C14 Radiocarbon Dating - Sample - SUERC-6712

A charred barley grain (Sample 1) from a blackish brown sandy silt fill 169 of a gully, possible representing a beam slot or drain. The fill included sandstone flecks and frequent charcoal. The gully cut through a hearth and was overlain by laminated occupation deposits that appeared to have built up over a long period of time. Strata in these overlying layers were clearly visible indicating minimal post-depositional disturbance. The cereal grain possibly derives from the remains of the charcoal-rich hearth that the gully cuts through or it could also have been swept or washed in from surrounding floor surfaces during the lifetime or at the point of disuse of the gully. If the charcoal is incorporated from the hearth context below, then it is possible that some time passed between the charring of the grain and its incorporation into the gully. It is not, however, thought that there is an obvious period of abandonment between these two phases of activity and the two should be broadly contemporary.

Canmore ID 241635

Map Number ND27SW

Site type Cruck Framed Cottage (Post Medieval), Animal Remains (Antler)

Site number 85

NGR 321904 971084

Council 270

County 08

Parish DUNNET

Lab Analysis ID SUERC-6712

Material Dated Charred Grain (hordeum spp)

Sponsor HS

Uncalibrated date bp +/- error 1180 bp +/-40

Uncalibrated date ad/bc +/- error ad 770 +/-40

Delta -23.7

Calibration program used No

Calibration curve used No