Denge Quarry Shipwreck, Kerton Road, Lydd, Kent: Ring-width and Oxygen Isotope Dendrochronology

Scientific dating of archaeological timbers Dendrochronological analysis was undertaken on 50 samples from 49 timbers, or timber fragments, from a wooden vessel of carvel construction uncovered during dredging operations at the Denge Quarry site on the Kent coast. Seven of these samples were elm, whilst the remaining 43 were oak. Analysis by ring-width dendrochronology resulted in the successful dating of 25 of the oak timbers. A further five timbers, two oak and three elm, were dated by oxygen isotope dendrochronology. A likely construction date for the vessel in the mid-AD 1530s to mid-AD 1540s is indicated, with subsequent repairs being undertaken, with at least one of the later repair timbers being derived from a tree felled in the spring of AD 1561. This date indicates that this is a relatively early example of this type of vessel.