Since arriving on site, I have been primarily working in trench EU23. I am very attached and want to know anything and everything I can about this trench. On Tuesday of last week, while cleaning a portion of sealed subfloor, a specimen of a charred root was found with much excitement to my trench supervisor (shoutout Mel), and the other supervisors. The specimen was wrapped carefully removed and wrapped nicely in tinfoil. With the background of all our other finds, I was interested in the enthusiasm. I asked what was so important about this find, and it was explained to me that the charred root was found sealed between two different layers of floor, and had been untouched until discovered. Since it was sealed, this meant the root itself could be carbon dated. I remember learning about carbon dating when I was younger, but any information on the process had been completely eradicated from my mind. I decided to research carbon dating, to have a better understanding of the excitement, and decided to share with all what I found.

Carbon dating, or better know as Radiocarbon dating is a process in which the age organic materials can be dated accurately. This scientific method was developed in the 1940s, at the university of Chicago by Willard Libby. Libby jump started his work off Martin Alamein and Sam Ruben, who discovered the carbon 14 isotope. Living organisms absorb carbon 14, and once they die, the absorption stops. The carbon – 14 slowly changes its make up at a predictable rate. Knowing this, scientist are able to measure how much carbon 14 remains in a specimen, giving an estimate of how long the specimen has been dead. In terms of EU23, This means that we are able to closely date the SU that this specimen was pulled from and based on that number, we can closely compare the surrounding SUs and have a better understanding of our trench as a whole.