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The Grey Ware Culture and the Second Millennium BC Cemeteries in the Central Iran: an Appraisal of the Recent Absolute Dates

Authors:
Javad Hoseinzadeh at University of Kashan
Javad Hoseinzadeh
Hamzeh Noralivand
Hamzeh Noralivand
Hamzeh Noralivand
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Mohsen Javery
Mohsen Javery
Mohsen Javery
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Majid Montazerzohori
Majid Montazerzohori
Majid Montazerzohori
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Abstract

It would not be exaggerated to claim that the "Gray Ware Culture" of the second millennium B.C. was one the most important phenomenon in history of archaeology of Iran. Apart from all its intricacies and complexity, its exact dating and chronology has also been a major challenge for archaeologists. Most of the literature is still based on very old dating and chronology, and even recent publication do not have any coherent idea about the dates of its begging and expansion. This paper first tries to show that the early dating of this culture was not as precise as it should be, due to different causes, and then proposes a more precise date for the begging and the expansion of the "Gray Ware Culture" and cemeteries of the second millennium B.C. in central Iran. Contrary to early dating, our revision of old literature and new chronological evidences, show the beginning of this famous archaeological culture and appearance of first detached (independent or dependent form a known settlement) cemeteries does not go back to 13-14 century B.C., but they originated in 18-17 century B.C. Hence, if our evidences and analysis would be compelling to other scholars, it would be the time, after more than 8 decades, to claim that the famous "Iron Age Gray Ware Culture", actually is a Middle to Late Bronze Age phenomenon that continue to develop through the Early Iron Age. Finally, if the claim of this paper will come to be true, based on more absolute dating of the begging of this archaeological culture in the recent future, then a new model for socio-cultural dynamics of central Iran in the first half of the second millennium B.C. would be necessary.
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The Grey Ware Culture and the Second Millennium BC Cemeteries in the Central Iran: an Ap-
praisal of the Recent Absolute Dates
Javad Hoseinzadeh, Hamzeh Noralivand, Mohsen Javery, Majid Montazerzohori, Ahamad Sohrabinia,

Abstract: It would not be exaggerated to claim that the “Gray Ware Culture” of the second millen-
nium B.C. was one the most important phenomenon in history of archaeology of Iran. Apart from
all its intricacies and complexity, its exact dating and chronology has also been a major challenge for
archaeologists. Most of the literature is still based on very old dating and chronology, and even recent
publication do not have any coherent idea about the dates of its begging and expansion. This paper
-
ferent causes, and then proposes a more precise date for the begging and the expansion of the “Gray
Ware Culture” and cemeteries of the second millennium B.C. in central Iran. Contrary to early dating,
our revision of old literature and new chronological evidences, show the beginning of this famous
   
settlement) cemeteries does not go back to 13-14 century B.C., but they originated in 18-17 century
B.C. Hence, if our evidences and analysis would be compelling to other scholars, it would be the time,
after more than 8 decades, to claim that the famous “Iron Age Gray Ware Culture”, actually is a Middle
to Late Bronze Age phenomenon that continue to develop through the Early Iron Age. Finally, if the
claim of this paper will come to be true, based on more absolute dating of the begging of this archaeo-
logical culture in the recent future, then a new model for socio-cultural dynamics of central Iran in the

Keywords: Iron Age, Gray Ware Culture, Cemetery, Central Iran, Dating, Chronology.
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    




    












    
    
Allen- 
toft et al. 2015
 

Gustaf Kossinna
  





Roman Ghirshman
 


V. Gordon Childe




   






 



.
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



        
Trigger 2005: 241-261




Geoffrey Summers   












Young 1967


  
    
   
        

Grey
Ware Culture


     








         


      

   Ghirshan 1935, 1939 

  I4-3 V
   
      
    






 Young 1967  

.

      



.        






   
    
        


Dyson 1965, Mousavi 2005



    
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         
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   
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  
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  
I4-3 V
 
   Georges Contenau   



         




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



An- 
dré Godard

    
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








 


  
Syria

Ghirshman 1935: 245





   


    

Vanden burghe 1964

           




Vanden Berghe 1964    

Vanden Berghe 1964: 72









Vanden
Berghe 1964: 36-47



        
          
  

  







         

       




   

Dayson 1957


 
        
       
    





   Ghirshamn 1939
V
Ralph 1959,    
Dyson 1962


Theodor
    Cuyler Young

     
     Young 1965, 1967, 1985





.            

