Discovering the Unknown History of the Utilization of Pinus heldreichii in Wooden Structures by Means of Dendroarchaeology: A Case Study from Metsovo (Northern Greece)

Abstract

(1) Background: Pinus heldreichii is a long-living tree subalpine species commonly used for climate reconstruction. Nevertheless, its potential for dendroarchaeology and dating of historical timber remains unknown. In Metsovo and in the surrounding area of Pindus National Park (Northern Greece) it is commonly used for the construction of buildings and wooden objects and artifacts. (2) Methods: We examined timber found in historical buildings within the study area and we tried to date it using local reference chronologies of Bosnian and Black pines. (3) Results: Bosnian pine chronologies can be used to date timber from historical buildings, while they can also be used as reference chronologies against Black pines, giving very high cross-dating values. Therefore, and since the macroscopic identification of the two species’ timber is impossible, the analysis of wood anatomy is necessary to distinguish the two species in the case of historical wood. (4) Conclusions: The current paper presents the first application of dendroarchaeology for Bosnian pine and highlights the potential of the species in studying cultural heritage and the human past.

Species and deterioration of woods used in a traditional Turkish house

“…It is necessary to learn about the use of plants in history to understand some aspects of material culture and ways of life and the relationship of people with the natural environment (Melo Junior and Boeger 2015). Many studies have been conducted regarding the woods used in historical wooden structures, identifying the species, dating, and properties of historical woods in Anatolia (Akkemik and Köse 2010; Hızal Tırak and Doğu 2018; Uzun et al 2018;Akkemik et al 2019;Gezer and Aydoğan Selçuk 2020;Topaloğlu et al 2021;Günaydın et al 2023;Topaloğlu 2023) and the world (Hwang et al 2009;Diadato et al 2015;Madhoushi 2016;Dong et al 2017;Doğu et al 2017;Machado et al 2019;Mertz 2021;Christopoulou et al 2022;Hueto-Escobar et al 2023). However, systematic information about the structure and properties of historical wood, which has been widely used in Anatolia and has an important place in architecture, is inadequate.…”