Do we know the date the amphitheater was built? 1b
The exact date remains very uncertain.
There are several criteria or methods for dating it:
numismatic,
ceramic, ceramology,
and, of course,
since pieces of wood have been found in the amphitheater,
either dendrochronology, or using carbon-14,
which measures the radiological activity. 8b
What does the numismatic dating reveal?
In fact, it concerns a coin
that was found in the rubble of the foundations
of one of the columns of the outer crown.
In all likelihood it dates
from 88-89 or 95-96 CE, during the reign of Domitian.
Which means that in principle the monument
cannot be older than these dates.
Given that the coin had not been in circulation very long
and that it is in good shape,
we think that it was in circulation for five years at the most.
That would bring us to
around the year 100 CE. 20b
What does carbon-14 dating reveal?
Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope
contained in organic matter that disappears progressively.
When we find organic objects,
in this case dovetails made of wood,
it enables us
to obtain the date the tree was cut down.
But it's a very broad range of dates.
Statistically, the more of them we have,
the more we can narrow in on the dates
in the past.
What I have observed,
is that the dates are in the first quarter
of the second century CE 33b
Why not use dendrochronology?
The interest of these wooden dovetails is that they can be dated.
Since wood is organic matter,
it can be dated.
Either using carbon-14,
or dendrochronology.
Dendrochronology is the study of tree rings to date objects.
Reference bases allow us
to determine when the tree was cut down,
and in what period.
We can know the very year.
The problem with these dovetails
is that they were taken from the core of the tree.
We are missing
all the outer parts of the tree:
the sapwood and the bark.
As a result, it's hard to obtain the references we need.
We would need lots of rings
on these dovetails.
Unfortunately, when they are in this shape,
we can't say much about them.
But with this kind of dovetail, if we find lots of them,
in which we can see the rings,
we may be able to establish the date using dendrochronology.