Barbara Gmińska-Nowak

(1) Background: Pinus heldreichii is a long-living tree subalpine species commonly used for climate reconstruction. Nevertheless, its potential for dendroarchaeology and dating of historical timber remains unknown. In Metsovo and in the surrounding area of Pindus National Park (Northern Greece) it is commonly used for the construction of buildings and wooden objects and artifacts. (2) Methods: We examined timber found in historical buildings within the study area and we tried to date it using local reference chronologies of Bosnian and Black pines. (3) Results: Bosnian pine chronologies can be used to date timber from historical buildings, while they can also be used as reference chronologies against Black pines, giving very high cross-dating values. Therefore, and since the macroscopic identification of the two species’ timber is impossible, the analysis of wood anatomy is necessary to distinguish the two species in the case of historical wood. (4) Conclusions: The current paper presents the first application of dendroarchaeology for Bosnian pine and highlights the potential of the species in studying cultural heritage and the human past.

The current study presents the results of the first dendrochronological survey performed over the East Aegean island of Symi. Research Highlights: Dendrochronological research of the East Aegean region is of paramount importance since dendrochronological data from the region, and especially the islands, are still limited. Background and Objectives: The main aim of the study is to explore the dendrochronological potential of the island, focusing on the dating of historical wood and buildings as well as dendroprovenancing. Materials and Methods: A total of 57 wood samples were collected from historical timber from windmills and architectural elements, including doors and warehouse planks, while 68 cores were collected from the three dominant tree species of the island-Cupressus sempervirens, Pinus brutia, and Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis-in an attempt to develop local reference chronologies that could be useful in dating historical timber Results: Of the historical timber, at least nine different species have been detected, with conifers representing the majority of the collected material. In total, 56% of the dendroarchaeological samples, belonging to four different species, were dated absolutely. According to cross-dating and dendroprovenancing results, Pinus nigra, Cedrus sp., and Quercus sp. represent timber imported from present-day Turkey while the fir samples collected from the windmills originate from Central Europe. The use of local timber is also highly probable although it could not be confirmed by the reference chronologies developed for the three dominant tree species of the island. Conclusions: The results of the study reveal the dendrochronological potential of the island from both dendroarchaeological and dendroecological perspectives. The finding that most of the wood was imported mainly from Turkey highlights the importance of timber trade with the Turkish mainland during the mid-18th and 19th centuries. Chronologies developed from living trees could be used in future studies for dating historical material while further research would increase our understanding of past timber trade and the island's history.

The current study is a dendroarchaeological/dendroarchitectural investigation of the remains of a historically important multi-phase building, nicknamed 'Enetiko', located in Nafplio. Timber was used for the floors, the roof, and timber-framed walls of the building. Timber elements were also embedded in masonry. Particularly important are the architraves; ground storey timber lintels on the southern façade. According to prior research, the earliest phase was thought to date to the early 18th century with a later 19th century modification. Therefore, we applied dendrochronology to check whether it represents an early construction phase of the building and to confirm the previously mentioned different phases. Timber examination revealed six tree species and 60% of the 85 samples collected in total were dated. Imported deciduous oaks (Quercus spp.), dated c.1530 or after, represent an early Venetian or Ottoman phase of the building. Turkish origin of oaks suggests Ottoman period. Imported fir, most likely Abies alba, was dated in the 17th and 18th centuries. Black pine (Pinus nigra) from Greece and juniper (Juniperus sp.) from the East were used in interventions of the late 19th and 20th centuries.

This paper presents a new series of absolute age determinations from the Złota-Gajowizna site. These are the first chronometric data from the most important necropolis of the central group of the Globular Amphora culture. The obtained dendrochronological data, which are unique for the sites of the Late Neolithic in Poland, made it possible to specify the results of the calibration. A new interpretation of the arrangement of the cemetery has been proposed, which is the starting point for determining the GAC funeral rite in the Sandomierz Upland.

