Apparent 14C Ages of Marine Mollusk Shells from a Greek Island: Calculation of the Marine Reservoir Effect in the Aegean Sea

Abstract

The excavation of the Cyclope cave, situated on the deserted island of Youra in the Northern Sporades (39 degrees 22'N, 24 degrees 10'E), revealed material of marine and terrestrial origin in undisturbed layers, suitable for radiocarbon dating. In some cases, material from different reservoirs was found together in the same archaeological layer. This research had two aims. The first was the dating of charcoal-seashell pairs in order to determine the marine reservoir effect in this region, based on samples with ages spanning from the end of the 8th millennium to the beginning of the 7th millennium BC. The second aim was dating the stratigraphy of this site, by using the calculated Delta-R value in conjunction with the marine calibration curve. This enabled the accurate calibration of the 14C ages of marine samples found in layers without charcoal pieces. The results show that this is the oldest human settlement ever found on an island in the Aegean Sea.