The application of airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) has led to the discovery of numerous man-made ... more The application of airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) has led to the discovery of numerous man-made mounds encircled by pits in the forests near Engure, north-western Latvia. Field survey revealed these to be historical features remaining from charcoal-burning in mound kilns. Archaeological excavation was undertaken at one of the features, along with analysis of recovered wood charcoal, dendrochronological and radiocarbon (14C) dating and archival research into documents relating to historical charcoal production in the area. All of the analysed charcoal samples are from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), the dominant tree species in this area. It is concluded that the large-scale charcoal production served the needs of the ironworks operating at Engure in the 17th–18th century. The study of the charcoal-burning mounds has permitted estimation of the source area and volume of the wood supplied for charcoal production, and the period during which it was undertaken. Wood harvesting on suc...
Single-year 14C sampling of a spruce log from the timber platform on which the Āraiši lake-fortre... more Single-year 14C sampling of a spruce log from the timber platform on which the Āraiši lake-fortress was built dates this timber exactly, by synchronization with AD 774/5 Miyake event. Dendrochronological synchronisms between the dated log and other timbers provide annual precision for the construction of the site. The felling date obtained, AD 835, is 50–60 years later than that proposed previously (Meadows and Zunde 2014) on the basis of a wiggle-match between 14C ages of decadal blocks and the IntCal13 calibration curve (Reimer et al. 2013), although the same 14C data favor a felling date in the AD 830s when wiggle-matched to IntCal20 (Reimer et al. 2020). Our results appear to confirm doubts expressed by Philippsen et al. (2022) about IntCal20 values from ca. AD 825-835.
Although the study of oak tree rings has been widely used to obtain long-term millennial chronolo... more Although the study of oak tree rings has been widely used to obtain long-term millennial chronologies in Europe, dendrochronological study of oak in the Baltic States has so far produced very limited results. Subfossil oak wood has been found in both countries in the past, and in some cases also at the present day, in bogs and sandy riverbank deposits, but the number of wood samples obtained is very small. In Lithuania, the findspots of subfossil oak wood are located mainly in the northern part of the country. Seven samples have been radiocarbon-dated, indicating that some of the oak trunks discovered here date from the period 3300–6100 BC. The findspots of historical oak wood in the area of present-day Latvia are very widely dispersed. The oak trunks found at these sites cover the period approximately from 4000 or 5000 BC up to the first half of the 14th century AD. These have not been dendro-dated so far, mainly because there has not been sufficient interest or funding. Dendro-dat...
A pair of painted wooden sculptures called Jonah exiting from the whale, stored in the Estonian H... more A pair of painted wooden sculptures called Jonah exiting from the whale, stored in the Estonian History Museum, were investigated for their dendrochronological dating. Only one statue was accessible for tree-ring measurement. It appeared to be made of pine, while the counterpart statue was made of spruce. The pine statue was dated, and the provenance of the wood was determed: most probably the pine has grown in Karelia. Tree species and manufacturing features refer to a possible different origin of the two statuesAplinkos tyrimų centrasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta
OR51The estimation of sapwood rings of Scots pine was not investigated in Lithuania up to now. We... more OR51The estimation of sapwood rings of Scots pine was not investigated in Lithuania up to now. We have counted the sapwood rings of 1009 living Scots pine trees from 102 research plots in Lithuania. The age of investigated pines in Lithuania ranges from 34 to 278 years. Our results prove out that the borderline between pine sapwood and heartwood sometimes may cross many tree rings, therefore it causes difficulties in the estimation of the relationship between sapwood and heartwood rings even in the same tree. The results indicate a much higher variation in sapwood rings between sites than in the same site, i.e. the number of sapwood rings of pine is site-specific. Therefore, a high sample depth (replication) is necessary in each age group to obtain a sufficient accuracy. Such an accuracy of the sapwood rings is obtained when at least 20-30 trees are included in the respective age group. The relationship between the average number of sapwood rings and the age of the tree is well appr...
