Research Laboratory For Archaeology and The History of Art

The Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art (RLAHA) is a laboratory at the University of Oxford, England which develops and applies scientific methods to the study of the past. It was established in 1955 and its first director was Teddy Hall. The first deputy director was Dr Stuart Young, who was followed by Martin Aitken in 1957.

As of 2004, the Laboratory is directed by Professor Mark Pollard. Amongst the areas of research it has been involved in are:

  • Radiocarbon dating
  • Luminescence dating
  • Materials analysis
  • Palaeodiet
  • Archaeological geophysics
  • Uranium-series dating
  • Diagenesis

The laboratory includes the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, which carries out radiocarbon dating using an accelerator mass spectrometer. The Laboratory publishes the journal Archaeometry.

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