.





.


IIIC



.



   



Michael Danti
  
       









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  
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
Mashk- 
our et al. 1999: Tab. 1


Bovington and
Masoumi 1972

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
Pollard et al. 2012IVII

IVII


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I

II





IV
        


    

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     



            
         
         
 I  
      II I   

III


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 




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
      I 
   

 
        
     
   



.
Pollard et al. 2012III
     I  
  
         

      
        
       



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Z.16BA.41
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
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
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

I
        
BA 
Z

 
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   

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
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

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


     

          
          
    

      
        
Hoseinza-     
deh et al. 2017

A

   


A




       


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

Young 1965IIIIV
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      






.







A


A



Vandenberg 1964


    


         
  Ghirshman 1939



         
     




.





A

A



    
        

   


   

.




Vandenberg 1964:
71, PLAN II












Vandenberg 1964: 39-47





.



.





Pollard et al. 2013






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      
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IVc VIaV
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  
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
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
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De l’Indus aux Balkans, Recueil à la mémoire de Jean Deshayes
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Proceedings of the International Conference on
The Iron Age in Western Iran
and Neighbouring Regions
Edited by:
Yousef Hassanzadeh
Ali A. Vahdati
Zahed Karimi
Publisher:
Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT)
National Museum of Iran
Kurdistan Province ICHHTO
2019
Vol. 1
Tehran and Sanandaj
2-3 Nov. 2019
Kurdistan University, Sanandaj, Iran
Kurdistan ICHHTO National Museum of Iran RICHT
Proceedings of the international Conference on The Iron Age in Western Iran and
Neighbouring Regions, 2-3 Nov. 2019, Kurdistan University, Sanandaj, Iran
Edited by: Yousef Hassanzadeh, Ali A. Vahdati and Zahed Karimi
Cover Photo: Neda Tehrani and Nima Fakoorzadeh
Cover Design: Nina Rezaei
Publishers: RICHT / National Museum of Iran / Kurdistan ICHHTO
ISBN: 978-600-8977-91-9
© RICHT / National Museum of Iran / Kurdistan ICHHTO (2019)
Kurdistan ICHHTO National Museum of Iran RICHT
Board of Directors:
Dr. Behrouz Omrani, General Director of RICHT
Mohsen Alavi, General Director of Kurdistan ICHTO
Dr. Jebrael Nokandeh, Genereal Director of National Museum of Iran
Dr. Rohollah Shirazi, Director of ICAR
Policy Council:
Dr. M. H. Talebian, Deputy of Cultural Heritage in Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts
Dr. Jebrael Nokandeh, Genereal Director of National Museum of Iran
Dr. Rohollah Shirazi, Director of ICAR
Dr. Mohammad Ebrahinm Zarei, Sanandaj Governor and Associate professor in Archaeology, Bu-Ali Univer-
sity, Hamedan
Dr. Bahram Nasrollahizadeh, General Director of Kurdistan Planning and Budget Organization
Mohsen Alavi, General Director of Kurdistan ICHTO

Yousef Hassanzadeh, Archaeologist and Head of Research Center, National Museum of Iran
Ali. A. Vahdati, Archaeologist and Research Associate, Northern Khorasan ICHTO

Dr. Hamid Khatib Shahidi, Professor emeritus of TMU (Tarbiat Modarres University)
Mrs. Simin Lakpour, Retired Member of ICAR
Dr. Siamak Sarlak, Research Deputy of ICAR
Dr. Mehrdad Malekzadeh, Head of Research Center of RICHT
Fr. Sajjad Alibeigi, Assistant Professor, Razi University, Kermanshah
Dr. Amir Saedmoucheshi, Assistant Professor, Payam-e Noor University, Sanandaj
Dr. Kazem Mollazadeh, Associate Professor, Bu-Ali University, Hamedan
Dr. Mostafa Dehpahlavan, Assistant Professor, Tehran University, Tehran
Dr. Fereidoun Biglari, Cultural Deputy, National Museum of Iran, Tehran
Dr. Ali Binandeh, Assistant Professor, Bu-Ali University, Hamedan

