Greg Doudna <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Marco Rotman wrote on Oct. 22, 2001: > > > Having followed the discussion so far, it seems to me that Radiocarbon > > datings are useless for dating DSS-fragments (esp. when coming from cave > 4) > > due to the fact that it is unknown if (and if so, how much) castor oil is > > used on the fragment. > > 1) Is this conclusion correct? > > 2) Would DNA-research lead to more reliable conclusions regarding the date > > of a given manuscript? Or are there similar problems here? > > > What exists now falls a little short of the objective of reliable > 14C datings for individual Qumran texts. Yet this statement > requires qualification and explanation. In all likelihood most > of the existing 14C datings on Qumran texts are accurate as > reported. The problem is that right now it is what I liken to a > Russian roulette situation--there may be a few dates affected > by contamination among the 19 Qumran texts dated in the > Zurich and Tucson series, and our problem is we don't > know for sure which, or how many. > > 'Useless' is too strong, however. First, it may be that most > of the existing datings will be checked and verified at some > point as having been done on uncontaminated samples, and > thus the existing datings which are accurate can be distinguished > from the existing datings for which there may be known > problems. (rest of useful discussion snipped for brevity)
Greg, since the castor oil was used to enhance the readability of _inscriptions_, it seems unlikely to me that the problem is as severe as postulated in the worst case study. Surely the specimens used for destructive carbon 14 testing were taken from blank margins, not the actual inscriptions. Of course, if the specimen were thoroughly saturated, the oil could have migrated to the margins also--but probably at much lower concentrations. Robert D. Leonard Jr. Winnetka, Illinois U.S.A. For private reply, e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from Orion, e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: "unsubscribe Orion." Archives are on the Orion Web site, http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il. (PLEASE REMOVE THIS TRAILER BEFORE REPLYING TO THE MESSAGE)
