Wood from three archaeological sites in Croatia and its research potential

Analizirali smo uzorke drva različitog stanja (ugljen, vla`no drvo, mokro ili vodom natopljeno drvo), s tri arheolo{ka nalazi{ta u Hrvatskoj. Predstavljamo metode pripreme drva za identifikaciju i dendrokronološka mjerenja te rezultate identifikacije drva. Izradili smo 14 uzoraka jele (Abies alba Mill.), 4 uzorka bukve (Fagus sylvatica L.) i 10 uzoraka hrasta (Quercus sp.). Na 16 uzoraka koji su imali više od 45 godova izmjerili smo širine godova za dendrokronološko datiranje sa slovenskim referentnim kronologijama. Dendrokronološka datacija ni u jednom primjeru nije bila uspješna, jer je bilo premalo uzoraka s pojedinog nalazišta, imali su premalo godova ili su bili preslabo sačuvani. Datiranje malog broja slabo sačuvanih uzoraka malo je vjerojatno, osobito bez lokalnih kronologija koje za Hrvatsku još ne postoje. Dajemo upute kako uzimati uzorke, pripremati i spremati drvo iz arheoloških ili kulturno-povijesnih nalazišta za istraživanja da bismo što bolje iskoristili njihov istraživački potencijal.We have analyzed wood from three archaeological sites in Croatia. The samples of wood were in various conditions (charcoal, wet wood, and waterlogged wood). This paper presents the preparation of archaeological wood for identification and dendrochronological analysis and the results of wood identification. We identified 14 samples of fir (Abies alba Mill.), 4 samples of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and 10 samples of oak (Quercus sp.). We analyzed dendrochronologically 16 samples that contained more than 45 tree-rings and attempted to date them with the Slovenian reference chronologies. Dendrochronological dating was not successful, because there were not enough samples from individual sites and the samples had not enough tree-rings or were not well preserved. Dating without local chronologies, which have not been developed for Croatia yet, is less probable, especially if a small number of badly preserved samples is analyzed. This paper also presents instructions as how to collect, prepare and store samples of wood from archaeological and cultural-historical sites so as to provide optimal use of their research potential