Coastal erosion and slumping of the coastal bluff occur at the present day along certain stretche... more Coastal erosion and slumping of the coastal bluff occur at the present day along certain stretches of the Baltic Sea coastal belt in western Latvia. The coast currently being eroded is regarded as consisting partly of a cover of wind-blown sand formed 250–300 years ago, a period that saw intensive landward aeolian sand transport as a result of forest cutting and forest fires in the coastal belt and other factors relating to human activity. Within the frame of a short-term research project, dendrochronological dating work was undertaken on remnants of pine trunks discovered at various locations on the coastal bluff that appeared to be remains of ancient trees exposed by erosion, with the aim of determining where and when these natural processes had occurred. This study did not succeed in demonstrating dendrochronologically that the apparently ancient tree trunk remnants observable along certain stretches of the coast at the present day are remains of pines buried by sand more than 25...
Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta realizētā projekta Cilvēks dinamiskā ainavā: L... more Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta realizētā projekta Cilvēks dinamiskā ainavā: Latvijas piejūras smiltāju biogrāfija ietvaros 2019. gada pavasarī tika veikta Engures apkārtnē konstatēto kokogļu ieguves vietu izpēte. Izpētes laikā apzināts ap 1000 kokogļu ieguves uzkalniņu, vienā no tiem veikti arī arheoloģiskie izrakumi. Atsegto kokogļu paraugu dendrohronoloģiskais un radio-aktīvā oglekļa (14C) datējumi rāda, ka pētītās kokogļu ieguves vietas saistāmas ar Kurzemes hercogistes Engures manufaktūru. Atklātās liecības sniedz informāciju par kokogļu ieguves veidu un izmantotajiem resursiem, kā arī papildina datus par manufaktūras darbību.
Rakstā ir paskaidrota Baltijas teritorijā saglabājušos vēsturisko ozolkoka būvelementu koksnes ga... more Rakstā ir paskaidrota Baltijas teritorijā saglabājušos vēsturisko ozolkoka būvelementu koksnes gadskārtu platuma pārmaiņu dinamikas izpētes starptautiskā mēroga nozīme un uzrādīti pirmie Latvijā rezultāti, kas gūti ozolu gadskārtu absolūto ilggadējo hronoloģiju sastādīšanā. No vietējo ozolu gadskārtu platuma datiem sastādītās ilggadējās hronoloģijas ir izmantojamas ne vien citu ozolkoka darinājumu drošākai dendrohronoloģiskajai datēšanai, bet arī tālu transportētu ozola kokmateriālu izcelsmes rajona noskaidrošanai. Šī informācija ir nozīmīga koksnes eksporta vēstures izpētē. Pēdējos gados Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta Dendrohronoloģijas laboratorijā ir sastādītas pirmās vietējo ozolu gadskārtu platuma indeksu vidējo indeksu laikrindas un hronoloģijas, kuras kopā attiecas uz laikposmu no 919. līdz 1731. gadam. Turpmāk tās ir plānots pakāpeniski pilnveidot, lai tās reāli varētu izmantot Latvijas teritorijā senāk augušu ozolu koksnes identificēšanai.
Dr. biol., Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta vadošais pētnieks. Zinātniskās inte... more Dr. biol., Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta vadošais pētnieks. Zinātniskās intereses: dendrohronoloģiskā datēšana, dendroklimatoloģija, koku gadskārtu ilggadējo hronoloģiju izstrādāšana, Latvijas mežu izmantošanas vēsture. Dendrohronoloģiskā datēšana ir šobrīd pasaulē visprecīzākā arheoloģijā lietotā datēšanas metode. Lai gan ar to pareizi iegūtais koka būvelementu datējums ir noteikts un precīzs, tas tomēr no senās konstrukcijas būvēšanas faktiskā laika bieži vien atšķiras. Nereti tas atšķiras arī no konkrētā vēsturiskā objekta iepriekš zināmā vai arī aptuveni ar citu metodi noteiktā datējuma. Šai datējuma atšķirībai var būt vairāki iemesli. Lai tos labāk izprastu, rakstā ir īsumā paskaidrots dendrohronoloģiskās datēšanas metodes princips un pamatoti tās rezultāti. Minēti vairāki Latvijas vēsturisko objektu iepriekš zināmā un dendrohronoloģiski noteiktā datējuma nesakritības gadījumi un sniegti tās iespējamie skaidrojumi. Atslēgas vārdi: gadskārtu datēšana (dendrohronoloģija), vēsturiskās koka konstrukcijas, Latvijas teritorija. * Raksts izstrādāts pētniecības programmas "Latvijas vēsture: Kultūrvēsturiskā vide un sociālpolitiskās norises Baltijas jūras reģiona kontekstā" (VPP Letonika) ietvaros.
