Dendrochronological Investigations in the Aegean and Neighboring Regions, 1983-1986

In the four years of dendrochronological investigation covered by this report we have increased the number of sites studied and samples collected by about 70%, extending the scope of prospecting beyond Greece and Turkey to Yugoslavia and Italy, and including prehistoric, ancient, and medieval sites as well as natural forest and riverine wood. The number of samples that can be crossdated has now almost doubled, and a revised absolute oak master chronology for the region now extends from the present to A.C. 1073. The upgrading of computer facilities and the addition of new long sequences has required a forward correction by 35 years of the absolute oak chronology for all sets heretofore dated before 1546. We now have a sufficient number of samples with bark or terminal growth ring for preliminary statistics on the distribution of Aegean oak sapwood, ultimately essential for felling year estimation and archaeological interpretation. The total number of dated oak samples is also large enough for a first synopsis of sample abundance in the region studied. Both of these results differ from those obtained by others for Northern Europe and the British Isles.