UWLAS Archaeological Services

Dendrochronology

Polished cross-section of a slice sample of oak building timber. Standing buildings are more usually sampled using corers to maintain the intergity of the stucture! The Dendrochronology Laboratory at Lampeter has been active for almost a decade, providing, in addition to a teaching and research resource within the Department, a contract service to a wide range of external clients. The Laboratory has a strong track record in ring-width analysis focused on tree-ring dating and provenance of oak structures and objects. Laboratory techniques employed follow best practice as advocated by English Heritage guidelines for dendrochronology and waterlogged wood.

Services provided

  • Sampling an early medieval logboat in the Radnorshire Museum (felling date range of AD 1192-1228). Historic buildings (see case study below), whether timber-framed or retaining original roof trusses, can be accurately dated through a programme of on-site assessment and sampling followed by laboratory-based analysis. Reports can be produced to the client's specification, whether as part of the planning process or for integration within broader historic projects.
  • A comprehensive service is available for the analysis of archaeological wood assemblages from wetland and underwater excavations including tree-ring dating and analysis, species identification, technological studies, and archive and publication illustration. Fully integrated archive and publication reports can be supplied in a wide range of formats to meet client requirements.
  • Ancient woodlands are also amenable to tree-ring analysis with sampling of living trees providing data on forest dynamics, age structure and climatic response. Similarly, trees within historic gardens and parks can be analysed to clarify the date of formal plantings.

For further information/advice or quotation in relation to these services, please contact Nigel Nayling (tel: +44(0)1570 424904; e-mail: n.nayling@trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk)

Fig. 2: The gatehouse at Lower Brockhampton, Herefordshire, dated to AD 1543/4 with the moated manor house in the background.Case study: Historic buildings

Dendrochronological surveys of standing historic buildings can provide valuable insights into construction date, repairs and alterations. At the site-specific level, this information can inform conservation, planning and restoration decisions. Within the wider context of buildings archaeology, the independent dating provided by dendrochronology is increasingly playing a role in testing ideas about developments in building form and vernacular architecture.

Fig. 1: The end chimney gentry houseat Dolbeldydr, Denbighshire dated to AD 1578/9, following restoration by the Landmark Trust. Recent Welsh projects have included dating construction of Dolbelydr, near Trefnant, Denbighshire to the winter of AD 1578/9 (Fig. 1). It was in this house that the humanist and physician Henry Salesbury wrote the Grammatica Britannica (published in 1593). This is claimed to be the first systematic grammar of the Welsh language. The house had been in a dilapidated condition but has now been restored by the Landmark Trust. Successful analysis depended upon effective liaison between the laboratory and the architect, building historian and building contractors. The restoration has been acclaimed for the high quality of conservation repair and the sensitive approach to such a vulnerable and historically valuable building.

Reports are often commissioned by English Heritage and other funding agencies as part of a package of grant aid for restoration of listed buildings. The picturesque gatehouse on the Lower Brockhampton estate (Fig. 2), now owned by the National Trust, has recently been dated to AD 1543/4. Unusually, the building is not only a grade I listed building, but also a scheduled ancient monument requiring formal scheduled monument consent for the dendrochronological sampling to take place.