The chronology of the Neolithic sequence at Dikili Tash, Macedonia, Greece: TL dating of domestic ovens*

Abstract

The chronological sequence of a major reference site for Neolithic periods in southeastern Europe and the Aegean, Dikili Tash (Macedonia, Greece), has been reassessed by TL. Baked adobe material samples extracted from domestic ovens, directly associated with specific occupational levels, have been studied. The fine-grain technique has been used for equivalent dose determination. K, U and Th contents and the equilibrium state of U-series have been measured by low-background gamma spectroscopy. Since the archaeological levels were already partly excavated, the environmental dose-rate was evaluated by a reconstruction technique combining laboratory analysis and on-site measurements.The TL results (weighted average of multiple age determination, oven 400, middle of the Dikili Tash I (DT-I) phase, 5500 ± 320 BC; oven 600, end of DT-I, 4920 ± 310 BC; house 3, 4260 ± 280 BC; house 4, 4510 ± 410 BC) are in general agreement with the timeframe deduced from previous radiocarbon dates. This convergence strengthens the settlement's chronology, established now by independent dating methods.

Nuclear physics for cultural heritage

“…Bricks were one of the first objects to be dated using luminescence techniques, with the earliest measurements made over fifty years ago [116,117]. However, compared to pottery or geological sediment, brick dating is not often reported in the literature [118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127].…”

Luminescence dating of bricks from the gothic Saint James Church in Toruń

“…The investigations of this material have also an important contribution into the development of retrospective dosimetry especially during examining the consequences of the Chernobyl accident (Bailiff, 1995;Hütt et al, 1993;Bailiff et al, 2000). Brick dating, however, in comparison to pottery or geological sediment dating is rather rarely reported in literature (Goedicke et al, 1981;Bailiff, 2007;Chruścińska et al, 2008;Blain et al, 2011;Guibert et al, 2009;Blain et al, 2007;Roque et al, 2002;Roque et al, 2004;Bevilacqua et al, 1999;Martini and Sibilia, 2001). Applying the luminescence method to establish the history of significant objects may make luminescence dating more popular among architecture researchers.…”