ABSTRACT. Direct dating by simultaneous independent physical methods is of particular interest to prehistoric archaeology in central Europe. Radiocarbon and thermoluminescence measurements were made to date two tell settlements in the Carpathian Basin: the Late Neolithic site at Gorzsa (southeast Hungary) and the Eneolithic site of Vucedol (east Croatia, Yugoslavia). Samples from Gorzsa span from the Szakalhat to the Proto-Tiszapolgar periods, while most important cultural layers from the Vucedol site belong to the Baden, Kostolac, and Vucedol cultures. By including some of our earlier dates from the Tiszapolgar-Basatanya Copper Age site, a chronological framework, spanning the period from Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age can be established. The quartz inclusion technique was used for TL dating of pottery. Beta and gamma dose rates were determined by TL dosimetry. Allowances were made for supralinearity, water content, and beta attenuation in quartz grains. The TL ages range from -00 to 4300 BC and 3600 to 2900 BC, for the:orzsa and Vucedol sites, respectively.
The TL response of CaSO4:Dy to extremely low beta doses delivered by samples of environmental origin was investigated. Taking into account the main factors limiting the precision of measurements below about 5 µGy, a special TL technique was developed. The heating chamber and the PM assembly are placed in a 20 cm thick iron shield. 0.1 g of CaSO4:Dy is spread on the heating plate, constituting a 1.5 cm diam. phosphor layer. The phosphor, heated to 350 oC, can be re-used with no change in sensitivity at low doses. Replacing the PM tube with a container filled with 4 g of sample (soil, pottery clay) or CaSO4:Dy (for background correction), on-plate exposures are made overnight. For calibrations and quick checks, K2CO3 and NBL reference standards with specified U and Th content are used. This technique enables highly reliable measurements to be performed at doses as low as 0.1 µGy. Some of the results relating to isotope dependence, build-up of spurious TL and possible applications in TL dating are also presented.
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