Archaeological wood - its properties and research potential

Authors

  • Katarina Čufar
  • Vesna Tišler
  • Željko Gorišek

Abstract

We studied basic physical and chemical properties of archaeological wood buried in the soil or preserved underwater in the Ljubljana Moor, Slovenia. The wood of oak (Quercus sp.), ash (Fraxinus sp.), alder (Alnus glutinosa), beech (Fagus sylvatica), and maple (Acer sp.) was selected from vertical piles from 5 prehistoric pile dwellings from the 3rd and from the 4th millennium BC. Moisture content above 500% and a drastic decrease in basic density indicated a very high degree of wood deterioration. Shrinkage was much higher than that in recent wood. Chemical analyses of ash-wood have shown a drastically increased amount of lignin and a reduced amount of cellulose and hemicelluloses. The results present basic knowledge for future planning of proper conservation treatment.

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References

ČUFAR, K., V. TIŠLER in Ž. GORIŠEK 2001, Some propertiesof waterlogged archaeological wood from prehistoric piledwellings. - V:

ICWSF 2001. The fifth international conferenceon the Development of Wood Science, Wood Technology andForestry in Ljubljana, Slovenia 5-7 September 2001, 25-31, Ljubljana.

FENGEL, D. in G. WEGENER 1989, Wood ChemistryUltrastructure Reactions. - Berlin, New York.

ROWEL, R. M. in R. J. BARBOUR 1990, Archaeological Wood. Properties, Chemistry, and Preservation. American ChemicalSociety. - Advances in Chemistry Series, Washington, DC.

VELUŠČEK, A. in K. ČUFAR 2002, Dendrokronološkeraziskave kolišč na Ljubljanskem barju - stanje 2001. -Arh. vest. 53, 59-67.

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Published

2002-01-01

How to Cite

Čufar, K. ., Tišler, V. ., & Gorišek, Željko . (2002). Archaeological wood - its properties and research potential. Arheološki Vestnik, 53. Retrieved from https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/av/article/view/8404

Issue

Vol. 53 (2002): ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK

Section

Prehistory

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