Tree-rings and Archaeology: Current Issues in the Low Countries and Beyond – 26 May 2025

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Date: 26 May 2025

Venue: VU Amsterdam, HG13A-33

Credits: 1 ECTS

Over the past decades, tree-ring research has grown from the effort of individual researchers to a wide range of applications in relation to archaeology. When dendrochronology started to be applied in the 1960s in the Netherlands it was fully directed at dating historical objects. Over time, more and more archaeological and historical objects could be dated, opening ways to investigate other questions. In the 1980s the question of provenance started to become an issue, since wood has been transported for centuries, sometimes over long distances, thus informing us not just about chronology but also about past socio-economic developments. Most of dendroprovenance research is aimed at contexts dating to the Late Medieval or Early Modern period, although long-distance trade has also been attested to the Roman period. Researchers in the Low Countries play an important role in the development of methods in this discipline, especially in relation to archaeological research.

During this half-day event we bring prominent researchers together to discuss the application of dendrochronology in relation to archaeology. The focus is on dendroprovenance research, but other applications will also be shown. The seminar aims to showcase the potential of current dendrochronological research and dendroprovenance in the field of archaeology and the importance of interdisciplinary research and Open Science in pushing the field forward.

This event is organized as part of the PhD defence of Ronald Visser and involves lectures by international experts on dendrochronology. The seminar will provide students with state-of-the-art insights and understanding of the various applications and possibilities of tree-ring research, focused on the Low Countries.

Preliminary programme:

The event will take place from 10:00 – 13:00. Lectures will be provided by several leading experts in the field of dendrochronology:

  • Ronald Visser – Dendroprovenance: a quantitative and qualitative overview of past developments
  • Aoife Daly – The sources of Baltic oak: a dendrochronology research history
  • Marta Domínguez Delmás – WoodCulture project: writing the untold story of domestic forests
  • Yardeni Vorst – The ships in between the river barges
  • Paul Copini – Ancient forest and extreme drought: what can annual rings reveal?
  • Linar Akhmetzyanov – Beyond the rings: innovative approaches to timber provenancing

Credits: ARCHON members can receive 1 EC for attending the conference and handing in a report which incorporates at least 140 pages of additional literature (send your report to secretary@archonline.nl).

Additional literature: The following sources have been suggested by the event organiser for the report or as further reading on the topic. This list is subject to change. Feel free to supplement your report with other sources where relevant.

  • Akhmetzyanov, L, Copini, P, Sass-Klaassen, U, Schroeder, H, de Groot, GA, Laros, I and Daly, A. 2020 DNA of centuries-old timber can reveal its origin. Scientific Reports 10(1): 20316. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77387-2.
  • Bouwman, M, Akhmetzyanov, L, Mohren, F, den Ouden, J, Sass-Klaassen, U and Copini, P. 2025 Tree growth responses to severe droughts for assessment of forest growth potential under future climate. Forest Ecology and Management 578: 122423. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122423.
  • Daly, A and Tyers, I. 2022 The sources of Baltic oak. Journal of Archaeological Science 139: 105550. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2022.105550.
  • Domínguez-Delmás, M. 2020 Seeing the forest for the trees: new approaches and challenges for dendroarchaeology in the 21st century. Dendrochronologia 62: 125731. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2020.125731.
  • Haneca, K, Debonne, V, Davies, D, McCarroll, D and Loader, NJ. 2025 Oxygen isotope dendrochronology allows dating of historical timbers across a wide geographical region. Dendrochronologia 89: 126283. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2024.126283.
  • Visser, RM. 2015 Imperial timber? Dendrochronological evidence for large-scale road building along the Roman limes in the Netherlands. Journal of Archaeological Science 53: 243–254. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.10.017.
  • Visser, RM. 2021 Dendrochronological Provenance Patterns. Network Analysis of Tree-Ring Material Reveals Spatial and Economic Relations of Roman Timber in the Continental North-Western Provinces. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology 4(1): 230–253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/jcaa.79.
  • Visser, RM and Vorst, Y. 2022 Connecting Ships: Using Dendrochronological Network Analysis to Determine the Wood Provenance of Roman-Period River Barges Found in the Lower Rhine Region and Visualise Wood Use Patterns. International Journal of Wood Culture 3(1–3): 123–151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/27723194-bja10014.

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