Zahed Karimi, Archaeologist, Kurdistan ICHHTO Province
Table of Contents
The Iron Age in the Iranian Plateau: an overview of current knowledge, new challenges, and
future prospects / Yousef Hassanzadeh, Ali. A. Vahdati and Mehrdad Malekzadeh .......................
Selective Iranian Iron Age Bibliography / Maryam Shahrabi .................................................................
Iron Age III material from Tappeh Qeshlagh, Talvar, Kurdistan / Abbas Motarjem, Mahnaz

Salvage excavation in an Iron Age tomb at Ruwar in the Sirwan River area, Hawraman, Kurd-
istan / Taher Ghasimi, Masoud Akbari, Akam Ghasimi, Mohammadreza Qadri, Faranak Bah-
rololoumi Shapurabadi, Moloud Azimi and Eqbal Azizi with Some appandex from Esmail
Asadi, Mojtaba Ghasemian, Hosein Davoudi, Navid Salehvand, Davoud AghaAli Gol and Akira
Fujisava .........................................................................................................................................................................
Survey of Iron Age sites of Marivan plain / Morteza Zamani Dadaneh, Sirvan Mohammadi Qas-
rian ................................................................................................................................................................................
Ivory and bone plaques from Ziwiy in the museum of Sanandaj / Sheler Amelirad, abbas
Razmpush ....................................................................................................................................................................
Investigations on the manufacturing technology of the glazed elements from north west-
ern Iran during the 1st millennium BCE by means of petrochemical analyses based on two
glazed samples from Ziwiye / Negar Abdali ..................................................................................................
Cham-e Shar column-base: new evidence of Iron Age art of Zagros region, Sanandaj / Mo-
hammad rastgar Rezaqoli .....................................................................................................................................
The typology and chronology of the Iron Age pottery of Sonqor and Kolyaei County, Ker-
manshah / Mahmood Haydariyan, marjan Qanbari, Alireza Khosrowzadeh ..................................
Sangtarashan after six seasons of archaeological excavations / Ata Hasanpur, Mehrdad Male-
kzadeh ...........................................................................................................................................................................
An overview of studies on the Bronzes of Luristan / Zahra Hashemi .................................................
Some remarks on archaeology and historical geography of Central Zagros in the Neo-Assyr-
ian period / Sajjad Alibaigi ....................................................................................................................................
Guringan: new evidence of Iron Age in the plain of Piranshahr / Obaid-allah Sorkhabi, Salah
Salimi .............................................................................................................................................................................
Reassessment of Tepe Rabat II and a Suggestion for its Ancient Name and Function during
the First Millennium BC / Salah ad-Din Ebrahimipour .............................................................................
Urartian borders to the south of Lake Urmia / Ali Binandeh ..................................................................
Local Distribution of Post-Urartian and Achaemenid Painted Pottery in Northwest Iran in
Light of Recent Surveys and Excavations / Qader Ebrahimi, Akbar Abedi, Rasul Ahmadi ..........
  
neo-Assyrian and Mannaean glazed bricks / Hana Javanmardi, Zahed Karimi, Vahdid Askar-
por ...................................................................................................................................................................................
Decorative elements of Iron Age temples painted bricks, doors with dentate frames, and re-
cessed niches / Sadi Saidiyan ..............................................................................................................................
An investigation into the Mannaean rituals based on the archaeological evidence / Vahed
Jolaei, Nayereh Reisi ................................................................................................................................................


Excavations at Tepe Sarm: new evidence of diverse grave structures / Amar Kavoosi, Siamak
15
30
49
63
86
104
116
127
138
151
175
184
208
228
249
259
277
295
325
343
Sarlak .............................................................................................................................................................................
A Newly Found Iron II-II Western Graveyard of Qara-Tappeh, Sagzabad / Mostafa Dehpahla-
van, Mehdi Jahed, Amar Tazik, Kourosh MOhammadkhani, Elham Farnam ....................................
The Late Iron Age and the Achaemenid pottery traditions in Eastern Iran / Mohsen Dana ......
Review of Michael D. Danti’s revision of the chronology of the late Bronze and early Iron
Ages in northwestern Iran / Kazem Mollazadeh .........................................................................................
The Grey Ware Culture and the Second Millennium BC Cemeteries in the Central Iran: an
Appraisal of the Recent Absolute Dates / Javad Hoseinzadeh, Hamzeh Noralivand, Mohsen

