Aegean Dendrochronology Project

The Aegean Dendrochronology Project was initiated by Peter Kuniholm in the basement of the Ankara Museum in 1973.  Now based here at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona the mission continues.  We are working throughout the Aegean, Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean to collect wood samples from archaeological and paleoenvironmental sites, measure the tree-rings, and continue to construct continuous tree-ring sequences from the present all the way back for the last 8000-10,000 years. This resource can then be used to date wood samples from sites all across these regions and to synchronize regional chronology at a precision of 1 year. The great news is we already have tree-ring chronologies spreading across much of this time period, but we need your help to fill in the gaps.

We are interested in any wood samples you find at your site which have more than 50 tree-rings, preferably more than 100. Please download one of our 'how to' guides for instructions for sampling, but please do contact us with any questions you might have at any time. Every summer we will be in the field and would be very pleased to visit your site and help collect material. We will provide you with reports on the material we collect and, if the material is suitable, provide you with dates, free of charge.

We are also very interested in collaborating with you, so if you or your students would be interested in visiting our Laboratory to learn more about dendrochronology or having us provide you with a workshop at your site, let us know.