Optically stimulated luminescence profiling and dating of earthworks : the creation and development of prehistoric field boundaries at Bosigran, Cornwall
Abstract
Accurately dating the creation and development of earthwork features is a long-standing problem for archaeologists. This article presents results from Bosigran (Cornwall, UK), where boundary banks believed to be prehistoric in origin are assessed using optically stimulated luminescence profiling and dating (OSL-PD). The results provide secure construction dates for different boundaries in the Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as chronologies for their early medieval and later development. The research demonstrates not only the prehistoric origins of these distinctive Cornish field systems, but also a practical and cost-effective methodology suitable for dating earthworks around the world.
Citation
Vervust , S , Kinnaird , T , Herring , P & Turner , S 2020 , ' Optically stimulated luminescence profiling and dating of earthworks : the creation and development of prehistoric field boundaries at Bosigran, Cornwall ' , Antiquity , vol. 94 , no. 374 , pp. 420-436 . https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2019.138
Publication
Antiquity
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0003-598XType
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd and Cambridge University Press 2020. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the same Creative Commons licence is included and the original work is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use.
Description
This work has received funding from the FWO (Research Foundation—Flanders) and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement (665501).Collections
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