Science
'A Signature of Oxygen': New Dating Method for Construction Wood Opens Doors for Archaeologists
Researchers from Leiden have developed a new dating method using oxygen isotopes to analyze construction wood, addressing limitations of traditional dendrochronology which requires many tree rings. Marta Domínguez Delmás of the Cultural Heritage Agency and Naturalis Biodiversity Center notes that nearly 40 percent of Dutch wood samples lack sufficient rings for conventional dating. Clara Rodriguez Morata explains that oxygen isotope ratios stored in tree rings reflect climatic conditions without interference from soil or human activity. This technique allows dating with as few as thirty rings, enabling the dating of a beam from the Old Jeroenskerk in Noordwijk and facilitating historical climate research.
Ozetta summarises; the reporting is the newsroom's