 By Doug Crowell and Kel Hancock Radiocarbon (C-14) dating is one of the most reliable of all the radiometric dating methods. It has been utilized to scientifically test organic Oak Island artifacts many times since 1967. The test uses carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of the element that decays away at a steady rate. Organisms intake a certain amount of carbon-14 from the atmosphere while they are alive. By measuring the ratio of the radio isotope to non-radioactive carbon, the amount of carbon-14 decay can be determined, giving a fairly accurate age for the specimen. Oak Island Compendium and Blockhouse Investigations is pleased to announce that Oak Island Researcher and author Les MacPhie has asked the Compendium to maintain his compilation of Oak Island Carbon Dating Reports for study by the public. We are honored to be able to do so. The index for those reports and an overview of the date results are displayed below. The collection of reports themselves are provided for download as a PDF file via a link at the bottom of this article. We invite you to dig in to the reports and see which carbon dates support your favorite theory, and which do not!   Thanks for visiting, and goodnight from The Blockhouse!
3 Comments
Andy White
11/16/2016 07:33:27 pm
It looks like your "year" estimates were calculated by simply subtracting the radiocarbon age from 1950? The dates should be run through a calibration program to turn them into calendar year ranges. Try Calib or Oxcal, available online. 11/18/2016 05:20:45 am
The coconut fibres' carbon dating is particularly baffling, I think. From what I've read, coconuts didn't reach the New World until the Portuguese brought them over in the late 1400's. Does anyone have any good explanations?
Craig
11/30/2016 11:06:01 pm
Several things can affect the date estimates from carbon-14 dating according to wikipedia. If plants grow around water with calcium carbonate in it, it will change the C-14 ratio and give a much older date. Same for plants that grow around an active volcano. There are a few other things that can throw off the dates as well, but those two seem to be the ones that would have the most dramatic effect. Leave a Reply. |
From The Blockhouse
is published by Blockhouse Investigations and oakislandcompendium.ca in Nova Scotia, Canada Editors and Chief Correspondents Kelly W. Hancock, CD Doug Crowell Writers Jonathan Guy Contributing Writers John Wonnacott, P. Eng. Les MacPhie,P.Eng. Researchers Linda Rafuse Tammy Sloan Trevor McFetridge Consultants Alessandra Nadudvari Shawna Goodall Webmaster Jonathan Guy All material and images published herein, unless otherwise credited, are copyright of Blockhouse Investigations and oakislandcompendium.ca and may be reproduced by permission only. Views expressed in these blog posts are our own. The views of those that comment are their own. Archives
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