Fulham Palace, Bishop’s Avenue, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham: Tree-ring Analysis and Radiocarbon Wiggle-matching of Elm and Oak Timbers from the Hall Roof
Author(s): Dr Martin Bridge, Cathy Tyers, A Bayliss, Silvia Bollhalder, Michael Dee, Sanne Palstra, Lukas Wacker
Elm samples were taken from the hall roof, from which oak timbers had been previously dated, along with some additional oak samples. One oak sample was dated to the period AD 1362–1480, having a likely felling date range compatible with the tree-ring date previously determined for the roof (spring AD 1493). Three elm samples matched each other, and their combined series gave some consistent matches at a position corresponding to the period AD 1381–1480, but against oak reference data, not the oak at this site. The statistical evidence was not considered strong enough, particularly against a different species, and would, if it had been accepted, imply that the elm trees were felled more than ten years before the oak timbers used in the construction of the roof. Elm samples were submitted for radiocarbon wiggle-matching to confirm, or refute, this tenuous dendrochronological match. In fact the wiggle-matching shows that the tentative dating of the mean elm series suggested by the ring-width dendrochronology is not correct, and the elm was most likely felled at a similar time to the oak. Unusually for a building of this date, the hall roof at Fulham Palace appears to be constructed from timbers felled over a number of years.
- Report Number:
- 100/2019
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 36
- Keywords:
- Dendrochronology Radiocarbon Dating Standing Building Wiggle-Match
