the conventional archaeo-historical correlations between the Aegean and Egypt. We propose that a dual dating system is used in parallel: (1) archaeological material-cultural correlations linked to Egyptian chronology; (2) 14C dating. Mixing of dates from the 2 systems may lead to erroneous archaeological and historical correlations. A 'calibration curve' should be established between Egyptian chronology and 14C dating for the 2nd millennium BCE, which may also assist to resolve the cause of the discrepancy.
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherDepartment of Geosciences, The University of Arizona
dc.relation.urlhttp://radiocarbon.webhost.uits.arizona.edu/
dc.rightsCopyright © by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona. All rights reserved.
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
dc.titleThe Minoan Santorini Eruption and Tsunami Deposits in Palaikastro (Crete): Dating by Geology, Archaeology, 14C, and Egyptian Chronology
dc.typeArticle
dc.typetext
dc.identifier.journalRadiocarbon
dc.description.collectioninformationThe Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information.
dc.eprint.versionFinal published version
dc.description.admin-noteMigrated from OJS platform February 2021
dc.source.volume51
dc.source.issue2
dc.source.beginpage397
dc.source.endpage411
refterms.dateFOA2021-02-11T21:23:27Z


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