A new archaeological software tool named after the ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes (Greek: Ἐρατοσθένης) could help researchers date artifacts by combining historical evidence with statistical analysis. The program estimates when ancient objects were made, used, and buried, offering a more systematic way to establish historical timelines.
The software, called “Eratosthenes,” was developed by Stephen A. Collins-Elliott of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The study was published in the Journal of Open Source Software. The program takes its name from Eratosthenes of Cyrene, an ancient Greek mathematician and scholar famous for calculating Earth’s circumference. He also wrote a work on chronology called “Chronographiai.”
New software addresses challenges in dating ancient artifacts
Determining the age of archaeological objects often requires researchers to compare pottery styles, coins, historical records, and the soil layers where artifacts were discovered. These methods provide valuable evidence, but they do not always establish precise dates. Archaeologists may assign an object to a broad period, such as the beginning of the fourth century B.C. Such estimates can differ between researchers and change as discoveries emerge.
The new software addresses this challenge by combining two types of evidence. Absolute dates connect events to calendar periods, while relative dates establish whether one event happened before or after another. For example, a coin discovered in an archaeological layer shows that the deposit formed after the coin was produced. The program uses these relationships to calculate the likelihood of different dates rather than assigning a single fixed estimate.
How the Eratosthenes software estimates artifact dates
The software uses a statistical method called “Gibbs sampling” to repeatedly calculate possible dates based on archaeological and historical evidence. It produces separate estimates for three stages of an artifact’s history: production, use, and deposition. This distinction is important because an object may remain in use for decades before being discarded or buried. The program also measures uncertainty in its calculations, allowing researchers to assess how strongly the available evidence supports each estimated date.
Ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes is inspiring modern archaeology!
New software named after him uses statistical analysis to help researchers date ancient artifacts, from pottery to Mediterranean shipwrecks, and build more accurate historical timelines. pic.twitter.com/ULE7d3nGCW
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) October 16, 2026
Another feature helps archaeologists identify which events have the greatest influence on a historical timeline. By temporarily removing individual events from the analysis, the software shows how much other estimated dates change. While many existing archaeological dating programs focus on radiocarbon dating, the new tool concentrates on artifact types and their relationships with archaeological deposits.
Ancient Mediterranean shipwrecks and pottery provide a test case
Collins-Elliott demonstrated the software using archaeological evidence from the Mediterranean spanning the final four centuries B.C. The analysis included two archaeological deposits and five shipwrecks. One important historical reference was Rome’s destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C., which provides a chronological boundary for deposits associated with the city’s destruction.
The study also examined Dressel 1 amphorae, ceramic containers used to transport goods across the ancient Mediterranean. Such vessels were widely used in maritime trade, and archaeologists continue to discover them at underwater sites, including a Roman shipwreck found off Sicily.
Archaeologists have traditionally dated the beginning of Dressel 1 production to the later second century B.C., partly because these containers were absent from archaeological layers formed before Carthage’s destruction. The software combined evidence from multiple archaeological contexts to estimate when these containers were produced, used, and eventually deposited.
The analysis also placed the Grand Congloué A shipwreck earlier than its traditionally accepted date. However, Collins-Elliott noted that future analyses would need to revisit the underlying chronological sequences and constraints. The research demonstrates how statistical modeling can help archaeologists examine dating assumptions and evaluate the impact of new evidence.
Collins-Elliott also describes ongoing work combining pottery, coins, radiocarbon dates, archaeological deposits, and historical events from the central Mediterranean between the fourth and first centuries B.C. The approach could make archaeological timelines easier to evaluate and revise while providing clearer information about the uncertainty surrounding ancient dates.
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