Radiocarbon, Vol 00, Nr 00, 2020, p 1–14 DOI:10.1017/RDC.2020.62 Selected Papers from the 9th Radiocarbon & Archaeology Symposium, Athens, GA, USA, 20–24 May 2019 © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona, 2020 THE OLDEST RULERS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL BOHEMIA AND RADIOCARBON DATA Jan Frolik 1 • Jiri Sneberger 2,4,5 * • Ivo Svetlik 2 • Sylva Drtikolová Kaupová 3 • Katerina Pachnerova Brabcova 2 • Zuzana A Ovsonkova 2 1 Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Letenská 4, Prague 11801, Czech Republic 2 CRL DRD, Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS, Na Truhlarce 39/64, Prague 18086, Czech Republic 3 Department of Anthropology, National Museum, Václavské náměstí 68, Prague 1 11579, Czech Republic 4 Department of the History of the Middle Ages of Museum of West Bohemia, Kopeckého sady 2, Pilsen 30100, Czech Republic 5 Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 5, Prague 2 12843, Czech Republic ABSTRACT. Given the nature of medieval artifacts and resulting research requirements, a precise temporal classification is essential. It is especially important for the purposes of medieval archaeology in interpreting archaeological finds/finding situations and identifying them with a historical events or figures, for example, to identify skeletal remains of a known historical figure or to establish a chronological sequence of various cultural and architectural changes within an area. Due to the fact that the uncertainties of radiocarbon ( 14 C) analyses have been decreasing in recent years, the applicability of 14 C dating for such purposes is now growing. In this work, we aim to demonstrate the current possibilities of the use of AMS 14 C analyses on specific cases and confront the results with other available data. 14 C data from skeletal remains of members of the oldest Czech ruling dynasty of the Přemyslids (about 880–1306 AD) were obtained in recent years. Archaeological research conducted in the three oldest churches in the Prague Castle discovered skeletal remains of three members of the second, two members of the fourth and two members of the fifth generation. This case study of the application of 14 C data has three parts: i) identification of excavated individuals; ii) demonstration of the application using current AMS-based analysis of 14 C on medieval osteological material and tests of our preparation method; iii) contributing to discussion and consulting with other problematical 14 C age alteration influenced by diet, age of bone collagen or seasonal variation of 14 C activity. The obtained results and the issues arising from them clearly highlight the necessity of a multidisciplinary cooperation in this type of study. KEYWORDS: age of death, Prague Castle, Přemyslids, stable isotopes, time corrections. INTRODUCTION The oldest ruling dynasty in medieval Bohemia, later the Kingdom of Bohemia, was the Přemyslid (about 880–1306 AD). Historians have been acquainted with their personal fate and physical appearance since the 19th century (Bláhová et al. 1999). The historical information was obtained by the work of archaeologists and anthropologists in the course of the 20th century. In the current project, attention was focused on the five oldest generations of the Přemyslids (Figure 1 and Table 1). In Figure 1, the years above the names have a historical origin while the years under the names originate from radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating. The burials revealed by an archaeological investigation in the center of the early Czech state, i.e., in the Prague Castle, starting in 1911, have become a center of the research. All Přemyslids of the studied period were buried in the church buildings of the Prague Castle. Archaeological research conducted in the Church of the Virgin Mary, St George’s Basilica and Cathedral of St Guy/Vitus, the three oldest churches within the Prague Castle complex, has discovered the skeletal remains of three members of the second generation (Spytihněv I/† 915/, his wife/† 918/ and brother Vratislav I/† 921/), two members of the fourth generation (Boleslav II/ † 999/ and his brother of unknown name/† before 972/) and two members of the fifth generation (Oldřich/† 1034/ and his non-ruling brother Václav/† before 999/) (Figure 2). *Corresponding author. Email: sneberger@ujf.cas.cz. use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.62 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. AV CR Ustav Jaderne Fyziky, on 06 Aug 2020 at 16:24:49, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of