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Radiocarbon Dating Pottery

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Three Ways to Date Pottery

The following are listed in order of Beta Analytic's preference:

1) Date the charred food residue found on the interior surfaces;

2) Date the bulk sherd organics comprised of the organics in the clay that survived the firing and absorbed organics from food or liquid storage; and

3) In rare cases, date the extractable tempering agents.

Sample Size Required

Submit 15-50 mg of burned food residue for radiocarbon dating. The lab generally needs 5-15 mg of burned food residue post-treatment. How large of a sherd needs to be sent depends on the thickness of the charred residue.

Important Note on Pretreatment - It is important to understand the pretreatments which are going to be applied to samples since they directly affect the final result. You are welcome to contact us to discuss the pretreatment or request that we contact you after the pretreatment (and prior to dating) to discuss.

Extracting Pottery Residue for Radiocarbon Dating

The lab is more than happy to extract the residue then return the sherd to clients as requested. Please make sure to indicate on the data sheet if the sherd needs to be returned. Otherwise, it will be discarded upon completion of the radiocarbon dating. For details, see Beta Analytic's Policy on Returning Excess Samples.

Submitting Samples to Beta Analytic Lab

Please fill out one data sheet per sample. You can fill out online form or send printed data sheets (pdf).

See detailed shipping instructions in our Send Samples page.

Customs Declaration Reminders:

Please use the following statement in your customs declaration form - "GEOLOGICAL SAMPLES FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDY - NO COMMERCIAL VALUE - WILL BE DESTROYED IN THE ANALYSIS."

Please note that shipping samples within the EU to the UK office does not require that a customs declaration be completed.