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December 2, 2008
New Study Confirms C14 Dating for the Eruption of Thera
Based on new radiocarbon analysis of an olive tree branch, Walter Friedrich and Walter Kutschera date for the eruption of Thera (Santorini) to 1613 BCE plus or minus 10 years.
Two olive branches buried by a Minoan-era eruption of the volcano on the island of Thera (modern-day Santorini) have enabled precise radiocarbon dating of the catastrophe to 1613 BC, with an error margin of plus or minus 10 years, according to two researchers who presented conclusions of their previously published research during an event on Tuesday at the Danish Archaeological Institute of Athens.[snip]
The two researchers said their find (olive tree) represents a serious contradiction between the results of the scientific method (radiocarbon dating) and scholarly work in the humanities (history-archaeology), with both sides holding strong arguments to support their conclusions.
The radiocarbon dating places the cataclysmic eruption, blamed for heralding the end to the Minoan civilisation [sic], a century earlier than previous scientific finds. [ANA-MPA]
But, other than the olive branch, is this new? Friedrich, et al.'s 2006 study cited a 95.4% confidence that the eruption occurred in the 1627 - 1600 BCE range. The confidence dropped to 68.2% in the 1621 - 1605 BCE range. Depending on the model, the range expands to 1645 - 1594 if one seeks a confidence of 99.7%. 99.7% is a close to absolute certainty as is reasonably possible.
The last quoted paragraphs above are not at all untrue; it's just old news. Lest you think this article is actually a rehash of the older study, archaeologists excavated the subject olive branch in July 2007. This new study only seems to confirm the older one. In fact, here's what a the Cornell Chronicle Online said in 2006,
"At the moment, the radiocarbon method is the only direct way of dating the eruption and the associated archaeology," said Manning, who puts Santorini's eruption in or just after the range 1660 to 1613 B.C. This date contradicts conventional estimates that linked Aegean styles in trade goods found in Egypt and the Near East to Egyptian inscriptions and records, which have long placed the event at around 1500 B.C.
See Chris Heard's post for various earlier scientific and more traditional attempts to date the eruption of Thera.
Reference:
Posted by Duane Smith at December 2, 2008 8:28 PM | Read more on Archaeology |
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Comments
Several theories use the Santorini eruption as the basis of explanations of the plagues of Egypt and the events surrounding the Exodus. A date of 1600 BC is too early for these hypotheses to hold. While not wishing to encourage more speculation about the Exodus, surely we have to consider the fact, proven, I believe, that Thera blew its top periodically in some sort of cycle. Maybe there was an event that buried these trees around 1600, but there were then one or more subsequent eruptions that might have been more serious. If the explosion in 1600 were considerably bigger than Krakatoa, it seems unlikely that any trees could have been left standing so near the edge of the caldera. If they were already buried when the biggy happened, then 1600 was not the biggy! What is the evidence for an eruption around 1200?
Posted by: Mike Magee at March 24, 2009 11:12 AM
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