New Study Provides Absolute Dates for Artifacts from Lusatian Urnfield Cemetery at Brzezie, Greater Poland

New Study Provides Absolute Dates for Artifacts from Lusatian Urnfield Cemetery at Brzezie, Greater Poland

Archaeologists have made a step toward uncovering the history of the Lusatian Urnfield Cemetery at Brzezie in the Pleszew region of Greater Poland. After many years of fieldwork, including geophysical prospecting and excavation, materials for radiocarbon and luminescence dating were collected to determine the absolute chronology of the site.

In a study four samples were dated using OSL. The luminescence dating was made possible by measuring the dose rates in small archaeological samples using the innovative uDOSE system. The results reveal an agreement between radiocarbon and OSL dating methods, providing a date range of 1000-500 BC.

This new study provides valuable insights into the history of the Lusatian Urnfield Cemetery at Brzezie and the uDOSE system helped to provide a more accurate estimate of the dose rates for OSL dating.

Ginter, A.; Moska, P.; Poręba, G.; Tudyka, K.; Szymak, A.; Szczurek, G. Absolute Dates of Artifacts from Lusatian Urnfield Cemetery at Brzezie, Greater Poland. Radiocarbon 2022, 64 (6), 1471–1482. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2022.70

Study Examines Impact of Internal Dose Rates on Luminescence Dating Results in Quartz Grains with uDOSE System

Study Examines Impact of Internal Dose Rates on Luminescence Dating Results in Quartz Grains with uDOSE System

A new study (Szymak et al., 2022) has examined the impact of internal alpha and beta dose rates in quartz grains obtained from sandy sediments on the results of luminescence dating. The internal dose rates, which range from 0.01-0.21 Gy/ky, play a non-negligible role in determining the accuracy of luminescence dating results, especially when the external dose rates are low.

To measure the internal and external dose rates in quartz grains, the researchers used the innovative uDOSE system. The findings of the study showed that ignoring the contribution of the internal dose rates could result in artificially older luminescence ages.

Szymak, Agnieszka, Moska, Piotr, Poręba, Grzegorz, Tudyka, Konrad and Adamiec, Grzegorz. „The Internal Dose Rate in Quartz Grains: Experimental Data and Consequences for Luminescence Dating” Geochronometria, vol.49, no.1, 2022, pp.9-17. https://doi.org/10.2478/geochr-2022-0002

miDose Solutions at DLED2022

miDose Solutions at DLED2022

We are happy to let you know that miDose Solutions was once again present at the DLED Conference (4-6 Nov). This year’s edition was organised by the University of Cologne and took place in Bonn, Germany.

Our fellow researchers and participants were able to visit our stand and get a closer look at the equipment we offer and had a chance to ask any and all questions they had.

Our representatives also presented posters of their work and research, which included the practical use of the μDose System.

The Conference was a lot of fun, both professionally and socially speaking 😄 and we are looking forward to the next one!

(by J. Rocznik)

µDose system application in OSL dating for establishing land use practices in the Middle Bronze Age

µDose system application in OSL dating for establishing land use practices in the Middle Bronze Age

A reconstruction of land use practices that were performed in the Middle Bronze Age in north-western Alpine foreland was conducted by Scherer et al., (2021). It includes a reconstruction of the colluvial deposition phases obtained through OSL and AMS C-14 dating of the deposits and archaeological data. For OSL dating isotope dose rates (U-238, Th-232, K-40) were established using thick source alpha-counting and the µDose System.

