Precise tree-ring dating of building activities despite the absence of bark: A case-study on medieval church roofs in Damme, Belgium

A detailed dendrochronological survey was performed on the medieval roofs of the Church of Our Lady (COOL) in Damme, Belgium. Seen its complex architectural history, special attention was paid to the identification of consecutive building phases, based on combined architectural historical research and tree-ring dating. In total 64 increment cores were taken throughout the roof structures of the CoOL All roof timbers are made of European oak (Quercus robur/petraea), of which only few have surviving sapwood or bark. Tree-ring dating confirms the late 13th/early 14th century construction date of the roofs. For all chronologies that were composed, the highest correlation values are found with reference chronologies covering the catchment area of the river Meuse. From the dating results of the timbers of the CoOL it becomes clear that the same timber source was used for nearly a century. On several of the examined roof timbers, rafting joints were observed, demonstrating that the timbers were indeed tied together as a raft and floated down the river. By implementing sapwood estimates in a Bayesian chronological model (OxCaI), tree-ring series with surviving sapwood from coeval roof structures were combined in order to narrow down the time range for the felling date. Based on the refined interpretation of the felling dates, several consecutive building phases can now be identified and dated, leading to a new interpretation of the architectural history of the CoOL. Intriguingly, a marked interruption in building activities is observed around 1300. Probably this is related to the instable political situation at that time, caused by the armed conflict that emerged between the Count of Flanders and the king of France. Since Damme served as the outport of the riotous city of Bruges, it was alternately seized by the French and Flemish, both consuming considerable amounts of timber and other building materials for military fortifications. Potentially this led to a shortage in building materials and provoked a stop in building activities. This paper demonstrates the power of Bayesian models to refine the interpretation of dendrochronological dates in architectural analyses of medieval historical buildings. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier GmbH on behalf of Istituto Italiano di Dendrocronologia.