Absolute dating of monoxylous boats from northern Italy

Abstract

Twelve monoxylous boats were analyzed from different provinces of northern Italy by radiocarbon and den-drodating. Most of them were dated in the range 6th-12th centuries cal AD. All boats were made from single tree trunks con-taining ∼50 to ∼250 tree rings. The results from archaeometric dating in logboats confirm that these kinds of vessels remained practically unchanged for centuries and were in use until recently. The technical features are more strictly related to local tra-ditions than to chronology. © 2009 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona.