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The precise and accurate dating of medieval bridge remains at Ancrum, Scottish Borders, using stable isotope dendrochronology
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Danny McCarroll,
Neil Loader
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume: 59
Swansea University Authors:
Darren Davies, Danny McCarroll, Neil Loader
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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104753
Abstract
The discovery of Ancrum Old Bridge (River Teviot, Scotland) in 2018 was a significant archaeological finding for Scotland. Wiggle match radiocarbon dating placed construction of the bridge to around 1340–1360 Cal. AD (95.4 %); a period of political and social instability in the region. Oxygen isotop...
| Published in: | Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |
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| ISSN: | 2352-409X 2352-4103 |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67708 |
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| Abstract: |
The discovery of Ancrum Old Bridge (River Teviot, Scotland) in 2018 was a significant archaeological finding for Scotland. Wiggle match radiocarbon dating placed construction of the bridge to around 1340–1360 Cal. AD (95.4 %); a period of political and social instability in the region. Oxygen isotope dendrochronology was applied to refine this date range and to provide a precise felling date for the bridge timbers. Somewhat unexpectedly, a felling date of winter AD 1428/29 was identified. This date was obtained using a reference chronology for the southern United Kingdom and independently verified against a new local isotope chronology developed from native Scottish oak. This new date falls within a more stable period in Scotland’s history which may have been more suited to major construction projects such as Ancrum Old Bridge. These results highlight the importance for radiocarbon end users to consider the nature of dating uncertainty when interpreting results, especially when the probability distribution is multi-modal. |
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| Keywords: |
Medieval bridge, stable oxygen isotope, dendrochronology, oak, radiocarbon |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This work was supported by a UKRI Frontiers grant EP/X025098/1, with additional support from UKRI grants EP/X525637/1 and AH/X00354X/1, Future Woodlands Scotland, Marsden Fund 22-UOA-184 and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada) 895-2019-1015. The Sout East Scotland Oak Dendrochronology (SESOD) project was supported principally by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and Forestry and Land Scotland. The radiocarbon dating work was supported by HES, the Community Archaeology Radiocarbon Dating fund and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. We thank the QUERCUS project team for laboratory support and Christopher Bronk Ramsey for helpful discussions on wiggle-match radiocarbon dating. Our sincere thanks to Ancrum & District Heritage Society (ADHS), Wessex Archaeology Coastal & Marine and Ancrum Estates for making this study possible. We thank our reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. |