Forgery can be a very lucrative criminal activity. So the authenticity of a work of art is crucial in determining its historical and economic value. One of the first steps is to know its history, identify the artist and place it in a particular period.
To do this, some more advanced and precise techniques can be applied to verify its authenticity, such as the use of radioactive isotopes, especially carbon-14, whose technique is known as radiocarbon dating.Read more
In 1947, the team of researchers led by W. F. Libby developed the carbon-14 dating technique, popularly known as the "atomic recording clock," which became an indispensable tool for archaeology, physical anthropology, and geology.Read more
Hilde Levi learned to use carbon-14 dating to determine the age of carbon-containing substances. The Danish National Museum in Copenhagen recognized her expertise in this field and supported the development of an apparatus for age determination based on carbon-14 dating, the first such device in Europe.Read more
For the first time, late medieval wall paintings from a French castle and a Swiss church have been dated with certainty using carbon-14 measurements containing a pigment widely used in painting.Read more