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Seeing the wood and the trees: dendrochronological studies in Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Anne Crone  and
Coralie M. Mills
Anne Crone
Affiliation:
AOC Archaeology, Edgefield Road Industrial Estate, Loanhead, Midlothian EH20 9SY, Scotland. annec@aocscot.co.ukcoraliem@aocscot.co.uk
Coralie M. Mills
Affiliation:
AOC Archaeology, Edgefield Road Industrial Estate, Loanhead, Midlothian EH20 9SY, Scotland. annec@aocscot.co.ukcoraliem@aocscot.co.uk
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Extract

Introduction

The value of dendrochronology as a precise dating tool is well established (Ashmore, this volume) and this paper concentrates on other aspects of its value to Scottish archaeology and history. Timber in Scotland has been a resource under pressure for a long time, and consequently the history of timber trade and woodland exploitation is particularly interesting. Scotland now has very restricted semi-natural woodland, representing about 1% of land cover. While the extent of semi-natural woodland has undoubtedly shrunk in recent centuries, pollen evidence indicates that much of Scotland has been characterized by open landscapes since later prehistory (Tipping 1994).

Type
Special section: Scotland 2002
Information
Antiquity , Volume 76 , Issue 293 , September 2002 , pp. 788 - 794
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2002

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