The Manor House, King Street, Fordwich, Kent: Oxygen Isotope Dendrochronology of Oak Timbers
Author(s): Neil J Loader, Darren Davies, Danny McCarroll, Daniel Miles, Cathy Tyers, Giles Young
As part of an initiative to investigate the practical extent of the south-central England chronology for isotopic dating, two timbers that had been securely dated by ring-width dendrochronology from the Manor House, Fordwich were sampled for oxygen isotope analysis. Eighty-three measurements were obtained on latewood from single growth-rings of core KMF-A05 from the west brace to the north principal of truss 2 (rings 1–83 of the measured ring-width series which spans AD 1447–1529) and 127 measurements were obtained on latewood from single growth-rings of core KMF-A11 from the east brace to the north principal of truss 4 (rings 1–127 of the measured ring-width series spanning AD 1408–1534). Both samples were taken from the King Street range of the building. The two isotopic series cross-match when offset by five years. This is consistent with the ring-width cross-matching. The 127-year isotopic mean cross-dates (t=8.39, 1/p>1 million, IF>1000) with the south-central England oxygen isotope master chronology, at a position that is compatible with that provided by ring-width dendrochronology. The two isotopic series date independently at positions consistent with the ring-width dendrochronology. The location of the Manor House, Fordwich, to the south-east of the south-central England master chronology is located in an area that can be challenging for ringwidth dendrochronology. This initial study suggests that, at present, secure dating is attainable from series of isotopic measurements on single or multiple timbers in this region. An oxygen isotope master chronology for Kent is likely to enhance further the potential for applying oxygen isotope dendrochronology in this region.
- Report Number:
- 7/2021
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 25
- Keywords:
- Dendrochronology Standing Building
