Radiocarbon dating At the VIE lab
History
Our lab was founded in 2021. We perform quality radiocarbon dating from archaeological sites back to 50,000 BP. Our laboratory code is “VIE”.
We apply the most up to date and reliable pretreatment chemistry procedures to obtain accurate ages. We use ultrafiltration and XAD-2 ion chromatography to AMS date bones, and AOx (oxidation treatments) for dating charcoal. We apply NIR approaches to assess collagen preservation. We have a stable isotope mass spectrometer for C and N isotopes, and we combust, graphitise and AMS date our treated samples at the Vienna Environmental Radiocarbon Accelerator (VERA), part of the VERAcore CF. Using palaeoproteomics at the Douka lab we can identify submitted bone samples to species/genus level too.
We are based at the University of Vienna’s Life Sciences Faculty in new state-of-the-art laboratories. We welcome visitors and collaborations, so please get in touch with us!
What do we date?
We specialise in bone, especially ancient and challenging samples. We also radiocarbon date charcoal, wood, and a range of other organic materials. Contact us for more details. We can provide information about how much material you need to send us and the most reliable methods for your particular samples.
How to submit samples
Please contact the Higham Lab before you send any samples. Sometimes we are too busy to be able to accept all consignments of samples for AMS dating. Once we have discussed the project, we can advise you better on potential problems and how we can best help. We can also provide information on costs.
Following this you need to fill out one of our Sample Submission Forms. We will email this to you, as well as the shipping address for the submission of samples.
