TL-dating of vitrified ramparts: did Birnam Wood go to Dunsinane hill in A.D. 455?
Abstract
As a contribution to the general interpretation of "vitrified forts" a major dating project was started with samples from Northern Europe. To increase the unsatisfying rate of success which could be achieved by standard TL-techniques, the pre-dose method was reconsidered to which an essential novelty was added consisting in a normalisation of the archaeological doses from individual samples to sensitivity.
The TL-results extent over approx. 2000 years with a distinct clustering at about 500 A.D . The date obtained for Dunsinane Hill (ref. Shakespeare's Macbeth) indicates that TL-ages need not necessarily be concordant with historical or C-14 dates. Methodological limitations arise not only from high firing temperatures, but also from low firing temperatures. Intensive sampling can rule out systematic errors.