Scherer, S., Höpfer, B., Deckers, K., Fischer, E., Fuchs, M., Kandeler, E., … Kühn, P. (2021). Middle Bronze Age land use practices in the northwestern Alpine foreland – a multi-proxy study of colluvial deposits, archaeological features and peat bogs. SOIL, 7(1), 269–304. https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-269-2021

(by J. Rocznik)

Application of Cs-137, Pb-210 and dendrochronology dating for erosion-sedimentation event study

Application of Cs-137, Pb-210 and dendrochronology dating for erosion-sedimentation event study

In order to better reconstruct erosion-sedimentation events in loess gully system in southern Poland, a combination of 137Cs, 210Pb (HRGS; γBeaker) and dendrochronology dating was performed by Malik et al., (2021) for 136 soil samples and 63 root and tree samples collected from 8 research profiles. The comparison of the results from both isotopic methods provided an approximate age and erosion type for soil samples; dendrochronology, however, allowed for soil degradation event assessment.

Malik I, Poręba G, Wistuba M and Woskowicz‐Ślęzak B, 2021, Combining 137Cs
, 210Pb and dendrochronology for improved reconstruction of erosion–sedimentation events in a loess gully system (southern Poland). Land Degradation & Development 32(7): 2336–2350, DOI: 10.1002/ldr.3903.

(by J. Rocznik)

Assessment of Late glacial and Holocene aeolian sediments, related to the Last Glacial maximum, in western-central Poland

Assessment of Late glacial and Holocene aeolian sediments, related to the Last Glacial maximum, in western-central Poland

Analysis of Late glacial and Holocene samples obtained by Moska et al., (2021) from 3 representative profiles located in western-central Poland was performed to establish their regional stratigraphical and paleoenvironmental significance. The paper provides results for sedimentological, geomorphological and absolute dating methods; OSL sediment dating (SAR protocol + µDose system) provided 31 dates and AMS 14C dating – 7 dates. Correlating the results with reference to Greenland ice-core chronology allowed for determination of the types and origins of sediment presence on sites.

Piotr Moska, Robert J. Sokołowski, Zdzisław Jary, Paweł Zieliński, Jerzy Raczyk, Agnieszka Szymak, Marcin Krawczyk, Jacek Skurzyński, Grzegorz Poręba, Michał Łopuch, Konrad Tudyka,
Stratigraphy of the Late Glacial and Holocene aeolian series in different sedimentary zones related to the Last Glacial maximum in Poland, Quaternary International, 2021, doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.04.004.

New products, γSPIKE and γCOLLIMATOR for self-absorption correction

New products, γSPIKE and γCOLLIMATOR for self-absorption correction

In γ and X-ray spectrometry, low-energy rays can be absorbed by the measured sample, preventing them from ever reaching the detector – otherwise known as the self-absorption or self-attenuation effect. This introduces a bias in received activities of such isotopes as 210Pb, 234Th, as well as 241Am, and a correction factor needs to be taken into consideration, to obtain credible data.

γSPIKE (read more)

γCOLLIMATOR (read more)

miDose Solutions at the LED2021 Conference

miDose Solutions at the LED2021 Conference

µDose Solutions representatives will be present at the 16th International Conference on Luminescence and Electron Spin Resonance Dating, held online on 13th to 17th September. You can find us on Gather Town where you may approach us and have a conversation or ask your questions, should you have any. See you there! Conference schedule and other important information can be found on the Conference website: https://led2021.wordpress.com/

µDose performance report

µDose performance report

In order to determine the µDose System performance precisely, the results obtained with µDose measurements were compared with other, well-established methods of low-level radioactivity assessment (i.e. TSAC, ICP-OES, HRGS). This research was conducted with the cooperation of five European laboratories and involved measuring a total of 47 sediment samples, including the IAEA reference materials. Read preprint https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-1-2022

Investigation on the impact of 222Ra emanation from reference materials and how it influences HRGS measurements with γBEAKERS

Investigation on the impact of 222Ra emanation from reference materials and how it influences HRGS measurements with γBEAKERS

Radon-222 emanation ratios were measured in several IAEA reference materials; for IAEA-RGU-1 emanation ratio was found to be very low (ca. 2.2%) and for IAEA-385, IAEA-375, IAEA-434, IAEA-448 this value was much higher (4%-35%). This analysis was conducted for samples encased in γBEAKERS and immersed in clean wax, and the data for both was compared. Read more https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2021.109893