When two people do the same thing, it's not the same thing : same churches, same ¹⁴c data, different absolute ages
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The earliest churches in Central Europe, specifically in Slovakia and Czechia, are dated—based on archaeological, stylistic, and historical evidence—to the late 9th and 10th centuries. To confirm this dating and clarify the construction sequence, some of these churches have been radiocarbon dated using samples of wood from the construction, as well as mortars and charcoal embedded within the mortars. This paper presents two case studies: the St George Rotunda at Nitranska Blatnica (SK) and the St Peter and Paul Rotunda at Budeč (CZ). In both cases, the primary 14C data indicated similar conventional ages. However, the data were approached and interpreted differently. In the first case, the interpretation selectively emphasised a portion of the calibrated time interval to shift the construction of the church to an earlier chronological horizon than previously assumed and the results remain open (Povinec et al. 2021; Robak 2024). In the second case, the primary 14C data were assessed more critically, taking into account the results of petrographic analysis of the mortars, as well as archaeological and written sources (Válek et al. 2025). The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how differing approaches to the interpretation of 14C data can influence the absolute dating of early church construction in Central Europe. Moreover, it seeks to highlight the importance of a critical approach to the interpretation of primary data, and the need to consider the archaeological context within the interpretive process. |
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