In the course of archaeological excavations and supervision work in the historical centre of Rīga... more In the course of archaeological excavations and supervision work in the historical centre of Rīga (Old Rīga), revetments built at various times along the former River Rīga or Rīdzene have so far been discovered in at least 11 sites, and revetments along the bank of the River Daugava have been found in at least three sites. The absolute age of stretches of revetment along both banks of the River Rīga (Rīdzene) and along the right bank of the River Daugava, discovered in the course of recent archaeological excavations, has been determined using the dendrochronological dating method. This article brings together the results obtained thus far in the dating of these structures. Although only some of the discovered stretches of historical waterfront have been dated, this information has given a significantly more precise picture of the building history of the waterfronts along the banks of both rivers, and thus also of the development of the historical ports of Rīga. This indicates the importance and necessity of continuing this research.
An Iron Age timber settlement which, in view of the defensive structures uncovered, is described ... more An Iron Age timber settlement which, in view of the defensive structures uncovered, is described as a lake fortress, on an island in Lake Āraiši, north-eastern Latvia, was excavated in 1965–69 and 1975–79 by teams led by Jānis Apals, who distinguished five construction phases. Dendrochronological analysis produced a c. 100-year floating chronology for Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) timbers from the earliest phase. A 14C wiggle-match was undertaken to obtain an absolute date range for the final year of the floating chronology, and thus for the construction of the settlement. Ten blocks of wood from one timber, each comprising 6-11 years and collectively spanning the whole 93-year tree-ring series, were dated by AMS. Using the IntCal13 calibration data, there is a 95% probability that the felling date of this timber falls in the range 775–784 cal AD. It appears, however, that the AD 775 spike in the atmospheric 14C level occurred within the 6-year span of the last sample. On ...
The application of airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) has led to the discovery of numerous man-made ... more The application of airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) has led to the discovery of numerous man-made mounds encircled by pits in the forests near Engure, north-western Latvia. Field survey revealed these to be historical features remaining from charcoal-burning in mound kilns. Archaeological excavation was undertaken at one of the features, along with analysis of recovered wood charcoal, dendrochronological and radiocarbon (14C) dating and archival research into documents relating to historical charcoal production in the area. All of the analysed charcoal samples are from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), the dominant tree species in this area. It is concluded that the large-scale charcoal production served the needs of the ironworks operating at Engure in the 17th–18th century. The study of the charcoal-burning mounds has permitted estimation of the source area and volume of the wood supplied for charcoal production, and the period during which it was undertaken. Wood harvesting on suc...
Single-year 14C sampling of a spruce log from the timber platform on which the Āraiši lake-fortre... more Single-year 14C sampling of a spruce log from the timber platform on which the Āraiši lake-fortress was built dates this timber exactly, by synchronization with AD 774/5 Miyake event. Dendrochronological synchronisms between the dated log and other timbers provide annual precision for the construction of the site. The felling date obtained, AD 835, is 50–60 years later than that proposed previously (Meadows and Zunde 2014) on the basis of a wiggle-match between 14C ages of decadal blocks and the IntCal13 calibration curve (Reimer et al. 2013), although the same 14C data favor a felling date in the AD 830s when wiggle-matched to IntCal20 (Reimer et al. 2020). Our results appear to confirm doubts expressed by Philippsen et al. (2022) about IntCal20 values from ca. AD 825-835.
Although the study of oak tree rings has been widely used to obtain long-term millennial chronolo... more Although the study of oak tree rings has been widely used to obtain long-term millennial chronologies in Europe, dendrochronological study of oak in the Baltic States has so far produced very limited results. Subfossil oak wood has been found in both countries in the past, and in some cases also at the present day, in bogs and sandy riverbank deposits, but the number of wood samples obtained is very small. In Lithuania, the findspots of subfossil oak wood are located mainly in the northern part of the country. Seven samples have been radiocarbon-dated, indicating that some of the oak trunks discovered here date from the period 3300–6100 BC. The findspots of historical oak wood in the area of present-day Latvia are very widely dispersed. The oak trunks found at these sites cover the period approximately from 4000 or 5000 BC up to the first half of the 14th century AD. These have not been dendro-dated so far, mainly because there has not been sufficient interest or funding. Dendro-dat...
