At CIRAM, we put our expertise in archaeometry at the service of archaeologists, museums, and institutions for reliable and relevant carbon 14 dating.
Contact our teams
Whether you are working on bones, teeth, charcoal, peat, or other organic remains, carbon-14 dating can provide decisive information. It allows you to:
At CIRAM, we're with you every step of the way, from sample preparation to interpretation of results.
Contact our teams
To perform a precise and reliable carbon-14 dating, CIRAMuses rigorous analysis techniques adapted to the specificities of archaeological samples:
Our team of experts selects the most appropriate techniques according to the nature of your sample and your research objectives.
Find out more about carbon-14 dating by AMSThe analysis process at CIRAM is rigorous and transparent:
We discuss your research objectives and advise you on the best analytical approach.
We provide you with clear instructions on how to collect and send the sample, while respecting conservation protocols.
Our experts carefully prepare the sample to eliminate contamination and guarantee accurate results.
We carry out carbon-14 analysis using the most appropriate technique.
We provide you with a detailed analysis report and help you integrate the results into the archaeological context.
By choosing CIRAM for your carbon 14 dating, you benefit from:
Trust CIRAM for reliable and relevant carbon 14 dating, carried out in compliance with the strictest scientific standards.
Contact our teamsCarbon-14 dating can be used to date a wide variety of organic artifacts, such as bones, wood, charcoal, seeds, pollen, shells, peat and so on.
This depends on the type of sample. For example:
| Materials | Minimum quantity required | Optimum quantity recommended |
| Wood | 20 mg | 100 mg |
| Charcoal | 20 mg | 100 mg |
| Organic residue | 20 mg | 100 mg |
| Seed | 20 mg | 100 mg |
| Shell | 50 mg | 100 mg |
| Beachrock | 50 mg | 100 mg |
| Peat | 50 mg | 100 mg |
| Bone, tooth, ivory | 0.5 g | 1 g |
| Burnt bone | 2 g | 3 g |
Carbon-14 dating is effective for dating modern objects (21st century) back some 50,000 years.
We provide a detailed shipping protocol to ensure samples are preserved until analysis.
The duration of a carbon 14 analysis depends on the nature of the sample and the technique used. It generally takes 10 working days to obtain the results.
Thanks to 3D imaging and X-rays, you can explore the inside of funeral urns without opening them, revealing their contents and state of preservation.
Thermoluminescence (TL) makes it possible to accurately date heated ceramics, terracotta and minerals by analyzing their last exposure to a heat source.
Determine the age of sediments and geological formations using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), an essential method for reconstructing ancient environments.
Identify the composition and age of ancient mortars to better understand construction techniques and chronologically align heritage structures.
The CIRAM has dated two fossil woods whose exceptional preservation is explained in particular by their burial in a humid, oxygen-poor environment.
Choosing the right dating method in archaeology is not just a technical issue: it is a key decision that guides the entire interpretation of a site. Which technique to choose...
Anthracology plays a key role in preventive excavations: by studying archaeological coals, it sheds light on past human practices and paves the way for carbon dating...
What methods are suitable for dating a fragile artifact, tracing the origin of a material or identifying millennia-old organic residues? Mass spectrometry provides access to...
The cross-fertilization of dating techniques for archaeology guarantees the reliability of analyses in response to the complexity of the contexts and materials studied. Find out why...
Carbon-14 dating is essential in archaeology to understand and date organic materials found on ancient sites. Discover how this method enables archaeologists to...
