Chronology, Culture and Archaeology: Precision Chronology of Wetland Structures Using Tree-Ring Studies

Abstract

Over the last couple of decades, survey of the estuaries of Irish rivers, particularly around the Shannon and Fergus estuaries in Co. Clare, has produced a wealth of inter-tidal remains of structures that attest to the exploitation of resources in this marginal zone, through time (O’Sullivan, 2001; 2003). More recent discoveries in the Fergus estuary, funded by the Irish Heritage Council, have led to a series of research projects, investigating these remains to an increasing level of detail (Dillon and O’Sullivan, 2008; O’Sullivan and Dillon, 2009; O’Sullivan, et al. 2010; Sands, et al. 2012). A two-year project entitled ‘Chronology, Culture and Archaeology’, was funded through the Marie Curie Actions – Intra-European Fellowships for Career Development (IEF). It was concerned with establishing the fine-tuned chronology of the fishing structures at a specific site on the Fergus estuary – at Boarland Rock, using tree-ring studies. The very young trees that had been used to build a series of medieval fishweirs at Boarland Rock present a considerable chronological challenge. While the technique of dendrochronology provides precise calendar dates for timber it is dependent on the discovery of objects or structures made from long-lived trees, to ensure reliable results. When a structure is only made from short-lived trees the creation of an absolute chronology is impossible. However, this does not necessarily mean that the data locked within those tree rings is of no use. It remains possible that a relative chronology can be constructed and the pattern of repair and rebuilding of the fishweirs can be revealed, leading to a better understanding of their duration and change. As part of the research, select international colleagues, all of whose research combines study of wetland archaeology and tree-ring analysis, were invited as advisors, during the project. These were Vincent Bernard, Andre Billamboz, Anne Crone, and Nigel Nayling. In September 2012 this group gathered in Dublin, to hear the results of the Marie Curie and Fergus Estuary Projects, to see the sites on the Fergus estuary, to lend their esteemed advice and to present the current state of research in tree-ring study of wetland archaeological sites. While Nayling’s study of the inter-tidal structures at Magor Pill is fully published (Nayling, 1996; 1999) journal of wetland archaeology, Vol. 14, September 2014, 1–5