A pair of painted wooden sculptures called Jonah exiting from the whale, stored in the Estonian H... more A pair of painted wooden sculptures called Jonah exiting from the whale, stored in the Estonian History Museum, were investigated for their dendrochronological dating. Only one statue was accessible for tree-ring measurement. It appeared to be made of pine, while the counterpart statue was made of spruce. The pine statue was dated, and the provenance of the wood was determed: most probably the pine has grown in Karelia. Tree species and manufacturing features refer to a possible different origin of the two statuesAplinkos tyrimų centrasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta
OR51The estimation of sapwood rings of Scots pine was not investigated in Lithuania up to now. We... more OR51The estimation of sapwood rings of Scots pine was not investigated in Lithuania up to now. We have counted the sapwood rings of 1009 living Scots pine trees from 102 research plots in Lithuania. The age of investigated pines in Lithuania ranges from 34 to 278 years. Our results prove out that the borderline between pine sapwood and heartwood sometimes may cross many tree rings, therefore it causes difficulties in the estimation of the relationship between sapwood and heartwood rings even in the same tree. The results indicate a much higher variation in sapwood rings between sites than in the same site, i.e. the number of sapwood rings of pine is site-specific. Therefore, a high sample depth (replication) is necessary in each age group to obtain a sufficient accuracy. Such an accuracy of the sapwood rings is obtained when at least 20-30 trees are included in the respective age group. The relationship between the average number of sapwood rings and the age of the tree is well appr...
Coastal erosion and slumping of the coastal bluff occur at the present day along certain stretche... more Coastal erosion and slumping of the coastal bluff occur at the present day along certain stretches of the Baltic Sea coastal belt in western Latvia. The coast currently being eroded is regarded as consisting partly of a cover of wind-blown sand formed 250–300 years ago, a period that saw intensive landward aeolian sand transport as a result of forest cutting and forest fires in the coastal belt and other factors relating to human activity. Within the frame of a short-term research project, dendrochronological dating work was undertaken on remnants of pine trunks discovered at various locations on the coastal bluff that appeared to be remains of ancient trees exposed by erosion, with the aim of determining where and when these natural processes had occurred. This study did not succeed in demonstrating dendrochronologically that the apparently ancient tree trunk remnants observable along certain stretches of the coast at the present day are remains of pines buried by sand more than 25...
Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta realizētā projekta Cilvēks dinamiskā ainavā: L... more Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta realizētā projekta Cilvēks dinamiskā ainavā: Latvijas piejūras smiltāju biogrāfija ietvaros 2019. gada pavasarī tika veikta Engures apkārtnē konstatēto kokogļu ieguves vietu izpēte. Izpētes laikā apzināts ap 1000 kokogļu ieguves uzkalniņu, vienā no tiem veikti arī arheoloģiskie izrakumi. Atsegto kokogļu paraugu dendrohronoloģiskais un radio-aktīvā oglekļa (14C) datējumi rāda, ka pētītās kokogļu ieguves vietas saistāmas ar Kurzemes hercogistes Engures manufaktūru. Atklātās liecības sniedz informāciju par kokogļu ieguves veidu un izmantotajiem resursiem, kā arī papildina datus par manufaktūras darbību.
