Michael Dee’s research while affiliated with University of Groningen and other places

This study provides new data on funerary practices performed during the Old Kingdom at Gebelein (Upper Egypt) through a multidisciplinary analysis of a complete wrapped body with painted face bandages (S16731), which we radiocarbon dated to the 4th dynasty. The painting was revealed by the application of an innovative laser-based cleaning method, which was used to remove the compact layer of dust from the linen bandages. To our knowledge, this is the oldest securely-dated mummy that reproduces facial features through paintings on bandages. Old Kingdom mummies are rare in museum collections; therefore, our research offers a unique insight into the little-known evolution of embalming practices during the Early Dynasties of Egypt. The analyses carried out on the mummy, which is currently held at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Turin (Italy) provided novel results. Of note, CT scans showed a peculiar displacement of the thoracic and pelvic bone suggesting that the individual was in a decomposed state at the time of wrapping while chemical analyses confirmed the use of resin, soil/earth and gypsum for the treatment of the body. This rare and remarkable example of an Old Kingdom embalmed body, with its unique equipment, clearly demonstrates how mummification practices during the early dynasties were already characterised by a very high level of care and skill.

Ongoing bioinvasions of Lessepsian species via the Suez Canal have profoundly altered marine coastal ecosystems in the eastern Mediterranean. In response to these Lessepsian migrations, some indigenous fishes have been observed to have widened their trophic niches and diversified their foraging strategies. Effects of invasive taxa are further compounded by modern anthropogenic drivers such as overfishing, habitat degradation, and pollution. The scale and characteristics of these recent changes in tropho-dynamics for broader ichthyofaunal communities are poorly understood due to a lack of data predating Lessepsian migrations; paleoecological data is, therefore, essential. Here, we present a substantial body of new carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotopic data from Middle to Late Holocene archaeological fish collagen (n=137), combined with previously published results (n=44) to establish paleoecological baselines for the region. An emphasis is placed on groupers (Epinephelidae) due to their high ubiquity in Mediterranean archaeological contexts and importance to rocky reef ecosystems today. We demonstrate that modern, indigenous Mediterranean fish have expanded their trophic niches beyond their pre-Lessepsian migrations baseline foraging ecology. Paleo data further show that fishes in middle and lower trophic levels have the highest degree of overlap in isotopic niche spaces, suggesting greater levels of competition for trophic resources. Our study highlights the importance of integrating data from historical ecological baselines into our assessments of bioinvasions and, more broadly, anthropogenically driven ecosystem alterations.

Reanalysis of timbers sampled in 2006, as part of a wider dendrochronology project aiming to identify imported American oak timbers in historic buildings, wrecks and other artefacts in the British Isles, means that site master chronology SNCBx7, which includes seven timbers, is now securely dated by ring-width dendrochronology as spanning AD 1622–1866. Radiocarbon dating was undertaken on ten single-ring samples from BRM-B24, from site sequence SNCBx7. Wiggle-matching of these results confirms the date of this sequence suggested by dendrochronology.

The unrivaled millennia-long historical chronology of ancient Egypt forms the backbone for archaeological synchronization across the entire Eastern Mediterranean region c. 3000-1000 BCE. However, for more than a century, scholars have wrangled over the correct calendrical positioning of this record, with older scenarios being referred to as ‘High’, and younger ones, ‘Low’ chronologies. Offsets between the two can be as great as a century, substantially confusing connections with other civilizations of the time. Here, we settle this debate for two major periods of political unity in ancient Egypt, the Old Kingdom (the Pyramid Age), and the Middle Kingdom. We introduce 48 high-precision radiocarbon dates obtained through rare access to museum collections as well as freshly excavated samples. By combining these new results with legacy radiocarbon data and with text records for reign lengths of kings within a Bayesian statistical framework, we show that the Low Chronology is no longer empirically supported for the Old and Middle Kingdoms, and resolve a long-standing historical schism.

Sudden annual rises in radiocarbon concentration have proven to be valuable assets for achieving exact-year calibration of radiocarbon measurements. These extremely precise calibrations have usually been obtained through the use of classical χ ² tests in conjunction with a local calibration curve of single-year resolution encompassing a rapid change in radiocarbon levels. As the latest Northern Hemisphere calibration curve, IntCal20, exhibits single-year resolution over the last 5000 years, in this study we investigate the possibility of performing calibration of radiocarbon dates using the classical χ ² test and achieving high-precision dating more extensively, examining scenarios without the aid of such abrupt changes in radiocarbon concentration. In order to perform a broad analysis, we simulated 171 sets of radiocarbon measurements over the last two millennia, with different set lengths and sample spacings, and tested the effectiveness of the χ ² test compared to the most commonly used Bayesian wiggle-matching technique for temporally ordered sequences of samples such as tree-rings sequences, the OxCal D_Sequence. The D_Sequence always produces a date range, albeit in certain cases very narrow; the χ ² test proves to be a viable alternative to Bayesian wiggle-matching, as it achieves calibrations of comparable precision, providing also a highest-likelihood estimate within the uncertainty range.

Reanalysis of timbers sampled over 20 years ago, as part of a wider dendrochronology project aiming to identify imported American oak timbers in historic buildings, wrecks and other artefacts in the British Isles, means that two additional site master chronologies (COBHSQ06 and COBHSQ07), representing 14 timbers are now securely dated by ring-width dendrochronology from Cobham Hall. These imported timbers, all king posts from the south-east range and stable range roofs, were felled during the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries and are thus coeval with native English oak timbers used in the roofs of the north-west range and central hall. Radiocarbon dating was also undertaken on twelve single-ring samples from COB-G124, the longest tree-ring series in site sequence COBHSQ06. Wiggle-matching of these results provides independent validation of the date of this sequence identified by ring-width dendrochronology.

A shift towards constructing large circular monuments, including henges, during the Middle Neolithic of Britain and Ireland is exemplified in the monumental landscape of south-west England. Seventeen new radiocarbon dates for the Flagstones circular enclosure and the adjacent long enclosure of Alington Avenue, presented here, provide a chronology that is earlier than expected. Comparison with similar sites demonstrates that Flagstones was part of a broader tradition of round enclosures but was also distinctly innovative, particularly in terms of its size. These findings reinforce the value in developing precise chronologies for refining understanding of monument forms and associated practices.

A large piece of waterlogged carved wood uncovered during the excavation of foundations for a residential garage in Boxford, West Berkshire has been radiocarbon dated to the mid-fifth millennium cal BC. It is the earliest known example of a carved timber from Britain.

Grand solar minima are periods spanning from decades to more than a century during which solar activity is unusually low. A cluster of such minima occurred during the last millennium, as evidenced by reductions in the numbers of sunspots observed and coeval increases in cosmogenic isotope production. Prior to the period of instrumental records, natural archives of such isotopes are the only resources available for detecting grand solar minima. Here, we examine the period 433–315 BCE, which saw a sustained increase in the production of the cosmogenic isotope, radiocarbon. Our new time series of radiocarbon data (Δ ¹⁴ C), obtained on cellulose extracted from known-age oak tree rings from Germany, reveal that the rise in production that occurred at this time was commensurate with patterns observed over recent grand solar minima. Our data also enhance, and to a degree challenge, the accuracy of the international atmospheric radiocarbon record over this period.