The Pope as radiocarbon dater

From Times Online
June 29, 2009

"Pope Benedict XVI said last night that bone fragments found inside the tomb of St Paul in Rome had been carbon dated for the first time, 'confirming the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul'.


"He said that archaeologists had inserted a probe into the white marble sarcophagus under the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls which has been revered for centuries as the tomb of St Paul.

"The pontiff said: 'Small fragments of bone were carbon dated by experts who knew nothing about their provenance and results showed they were from someone who lived between the 1st and 2nd century. This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that these are the mortal remains of Paul the Apostle.'"


From me: Is this the perfect intersection of science and faith? Or is there any chance this could be the bone of a commoner from the first century CE?

20th International Radiocarbon Conference

When I entered graduate school far too long ago, I had a research assistantship with Paul Damon at the University of Arizona on geomagnetic modulation of atmospheric radiocarbon concentration. This is what first got me interested in changes in the magnetic field strength over the past few millennia, which led to my master's thesis on archaeomagnetism. The rest, is history.

My first professional presentation was at the 9th International Radiocarbon Conference in Los Angeles and La Jolla, 1976. Nobel Prize winner Willard Libby was there. Now the 20th Conference is coming to Hawaii, and the abstract deadline is March 15.
From http://www.radiocarbon2009.org/ :

Hosted by the Arizona AMS Laboratory, the 2009 Radiocarbon conference will be held on the Big Island, Hawaii, from May 31–June 5, 2009.

Abstract submission and Registration are now available online. The deadline for abstract submissions is March 15, 2009. Information on the Pre-Conference field trip to the lava flows is here.

Bigger than the other Hawaiian islands combined, Hawaii's "Big Island" provides a fascinating backdrop for the Radiocarbon 2009 meeting. For some quick facts on the island and the many activities available, visit Hawaii's official tourism site.

As with previous Radiocarbon Conference proceedings, the journal Radiocarbon (which now keeps back issues online) will publish the 2009 proceedings.