Absolutely dating the European Neolithic through a rapid 14C excursion.

The discovery of abrupt radiocarbon (14C) excursions (Solar Energetic Particle events, or Miyake events) in sequences of radiocarbon measurements from calendar dated tree-rings, has yielded new opportunities to assign absolute, calendar dates to undated wood samples from widely ranging contexts in history and prehistory. We report on an important tree-ring and 14C-dating based study, which secures the Neolithic site of Dispilio, Northern Greece, a key site for the Aegean Neolithic, in absolute, calendar-dated time using the Miyake event of 5259 BC. The last ring of the 303-year-long juniper tree-ring chronology from Dispilio is dated to 5140 BC. Dispilio is thus the first prehistoric site absolutely dated through a 14C signature (Miyake event), but also the first absolutely, calendar-year dated prehistoric site in the wider Mediterranean region

Dendroarchaeology of Sovjan - the first Early Bronze Age dendrochronological analysis from the southwestern Balkans (Albania)

The archaeological site of Sovjan is situated on the north-western edge of the Korçë Basin, south-eastern Albania. The stratigraphy of Sovjan spans from the Neolithic till the Bronze Age. The thoroughly investigated stratigraphic sequence of the site makes it one of the most important prehistoric reference-sites in Albania and the surrounding region. During prehistory Sovjan was situated at various distances from the shores of the former Lake Maliq, which once filled the Korçë Basin, but was definitely drained after the 1940s. The waterlogged conditions on the site allowed for a high degree of preservation of wooden remains. From the two uncovered dwellings from layer 8, the Maison du Canal (House on the Canal) represents probably the best-preserved wooden structure from the Bronze Age Balkans. The predominant use of deciduous oak wood (Quercus spp.) is confirmed in this phase. Through a combination of dendrochronological analysis and 14C-dates (wiggle matching), we were able to define a high-precision chronological placement of the layer with an end-date range falling between 2158 and 2142 cal BC (2σ), the second half of the Early Bronze Age. It was confirmed that the two dwellings and the trackway were built in the same construction event, made of both worked and unworked wood. The utilized construction timber falls into various age-classes, suggesting variable exploitation of the woodland resources. Additionally, through Bayesian modelling of the previously published 14C dates from the transitional layer 7, its chronological placement is narrowed-down to the 22nd – 20th century BC. These new results suggest the contemporaneity of the processes in the Balkan ‘hinterland’ with those occurring in the wider Aegean region

Dendroarchaeology at Lake Ohrid: 5th and 2nd millennia BCE tree-ring chronologies from the waterlogged site of Ploča Mičov Grad, North Macedonia

On the prehistoric site of Ploča Mičov Grad (Ohrid, North Macedonia) on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid a total of 799 wooden elements were recorded from a systematically excavated area of nearly 100 square meters. Most of them are pile remains of round wood with diameters up to almost 40 cm. A comprehensive dendrochronological analysis allowed the construction of numerous well-replicated chronologies for different species. High agreements between the chronologies prove that oak, pine, juniper, ash and hop-hornbeam can be cross-dated. The chronologies were dated by means of radiocarbon dating and modelling using wiggle matching. An intensive settlement phase is attested for the middle of the 5th millennium BCE. Further phases follow towards the end of the 5th millennium BCE and in the 2nd millennium around 1800, 1400 and 1300 BCE. Furthermore, the exact, relative felling dates allow first insights into the minimum duration of the settlement phases, which lie between 17 and 87 years. The multi-centennial chronologies presented in this study represent a first robust dating basis for future research in the numerous not yet dated prehistoric lake shore settlements in the southwestern Balkans with excellently preserved wooden remains

Prehistoric pile-dwellings: dendroarchaeology in the southwestern Balkans

A number of wetland archaeological sites have been identified around the lakes in the southwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula, however only a limited number have been excavated. The constantly wet, low-oxygen depositional environment on such sites provides excellent conditions for wood preservation. Since 2018, more than 1800 remains of construction woods have been sampled from these prehistoric sites, mostly from the Lakes of Ohrid and Kastoria. Hundreds of these samples have been measured and cross-dated, and now represent the first prehistoric centennial and multi-centennial tree-ring chronologies from the lakes region, covering various periods of the local Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze and Iron Age. The dominant wood species utilised on the sites are members of the genus Quercus, but significant numbers of junipers and pines were also recovered, as well as various deciduous species. These floating tree-ring chronologies were anchored through radiocarbon dating and wiggle-matching. The TRW chronologies will provide the chronological backbone for integrating various lines of ongoing research on these wetland archaeological sites

Prehistoric dendrochronology in the southern Balkans: state-of-the-art and prospects

Dendrochronological research in the Eastern Mediterranean started more than half a century ago. From king’s tombs, through charcoals to subfossil wood, tree-rings have provided important information on chronology, wood species or long-distance trade. In most cases however, the recovery of archaeological wood remains was more of a by-product rather than one of the research goals. Therefore, the wood samples acquired during the archaeological excavations and systematic dendrochronological sampling within the EXPLO project represent a unique collection. This presentation will give an overview of the state of the dendrochronological research on wetland prehistoric sites from the Lakes of Ohrid, Kastoria and Maliq. Besides precise site dating, tree-ring analyses enable establishing contemporaneity with other sites, diachronic study of wood selection, site occupation, forest species composition or environmental conditions

