@ARTICLE{10.21494/ISTE.OP.2023.1029, 

TITLE={Sampling secrets for an accurate dendrodating}, 
  
AUTHOR={Sarah Cremer
, Pascale Fraiture
, Christophe Maggi
, Armelle Weitz, }, 
	
JOURNAL={Archaeology, Society and Environment}, 
	
VOLUME={3}, 

NUMBER={Issue 1}, 
	
YEAR={2023}, 

URL={http://www.openscience.fr/Sampling-secrets-for-an-accurate-dendrodating}, 
	
DOI={10.21494/ISTE.OP.2023.1029}, 
	
ISSN={2752-4507}, 
	
ABSTRACT={Dendrochronology enables to determine the construction period of an architectural element by dating the felling of the trees used. Samples of wood that still contain waney edge are dated to the year, allowing to precisely define the felling phases necessary for the buildings construction. Through six examples studied in Belgium at IRPA’s dendrochronology laboratory, this article explains how dendrochronological information can also be used to improve our understanding of the wood supply, the first step in the chaîne opératoire, intimately linked to the construction process. Careful dendrochronological sampling, combined with archaeological observations, allows: i) to date and establish accurately the construction evolution of large architectural ensembles, ii) to understand a building site before and after a significant event such as a fire or a destruction, iii) to reconstruct the successive interior fittings and circulation spaces, etc., but also iv) to indirectly apprehend the work carried out upstream and during construction. The use of precise dates provides valuable information on the sources of wood supply and their management (local or imported origin, programmed or opportunistic felling, species exploited, number of successive cuts, felling schedule, etc.). Dendrochronological studies also allow to enlighten the relation between wood quality and the structural adaptations of the trusses as well as the diversity of forest resources on the Belgian territory being found in our roof structures.}}