Establishment of a Working Data Base for the International Exchange of 14 C Data Using Universal Transfer Formats

A high-level record structure for the international communication of 14 C data bases is proposed. The record structure is based on the high-level communication format first proposed by the authors at the 23rd International Symposium on Archaeometry, Naples, 1983 and does not require the abandonment of existing systems. A description is given of an implementation of the high-level system at Harwell, with examples of retrieval in an international format (the Radiocarbon date list format) and a keyword-organized local format.