Gwithian, Cornwall: Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating of Sands from a Bronze Age Archaeological Site
Author(s): H M Roberts
Two windblown sand units found at the Bronze Age site at Gwithian, near Hayle, West Cornwall, were dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) applied to coarse (sand-sized) quartz grains. The quartz proved sufficiently sensitive to enable well-resolved dating using the Single Aliquot Regenerative dose (SAR) measurement protocol. The OSL ages are indistinguishable within errors, showing that the two sand units were deposited in relatively rapid succession approximately 3500 years ago, with only a brief period of stabilisation due to cultivation in between. The OSL ages are in agreement with independent evidence from radiocarbon dating of intervening and overlying stratigraphic units.
- Report Number:
- 103/2007
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 18
- Keywords:
- Bronze Age Optically Stimulated Luminescence