Upper Mustang is a land of extraordinary, precious, tangible and intangible cultural heritage deeply rooted in the Tibetan culture and tradition of Buddhism as well as the Bön religion. The unique architecture provides a great source of timber suitable for dendrochronological research. Century-old fortresses, palaces, Buddhist monasteries and temples, houses and chörtens reflect the great importance of wood as a building material (used alongside clay and stone). We’re presenting pioneering research on historical wood from Upper Mustang. The objectives of the research were to determine the wood species used in the traditional architecture of the region, to make an attempt to date materials from Upper Mustang using existing tree-ring chronologies developed for neighbouring geographical regions and to determine the need and the chance of creating a separate tree-ring chronologies for Upper Mustang. For the presented study we collected 191 samples from the oldest buildings preserved in Upper Mustang. Anatomical studies of samples resulted in the identification of four species of conifer wood: Himalayan pine – Pinus wallichiana A.B. Jacks, Himalayan fir – Abies spectabilis D.Don, Juniperus spp. and Larix spp. The main achievement of our research was the development of an Upper Mustang master chronology covering the period from 1317 to 1943. The chronology is based on data derived from Pinus wallichiana A.B. Jacks.

Long Bosnian pine chronologies from different mountains are shaped by different climatic parameters and can help identify past drought events and reconstruct landscape histories. Abstract We developed a 735-year-long Pinus heldreichii chronology from the southern distribution limit of the species, expanding the available database of long Bosnian pine chronologies. Tree-ring growth was mainly positively correlated with growing degree days (GDD: r 1950-2018 = 0.476) while higher temperatures during both winter and growing season also enhanced growth (T WT : r 1950-2018 = 0.361 and T GS : 0.289, respectively). Annual precipitation, during both calendar and water years, had a negative but weaker impact on annual tree growth. The newly developed chronology correlates well with chronologies developed from the neighboring mountains. The years with ring width index (RWI) lower than the average were found to correspond to cool years with dry summers. Still, the newly developed chronology was able to capture severe drought events, such as those in 1660, 1687, and 1725. Several old living trees had internal scars presumably caused by fires. Therefore, old mature trees could be used for fire history reconstruction in addition to climate reconstruction. Although the presence of lightning scars indicates an important natural agent of fire ignition, human activities associated with animal grazing could also be an underlying reason for fires in the region.

This paper is a critical overview of our dendroarchaeological case-studies in Turkey within the framework of the Balkan-Aegean Dendrochronology Project: “Tree-Ring Research for the Study of SE-European and East Mediterranean Civilizations” with a discussion of existing challenges and prospects for the future. Tree-ring research and dendrochronology were formally introduced to archaeology of Turkey as early as the 1970s through Peter I. Kuniholm’s pioneering study on a 2750-year-old Iron Age tumulus housing a wooden burial chamber built of juniper logs with nearly 900 rings, the oldest known standing wooden structure in the world. This work together with his subsequent dating projects resulted in long regional tree-ring chronologies covering mostly the late antique and Ottoman periods in the wider Mediterranean region. The main goal of our project was to revive and build on this work through new collaborations, materials and perspectives in such a landscape full of huge archaeological potential offering a diverse set of data and questions on ancient societies. Another major goal was to extend such existing chronologies, identify problems, and fill in the gaps especially for the second and first millennia BCE, a time period that witnessed the rise and fall of many great polities in ancient Anatolia, such as the Hittites and the Phrygians, the emergence and disruption of long-distance trade networks, and a major crisis resulting in a new “house of cards”. Besides dating of a number of exceptional Late Bronze Age contexts, such as the 3500-year-old sacred spring of ancient Nerik, and identification of wood species and their origins, such as the Black pine timber posts used by the Early Bronze Age inhabitants of Seyitömer Höyük ca. 4700 years ago, we were able to identify issues arising from the quality, quantity, and management of available material. Our revisit to existing Anatolian tree-ring chronologies has revealed that sequences from Bronze and Iron Ages are still floating and represent only a small fraction of what has been unearthed thus far. During fieldwork we also observed a general loss of interest in dendrochronology among archaeologists, probably caused by the increasing popularity of other forms of absolute dating and long disappearances of dendrochronologists especially in less-favored areas. Our ultimate goal is to restore and foster the role of dendroarchaeology in shaping and answering questions on human past and environment while outlining prospects for the future in collaboration with local researchers in a geography offering many great challenges but full of surprises.