Revisiting Quanterness: new AMS dates and stable isotope data from an Orcadian chamber tomb

Abstract

A total of 20 new AMS radiocarbon determinations on human bone have been obtained for the Neolithic chamber tomb of Quanterness, Orkney. The results show poor agreement with the recorded stratigraphy, suggesting extensive mixing of the chamber deposits. A Bayesian model treating all of the determinations as deriving from a single phase of activity provides a start date in the range 3510-3220 cal BC (most probably falling after 3450 cal BC ), with the main phase of burial activity ending in the range 2850-2790 cal BC (95.4% probability). This presents a tighter range than previously available, but nevertheless appears to confirm the longevity of burial activity at the monument.