Luminescence dating of medieval and early modern brickwork
Essex is a county rich in significant historic brickwork spanning the medieval period. A great deal of earlier archaeological study has focused on the development and use of brick during this period, providing a framework of understanding as to how this material was employed in Essex through the medieval period. However, the common approaches adopted to date historic brick have several caveats that can potentially limit the amount of information they can provide. This presented an opportunity to apply the scientific dating technique of optically stimulated luminescence in order to derive absolute dates for important medieval brick sites in Essex. This in turn would allow this framework of understanding surrounding medieval brick to be critically examined and revised where necessary. A series of important brick buildings that spanned the 11th through to the 16th century were selected for inclusion in this thesis. The buildings were studied from an archaeological perspective, deriving likely dates for their erection and development, before samples of the brickwork were taken. These were subsequently dated by luminescence. In light of the luminescence dates, the archaeological evaluations of the buildings were
Gurling, Thomas
Luminescence dating of medieval and early modern brickwork. Essex is a county rich in significant historic brickwork spanning the medieval period. A great deal of earlier archaeological study has focused on the development and use of brick during this period, providing a framework of understanding as to how this material was employed in Essex through the medieval period. However, the common approaches adopted to date historic brick have several caveats that can potentially limit the amount of information they can provide. This presented an opportunity to apply the scientific dating technique of optically stimulated luminescence in order to derive absolute dates for important medieval brick sites in Essex. This in turn would allow this framework of understanding surrounding medieval brick to be critically examined and revised where necessary. A series of important brick buildings that spanned the 11th through to the 16th century were selected for inclusion in this thesis. The buildings were studied from an archaeological perspective, deriving likely dates for their erection and development, before samples of the brickwork were taken. These were subsequently dated by luminescence. In light of the luminescence dates, the archaeological evaluations of the buildings were
luminescence_date medieval_early modern essex county rich significant historic span medieval_period great_deal earlier archaeological study_focus development use brick period provide_framework material employ essex medieval_period however common approach_adopt date historic brick several potentially limit amount information provide present_opportunity apply scientific dating technique optically_stimulate luminescence order derive absolute_date important medieval brick sit essex turn would allow framework surround medieval brick critically_examine revise necessary series important brick building span select inclusion thesis building study archaeological_perspective derive likely date erection development sample take subsequently date luminescence light luminescence_date archaeological evaluation building