Researchers traced the journey of timber used in old Danish houses, uncovering the wood’s origin with help from the University of Copenhagen. The study highlights how materials moved across regions long ago and how science can reconstruct those routes today.
Dendrochronology, a cornerstone method in archaeology, reads the story of a tree through its growth rings. Each ring records the growing conditions of its year, and because those conditions vary from year to year in a unique sequence, scientists can date a wooden artifact with surprising precision. Still, regional calendars differ, and when timber is imported from distant places, identifying its origin becomes challenging unless an approximate source region is known. Conversely, pinpointing the approximate time of origin helps narrow down where the tree might have grown. The interplay of time and place makes dendrochronology powerful, but it also requires careful cross checking with other clues to avoid mistaken assignments.
To strengthen their conclusions, Alicia Van Ham-Meert and colleagues augmented the standard dendrochronological approach with strontium isotope analysis. The combination provides a chemical fingerprint that reflects the geology of the wood’s region of growth, offering a cross check against the tree ring dating. In practical terms, the researchers sampled timber from three historic houses in the Danish towns of Aalborg and Horsens. One notable example lies in Horsens, Chapters 16–17, where dendrochronology alone would have suggested Danish wood. Instead, the strontium isotope data aligned the material with southern Sweden, indicating that the timber likely arrived in Horsens from that region and was used in the construction. This result is consistent with the historical fact that Sweden was part of the Danish realm at the time, yet it shows how precise origin identification can illuminate the trade routes involved in building practices. These findings underscore the value of combining multiple scientific signals to robustly trace material origins and connect artifacts to broader regional networks.
The analysis points to Halland and Skåne as significant nodes in the timber trade linking Danish and Swedish territories within the kingdom. By mapping these connections, researchers gain a clearer picture of how wood moved across borders, reflecting economic and political ties of the era. At the same time, dendrochronology remained the more reliable source for confirming the age of timber that originated within Denmark itself, suggesting that integrating both techniques yields the most trustworthy results. The study thus recommends a dual approach when possible, using isotopic data to resolve uncertain origins and relying on tree-ring dating for local timber where signals are dominant.
That broader methodological insight echoes earlier work in the field, where ancient DNA and other lines of evidence have helped illuminate human history and migration during the ice ages. Together, these strands of evidence contribute to a richer understanding of how people lived and moved, and how materials traveled with them across landscapes. This integrated perspective helps archaeologists reconstruct past economies, trade networks, and cultural interactions with greater confidence and nuance. (Citation: University of Copenhagen)