Dendrochronological sampling

With the end of the salvage operation, the examination of the wood begun. Dendrochronology plays a very important role in this. By measuring the annual rings of the wood, the age and region of origin of the trees can be determined, which in turn provides clues to the place and time of construction. Depending on the climate, the tree population of a region grew well or poorly, which is reflected in the size of the annual rings.

In order to measure the annual rings, pieces of the wood have to be sawn, drilled with a core drill or exposed at one edge with a razor blade. The archaeologists of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck work hand in hand with the dendrochronologist of the University of Applied Sciences of Lübeck, Daniel Balanzategui, to obtain the most meaningful samples with the least damage to the historic wood.

The actual measurement is then carried out under the microscope in the laboratory.

Photo: F. Rösch.