SDO14900 - Studland Bay Wreck, nr Poole Harbour, Dorset. Dendrochronological and radiocarbon analysis of a ship timber

‘The Studland Bay Wreck was excavated between 1984 and 1992. Timbers and other finds from the vessel are displayed in Poole Museum. The wreck is thought to be that of a lightly armed Spanish merchant vessel dating to c AD 1520-30. A total of 189 timbers were assessed for their dendrochronological potential with 17 oak timbers subsequently being sampled for analysis. None of the tree-ring sequences obtained from this material were found to cross-match each other, and none of the individual series were successfully matched to available reference data. Following the unsuccessful dendrochronological analysis, the only structural timber that retained sapwood was sub-sampled and underwent radiocarbon wiggle-matching in order to ascertain whether this supported the proposed early-sixteenth century date.’