The present and future role of carbon-14 dating in UK archaeology

Carbon-14 dating is now over thirty years old, it has reached a 'respectable' age and has long been accepted as a necessary tool in archaeological investigations and many other allied disciplines. Even some years ago, the total number of carbon-14 dates published was estimated in excess of 25,000. The escalation of numbers since then both from new laboratories and the continuing work of the existing ones must surely have taken this total well towards, if not into, the 100,000 numbers. An exact count is probably not worthwhile but here, after thirty years with new laboratories still coming into being and the annual production of carbon-14 dates still on the increase, it does seem pertinent to pause and consider at least three questions: a) what are all these dates being used for; b) what trends of application have emerged in recent years; c) what will be required, if not expected, of carbon-14 in the future. These questions are discussed. (author)