DEVELOPMENT OF A REFERENCE CHRONOLOGY FOR OAK IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY TO IMPROVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ITS WOODEN HERITAGE

Abstract

This study focuses on establishing a ring-width reference chronology for oak in the Basque Country with the aim of improving our knowledge (origin, evolution, chronologies for the different heritage typologies, wood provenance, etc.) about Basque wooden heritage. The research area is located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, coinciding with the southern limit of the geographic distribution of European oak. This means that old Atlantic forests (oak, beech and chestnut) and a rich heritage of timber structures are still preserved in the area. The latter is almost unknown in an international context, although its quality and quantity are comparable with that in other European regions: a stunning number of farmhouses, churches, hermitages, monasteries, river dams and urban houses with wooden structures. The prior development of dendrochronological studies in other European regions has led to indepth knowledge about their wooden heritage and their diffusion and enhancement. The application of dendrochronological methods has allowed an understanding of construction dates, the provenance of the timber, and many other features of European wood-built heritage. This project aims to attain those same levels of knowledge in the Basque Country. To this end, it is necessary not only to build a reference chronology for oak (the most used genus for construction timber) but also to keep improving it so that its use as a dating tool can be optimized, now and in the future. All these steps are described in the various chapters of this study, concluding with the description of the final features of the master chronology obtained at this point in time, as well as the tests that validate its high suitability for dating Basque heritage.