A Suggestion for the Beginning of Iron Age in the Western Part of Iranian Plateau, The View

Animal Exploitation along the Southern Caspian Sea Shore during the Iron Age, Iran / Hos-
sein Davoudi, Marjan Mashkour, Jebrael Nokandeh ...................................................................................
Subsistence Economy in Northwestern Iran during Bronze and Iron Ages through Archaeo-
zoological Researches at Tepe Hasanlu / Hossein Davoudi and Marjan Mashkour .........................
A Theory on the Formation of the Achaemenid Empire: from Parsua to Parsa / Mohammad.T.
Atayi ................................................................................................................................................................................
Achaemenid Columned Halls in Caucasus: Symbols of Imperial Ideology / Kamyar Abdi and
Faezeh Dadfar .............................................................................................................................................................
359
370
392
411
421
438
456
484
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... Although radiocarbon dating performed on the materials from Estark shows a long-lasting cemetery used at least in a period spanning from 1200 to 900 BC, two different sections can be evinced in the site: (1) the western part of the cemetery whose archaeological materials are dated to 2000-1700 BC based on radiocarbon data and stylistic pottery study; (2) the eastern part (Trench C), where all the materials in this study originated from, is dated to 1200-900 BC. Apart from radiocarbon dating data, stylistic and comparative analysis of potteries suggest that all the kohl pots under study recovered from Trench C can confidently be dated to 1200-900 BC (Hosseinzadeh et al. 2019). ...
Make up in the grave: scientific analysis of contents of the so-called kohl pots at the archaeological site of Estark–Joshaqan, central Iranian plateau
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2022
The contents of five Iron Age I–II (1200–900 BC) small ceramic vessels similar to ancient kohl pots excavated from the graves of the archaeological site of Estark–Joshaqan, near Kashan in central Iranian plateau, were characterised by optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), micro X-Ray fluorescence (μ-XRF), micro-Raman spectroscopy (µ-Raman) and field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS). The analytical data demonstrated that the pots were filled with powdery white laurionite (peculiar fibrous shape) and lead (hydr)oxychloride crystals to which manganese and iron oxides were added to obtain grey and orangish colours, respectively. The occurrence of minerals such as leadhillite, cerussite, anglesite, wulfenite and vanadinite together with barite, celestine, gypsum and anhydrite was ascertained via different analytical techniques and was discussed in an archaeological and technological context. In addition, the possible occurrence of mereheadite, with a fibrous habit, has been discussed. These small pots were used as kohl containers for storing cosmetics and placed in the burials as grave goods.
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Local Distribution of Post-Urartian and Achaemenid Painted Pottery in Northwest Iran in Light of Recent Surveys and Excavations
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Jan 2020
The evolution of ceramic traditions of northwest Iran in the late Iron Age and the pottery traditions that existed in the region after the end of the Urartian period up to the arrival in the region of the Parthians mark a little known period or a period of uncertainty in northwest Iran. The pottery culture that emerges in the region in the wake of the Urartian period concerns painted forms that are found scattered throughout the region. In the available publications on these ceramic cultures one finds among others references to "Ardabil Style" and "Triangle Ware" in the contemporary styles. Studies on these cultures have divided northwest Iran into two regions: one under the influence of the Ardabil style material and the other under that of the so-called triangle wares. The studies carried out in the recent decades on these ceramic cultures have refined our understanding of the interface between these two styles and have defined to some extent their regional distributions. In light of the collected data from the areas studied from the late Iron Age, the two Ardabil and Triangle styles relate to different, consecutive timespans and their regional boundaries go far beyond what have so far been presumed. The present work attempted to demarcate to the possible extent the spatial and temporal distributions of the ceramic cultures of the post-Urartian and post-Mananean period through the Par-thian presence in northwest Iran drawing on the data from the earlier and recent surveys and excavations at the sites lying in the region as well as the neighboring regions with evidence of these pottery traditions. The results suggested that the Classic variety of Hasanlu material presumably outdates the Achaemenian presence in the region while the Triangle Ware of Hasanlu could have belonged to the period of the Achaemenian jurisdiction of northwest Iran.
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A palimpsest grave at the Iron Age cemetery in Estark-Joshaqan, Iran
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2017
