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So far, nobody has systematically studied the radiocarbon dating of lime mortar binding agents in the Czech Republic. However, recent times have brought significant changes to the field of isotope analysis. Since 2005, the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences has been collaborating with the radiocarbon laboratory of the Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS. This laboratory was later granted an international CRL code. In 2021 and 2022, the laboratory has acquired its own AMS system with a tandem accelerator capable of accurately measuring ultra-low radionuclide activities, which allows us to conduct routine measurements of 14C activity for the purposes of radiocarbon dating.
This poster presents the current results of the ongoing research project focused on the sampling methodology for historical mortar and aiming to improve the quality and credibility of carbonate binding agent dating results. We primarily work with mortar samples from the relics of the oldest Prague Castle masonry structures (9-12 century) uncovered by archaeological excavations starting in the 1920s. Some of the relics are still accessible at the archaeological site, while some of the samplings took place during the excavations, and the samples have been archived. The sample selection is connected to a previous study of the authenticity of historical mortars, a review of their find context, and an analysis of the used materials and lime technologies.
The ongoing research project aims to combine the knowledge from the field of historical material analysis (mortar) and archaeological data analysis to optimise the sampling process and the processing of samples for AMS dating. Another aim is to identify cases where radiocarbon dating may be helpful and define the reasons why relevant results have not been found in the case of some binding systems.

EAA 2022: Abstract

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