Rakstā ir paskaidrota Baltijas teritorijā saglabājušos vēsturisko ozolkoka būvelementu koksnes ga... more Rakstā ir paskaidrota Baltijas teritorijā saglabājušos vēsturisko ozolkoka būvelementu koksnes gadskārtu platuma pārmaiņu dinamikas izpētes starptautiskā mēroga nozīme un uzrādīti pirmie Latvijā rezultāti, kas gūti ozolu gadskārtu absolūto ilggadējo hronoloģiju sastādīšanā. No vietējo ozolu gadskārtu platuma datiem sastādītās ilggadējās hronoloģijas ir izmantojamas ne vien citu ozolkoka darinājumu drošākai dendrohronoloģiskajai datēšanai, bet arī tālu transportētu ozola kokmateriālu izcelsmes rajona noskaidrošanai. Šī informācija ir nozīmīga koksnes eksporta vēstures izpētē. Pēdējos gados Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta Dendrohronoloģijas laboratorijā ir sastādītas pirmās vietējo ozolu gadskārtu platuma indeksu vidējo indeksu laikrindas un hronoloģijas, kuras kopā attiecas uz laikposmu no 919. līdz 1731. gadam. Turpmāk tās ir plānots pakāpeniski pilnveidot, lai tās reāli varētu izmantot Latvijas teritorijā senāk augušu ozolu koksnes identificēšanai.
Dr. biol., Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta vadošais pētnieks. Zinātniskās inte... more Dr. biol., Latvijas Universitātes Latvijas vēstures institūta vadošais pētnieks. Zinātniskās intereses: dendrohronoloģiskā datēšana, dendroklimatoloģija, koku gadskārtu ilggadējo hronoloģiju izstrādāšana, Latvijas mežu izmantošanas vēsture. Dendrohronoloģiskā datēšana ir šobrīd pasaulē visprecīzākā arheoloģijā lietotā datēšanas metode. Lai gan ar to pareizi iegūtais koka būvelementu datējums ir noteikts un precīzs, tas tomēr no senās konstrukcijas būvēšanas faktiskā laika bieži vien atšķiras. Nereti tas atšķiras arī no konkrētā vēsturiskā objekta iepriekš zināmā vai arī aptuveni ar citu metodi noteiktā datējuma. Šai datējuma atšķirībai var būt vairāki iemesli. Lai tos labāk izprastu, rakstā ir īsumā paskaidrots dendrohronoloģiskās datēšanas metodes princips un pamatoti tās rezultāti. Minēti vairāki Latvijas vēsturisko objektu iepriekš zināmā un dendrohronoloģiski noteiktā datējuma nesakritības gadījumi un sniegti tās iespējamie skaidrojumi. Atslēgas vārdi: gadskārtu datēšana (dendrohronoloģija), vēsturiskās koka konstrukcijas, Latvijas teritorija. * Raksts izstrādāts pētniecības programmas "Latvijas vēsture: Kultūrvēsturiskā vide un sociālpolitiskās norises Baltijas jūras reģiona kontekstā" (VPP Letonika) ietvaros.
In the course of archaeological excavations and supervision work in the historical centre of Rīga... more In the course of archaeological excavations and supervision work in the historical centre of Rīga (Old Rīga), revetments built at various times along the former River Rīga or Rīdzene have so far been discovered in at least 11 sites, and revetments along the bank of the River Daugava have been found in at least three sites. The absolute age of stretches of revetment along both banks of the River Rīga (Rīdzene) and along the right bank of the River Daugava, discovered in the course of recent archaeological excavations, has been determined using the dendrochronological dating method. This article brings together the results obtained thus far in the dating of these structures. Although only some of the discovered stretches of historical waterfront have been dated, this information has given a significantly more precise picture of the building history of the waterfronts along the banks of both rivers, and thus also of the development of the historical ports of Rīga. This indicates the importance and necessity of continuing this research.
An Iron Age timber settlement which, in view of the defensive structures uncovered, is described ... more An Iron Age timber settlement which, in view of the defensive structures uncovered, is described as a lake fortress, on an island in Lake Āraiši, north-eastern Latvia, was excavated in 1965–69 and 1975–79 by teams led by Jānis Apals, who distinguished five construction phases. Dendrochronological analysis produced a c. 100-year floating chronology for Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) timbers from the earliest phase. A 14C wiggle-match was undertaken to obtain an absolute date range for the final year of the floating chronology, and thus for the construction of the settlement. Ten blocks of wood from one timber, each comprising 6-11 years and collectively spanning the whole 93-year tree-ring series, were dated by AMS. Using the IntCal13 calibration data, there is a 95% probability that the felling date of this timber falls in the range 775–784 cal AD. It appears, however, that the AD 775 spike in the atmospheric 14C level occurred within the 6-year span of the last sample. On ...
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