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orion Re: AMS dating
1) There are, I think, very few Qumran mss which are clearly
internally-datable. Or, to try to be more precise, for few of these
texts do we have textual evidence that they must have been written
after a given date. But then, those few could have been written anytime
after that date. And copies can be made anytime after that. Given that
there are few of these texts, and given that they are not really dated
to any narrow range, the method of dating deposit in caves (which,
necessarily, is later still than the copying) immediately after the
last of these few dated events appears to be inadvisable.
2) I accept Greg Doudna's word that a recalibration may alter the date
estimates by a few years. I also assume that various recalibrations
of these dates could move them in either direction.
3) Since Greg is well-informed on AMS matters, I hope he will keep us
"up-to-date" on any future tests. Admittedly, 19 is a rather small
sample, as several writers have noted. And it is certainly possible
(and I, for one, would not be surprised) that future tests could
produce, for example, additional estimates in the second century BCE as
well as additional estimates in the first century CE.
Regards,
Stephen Goranson
----------------------
stephen goranson
goranson@acpub.duke.edu