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Problems associated with correlating calibrated radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams with historical events

School of Geography, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK

Rob Stoneman

Department of Geography, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton S09 5NH, UK

Keith Barber

Department of Geography, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton S09 5NH, UK

Doug Harkness

NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory, National Engineering Laboratory, East Kilbride, Glasgow G75 OQU, UK

Problems of reconciling events registered in radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams with calendar- dated archaeological events have been encountered when interpreting pollen diagrams constructed from a number of mire sites in the Hadrianic-Antonine frontier zone of Roman Britain. Only at Fozy Moss, Northumbria, is it possible to relate a substantial clearance in the radiocarbon-dated pollen diagram to a particular event in the calendar-dated archaeological record; in this case the Roman occupation of northern Britain and the building of Hadrian's Wall. The limitations encountered with such an approach are highlighted - too few dates and lack of precision as a result of sample size and calibration - and their implications discussed.

Key Words: Key words: Radiocarbon calibration • calendar dates • Romans • Iron Age • archaeology • pollen analysis.

The Holocene, Vol. 5, No. 1, 118-123 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/095968369500500113


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