Our expert dendrochronologists specialise in the sampling, analysis, and reporting of tree-ring studies of wood and timber from archaeological and historic structures. Fully equipped with dedicated facilities, our team deliver a complete, responsive service tailored to our clients’ needs.
Our expertise includes multi-species (oak and non-oak) analysis and the construction of robust chronologies across diverse contexts. Dendrochronology and tree-ring analysis can be applied to historic buildings, waterlogged wood, archaeological timbers, art-historical objects, and living trees. When conducted to best practice standards, dendrochronology provides precise felling dates, identifies construction phases and repair sequences, identifies timber provenance, revealing insights into past timber supply, reuse, and environmental conditions.
We provide the full cycle of services from sampling and laboratory preparation to cross-dating, interpretation, reporting, and archiving. All work conforms to Historic England’s “Dendrochronology: Guidelines on producing and interpreting dendrochronological dates”, ensuring transparent methods, replicable results, and conservation-sensitive practice.
Our dedicated facilities feature a secure, modern laboratory equipped with the latest dendrochronological software and high-precision instruments capable of measurements to 0.01mm accuracy. The lab supports all stages of analysis, including sample preparation, visual and statistical cross-dating, and the development of site and master chronologies.
We provide the following services.
- Specialist dendrochronology support for archaeologists, conservation architects, and heritage managers.
- Multi-species tree-ring analysis – analysis and chronology construction of both oak and non-oak species.
Sampling & permissions – minimally invasive coring available, including licence and consent support where required. - Data Analysis & Cross dating – statistical and visual crossmatching, replication testing, construction of master chronologies, and integration with existing datasets.
- Reporting & Archiving – Dendrochronology and tree-ring analysis reports and long-term storage of samples and measurement data.
For further information please contact the following.
Marie-Therese Barrett
dendro@iac.ie