Wetland dendrochronology. An overview of the prehistoric chronologies from the southwestern Balkans

In the past few decades a number of prehistoric wetland archaeological sites have been detected in the south-central part of the Balkan peninsula. However, only few of them have been excavated. In this study we discuss the characteristics of the wooden remains and selected tree-ring width chronologies from the archaeological sites of Sovjan, Ploča–Mičov Grad, and Dispilio. They represent the first prehistoric centennial and multi-centennial tree-ring chronologies from the region, covering various periods of the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age. The dominant wood species utilised on the sites are members of the genus Quercus, but significant numbers of Juniperus and Pinus were also recovered, in addition to some other deciduous species. Through radiocarbon dating and wiggle-matching we were able to anchor these floating tree-ring chronologies on the calendar scale with a high temporal resolution

Dispilio, Lake Orestias (Kastoria, Greece): new insights into the chronology and architecture of a Neolithic wetland habitation.

Western Macedonia bears exceptional geophysical characteristics concerning aquatic resources compared to other parts of the Greek mainland. Consequently, several prehistoric communities exploited the region’s valuable wetlands to carry out various productive activities and develop their distinctive socio-cultural characteristics. Except for the rescue excavation of some habitations in Amindeon Basin, the Neolithic Dispilio in Lake Kastoria is the only wetland settlement in Greece that is systematically investigated since the 1990s’ by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Until recently, the outcome of this long-lasting project was a series of 14C dates that established the general chronological framework of the habitation (mid-6th to the late-3rd mil BCE), together with several preliminary studies of the rich archaeological materials unearthed. The participation since 2019 of AUTH in the ERC-funded Project ‘EXPLOring the dynamics and causes of prehistoric land use change in the cradle of European farming’ provides the framework for developing a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary approach to crucial research objectives, aiming for an overall perception of Dispilio characteristics. The paper presents the reconstruction of the habitation sequence, as well as concrete excavation contexts comprising large amounts of artefacts, bioarchaeological remains and building materials. The spatial distribution and the attributes of these concentrations, detected mainly in the habitation’s waterlogged archaeological layers offer indications about built and open spaces within an excavated area of approximately 500m2. The key factor for understanding Dispilio’s diachronic architectural development is the dendrochronological analysis of the settlement’s pile field, a pioneering work for Greek archaeology. More than 800 samples of posts have been analyzed by the experts’ team at Bern University resulting in oak and juniper dendro mean curves that build the chronology of the waterlogged layers from the 57th to the 53rd centuries BC. These results have led to hypotheses regarding the diachronic development of Dispilio architecture and spatial organization by correlating the dated posts with stratified material concentrations. Moreover, aspects of the dynamic relationship between the local Neolithic community with the surrounding lake environment are discussed, reflected in the exploitation of raw materials and the diachronic development of building techniques

Absolute dating of the European Neolithic using the 5259 BC rapid 14C excursion.

Abrupt radiocarbon (14C) excursions, or Miyake events, in sequences of radiocarbon measurements from calendar-dated tree-rings provide opportunities to assign absolute calendar dates to undated wood samples from contexts across history and prehistory. Here, we report a tree-ring and 14C-dating study of the Neolithic site of Dispilio, Northern Greece, a waterlogged archaeological site on Lake Kastoria. Findings secure an absolute, calendar-dated time using the 5259 BC Miyake event, with the final ring of the 303-year-long juniper tree-ring chronology dating to 5140 BC. While other sites have been absolutely dated to a calendar year through 14C-signature Miyake events, Dispilio is the first European Neolithic site of these and it provides a fixed, calendar-year anchor point for regional chronologies of the Neolithic

The Early Bronze Age dendrochronology of Sovjan (Albania): A first tree-ring sequence of the 24th – 22nd c. BC for the southwestern Balkans

The archaeological site of Sovjan is situated on the edge of the Korçë Basin, southeastern Albania. Its remarkably long and well investigated stratigraphic sequence, spanning from the Neolithic till the Iron Age, makes it an important type- and reference-site for the whole region. At different periods of prehistory it was located on the shores of the former Lake Maliq that once filled the Korçë Basin, but was definitely drained in the 1940's. These permanent wetland conditions on the site allowed for a high degree of preservation of organic material, especially wood. Based on the current knowledge, level 8 of Sovjan contains the best-preserved wooden material of all the Early Bronze Age sites in the Balkans. Through the combination of dendrochronology and Bayesian modelling, i.e. wiggle-matching, a floating 269-years long tree-ring chronology was constructed, with an absolute end-date range falling between 2158 and 2142 cal BC (2σ). It was possible to establish that the dwellings and the trackway associated with the last occupation phase of level 8 are contemporaneous. Additionally, with the help of the new dendrochronological data and based on previously published charcoal dates, the absolute chronology of the subsequent level 7 is being narrowed-down to a range from the mid-22nd to mid-20th c. cal BC (2σ). The Early Bronze Age layers of the archaeological site of Sovjan, which are particularly pertinent for the 3rd millennium chronology of the southwestern Balkans, can now be dated with high precision for the first time and hence offer a major chronological reference point in the region