At the onset of the Iron Age, after c. 1200 BC, Iran was a place of major social transformation. After the collapse of the Bronze Age urban civilisations, the land was inhabited mainly by groups of mobile pastoralists that gradually transitioned from tribal organisation into loose federations, before finally developing into the Median and Persian early states (Potts 2014). This transition is still poorly recognised, as settlement sites from this period are scarce and most evidence is from cemeteries that were excavated many decades ago. Here we report results of excavations at a recently discovered cemetery that may provide new insights into the social complexity and cultural affinities of Iron Age nomads in Iran.
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A new radiocarbon chronology for the Late Neolithic to Iron Age on the Qazvin Plain, Iran
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2012
Archaeological excavations on the western part of the Central Iranian Plateau, known as the Qazvin Plain provides invaluable information about the sedentary communities from early occupation to the later prehistoric era. Despite the past archeological data, chronological studies mostly rely on the relative use of the Bayesian modeling for stratigraphically-related radiocarbon dates. The current paper provides a new model for excavations and the chronological framework based on new radiocarbon dating of the six key archeological enclosures in the Qazvin plain. A Bayesian analysis of these data is presented on a site-by-site basis to give the best chronologies. Finally, all dates are combined into a single model of the chronology of the Qazvin Plain from the Late Neolithic to the Iron Age. The procedure aims to use the Bayesian model to predict thetransition points between the archaeologically-defined periods with the highest possible precision, to redefine the existing chronology for the Qazvin Plain.
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Population genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2015
The Bronze Age of Eurasia (around 3000-1000 BC) was a period of major cultural changes. However, there is debate about whether these changes resulted from the circulation of ideas or from human migrations, potentially also facilitating the spread of languages and certain phenotypic traits. We investigated this by using new, improved methods to sequence low-coverage genomes from 101 ancient humans from across Eurasia. We show that the Bronze Age was a highly dynamic period involving large-scale population migrations and replacements, responsible for shaping major parts of present-day demographic structure in both Europe and Asia. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesized spread of Indo-European languages during the Early Bronze Age. We also demonstrate that light skin pigmentation in Europeans was already present at high frequency in the Bronze Age, but not lactose tolerance, indicating a more recent onset of positive selection on lactose tolerance than previously thought.
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Investigations on the evolution of subsistence economy in the Qazvin Plain (Iran) from the Neolithic to the Iron Age
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 1999
  • ANTIQUITY
This paper aims to present some of the results of research on the palaeodiet of prehistoric people in the Qazvin Plain within the last five millennia. Archaeological faunal remains used for this study originate from three sites in the Bu'in-Zahra microregion of the Qazvin Plain: Tappeh Zagheh (hereafter Zagheh), Qabrestan and finally Sagzabad dating respectively to the 6th/5th, 4th and 2nd/1st millennia BC (Mashkour in preparation). These sites were systematically excavated between 1970 and 1978 under the direction of Professor E. O. Negahban. From a palaeoeconomic point of view, the northern Iranian Plateau is little known and these archaeozoological investigations represent the first attempts to understand human/ animal relationships in this area. Here we aim to present some of the results, including the analysis of faunal spectra and relative proportions of different animal species, as well as preliminary information on animal management during the three major cultural periods in the area under concern.
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University of Pennsylvania Radiocarbon Dates XVI
Article
  • Jan 1974
  • RADIOCARBON
On two previous occasions we have published lists of 14 C results of precisely dated wood samples in Radiocarbon as per mil deviations (R, 1965, v 7, p 179–186; R, 1969, v 11, no. 2, p 469–481). We have also published a list of 14 C dates, consolidating all dated wood samples processed in our lab to July 1969 (Ralph and Michael, 1970).
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Tehran University Nuclear Centre Radiocarbon Date List I
Article
  • Jan 1972
  • RADIOCARBON
The Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory of Tehran University Nuclear Centre began operation in autumn 1970. Benzene synthesis and liquid scintillation counting was chosen as the best method for processing a large number of archaeologic specimens most of whose ages are less than twice the half-life of C 14 . Advantage of benzene synthesis; ease of chemical processing light transfer properties, lack of isotopie fractionation and radioactive contamination, removal of radon, and improbability of cross-contamination, have been discussed (Noakes et al. , 1964; Noakes, Stipp, and Hood, 1964; Kowalski, 1965).
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