Structural wood in Scotland’s historic buildings: a dendrochronological perspective
Dendrochronology can provide calendar dates for the construction of buildings, or more correctly, for the felling of the timber used in the construction. This is important when there is no documentary or other evidence for the date of a building – but dendrochronology can provide much more than calendar dates. This lecture examines what dendrochronology has brought to our understanding of Scottish historic buildings – the type of wood used, where it came from, and the relationship between the woodland resource and the design and construction of these buildings.
Anne Crone is a Project Manager for AOC Archaeology Group, an archaeological company based in Loanhead, Midlothian. She specialises in the study of all aspects of ancient wood, both structural and artefactual, and has been instrumental in developing dendrochronology in Scotland. She analyses wood from archaeological excavations and historic buildings and has undertaken extensive dendro studies of key Scottish buildings such as Stirling Castle and Falkland Palace. She is a leading expert in the study of Scottish crannogs and has undertaken excavation and research on these sites over three decades.
