First results from sequencing high-precision ¹⁴C data from Tell el-Dab^ca
Peter Stadler¹, Manfred Bietak², Walter Kutschera³, Peter Steier³, Ursula Thanheiser⁴, Eva Maria Wild³

¹ Prähistorische Abteilung, Naturhistorisches Museum, Burgring 7, A-1010 Wien, Austria
² Institut für Ägyptologie, Universität Wien, Frankgasse 1, A-1090 Wien, Austria
³ VERA Laboratory, Institut für Isotopenforschung und Kernphysik, Universität Wien, Währingerstrasse 17, A-1090 Wien, Austria
⁴ Interdisziplinäres Forschungsinstitut für Archäologie (VIAS), Rennweg 14, A-1030 Wien, Austria

It is well know that the atmospheric ¹⁴C content was not constant throughout the dateble time range of the radiocarbon method (~ 50,000 years). These variations limit the precision of single ¹⁴C dates to varying degrees, depending on the "wiggleness" of the calibration curve in the particuler time period. It is therefore advantageous to select short-lived sample material, which can be put in a firm stratigraphic sequence from an archaeological point of view. The ¹⁴C results of the individual samples can then be calibrated by applying a procedure called "sequencing" or "wiggle matching", where the stratigraphic information is used to fix the relative time sequence of the samples. This reduces the uncertainty of single dates, and allows one to establish an absolute time frame of this series on a much firmer footing. At the VERA AMS facility, we have measured 17 seeds selected from different stratigraphic layers at Tell el-Dab^ca, and determined uncalibrated radiocarbon ages with 1-sigma (68.2% probability) precisions of <=40 years. Then we performed the procedure described above using the calibration programme OxCal. First results will be presented, and future steps to "harden" the time series will be discussed.