Investigating potential radiocarbon anomalies around the time of the Minoan eruption of Thera: A new high-resolution dataset from Groningen

Abstract The date of the Thera eruption has been a subject of intense debate since the mid-20th century. In recent years, the disagreements have escalated with the introduction of IntCal20. The increased number of annual measurements around the time period of the eruption has highlighted potential fluctuations in the atmospheric radiocarbon record, shedding new light on the date of the disastrous event. The Centre for Isotope Research in Groningen has already contributed data from this time period to IntCal20, and here, we report a new set of annual data of approximately 90 radiocarbon measurements between 1660 and 1507 BCE. We investigate the potential anomalies in the calibration curve and compare our dataset with those from other leading laboratories. Although we do not find compelling evidence of any rapid increases in radiocarbon production during this period, the results do point to the presence of minor differences between datasets which could be species, region or laboratory pretreatment related. By quantifying such offsets, we assess their impact on chronological models related to the eruption of Thera.