Application of the Blue-Intensity Method for Dating Wooden Buildings in Siberia

Abstract

Despite the success achieved in the tree-ring dating of wood samples from archaeological excavations over the recent years, attempts to apply this method to relatively recent wooden constructions in central Siberia run into considerable difficulties, because the increment of wood in that area shows little variation due to the virtual absence of limiting factors. To solve this problem, we used the blue intensity method, based on measuring the optical density of wood. This method is more sensitive to environmental changes of annual growth rates and is optimal in terms of efficiency and cost. This article describes the techniques of sample preparation, measuring optical density of annual rings, and the construction of chronologies based on this indicator. The efficiency of the method is assessed by comparing it with the traditional approach based on tree-ring width for dating wood from the temperate zone of Siberia. Results of dating two wooden structures (the Gromov house (1870) and the Gafarov store (1909)) indicate the efficiency of the new method virtually without limiting factors affecting increment rates.