I have managed to get to the bottom of this C-14 data. Some will recall the discussion of C-14 dating earlier in the thread and will have realised that there is something a bit fishy about the reported date range of 330BC - 270BC, because I previously carefully explained why so narrow a range is not possible. It turns out that the calibrated date range for the death of the wood for the charcoal at 95% probability is 395BC to 345BC or 320BC to 205BC. There are two probability peaks due to the slight fluctuations in the atmospheric concentration of C-14 in that era. The earlier peak is taller and contains the larger probability and contains the centre of the distribution at ~360BC. It was therefore concluded that the wood died (i.e. stopped absorbing Carbon-14 from the atmosphere) at approximately 360BC and was quite a few decades dead when burnt by the tomb builders constructing the "Hephaistion Monument" in roughly 323BC-320BC. It would have to have been lying around for decades before being burnt, because Alexander's reign and its immediate aftermath are actually significantly outside the peaks of the probability distribution. (Conversely, it could have been dead only a year or two in 315BC-310BC, the building period for a tomb of Olympias.)gepd wrote:That is where they found the burned wooden samples for analysis (just above the tholos, west)
As far as I can see, this charcoal is probably not from a funeral pyre, but something from a campfire (or similar) of the builders. It is connected with the date of the tomb, because it was swept up into the first backfill over the domed roof of the tunnel of the tomb chambers. Thus it was sealed into place at the time of the completion of the tomb.
Best wishes,
Andrew