Ancient oak trees to shed light on the climate of the past 4500 years | HeritageDaily

Researchers will soon be able to reconstruct the climate of north-west Europe including the UK over the last 4500 years, and to date wooden buildings and objects more accurately, by analysing the chemistry of ancient oak trees, through a new Swansea-led project just selected for €3 million in European funding.

Analysis of tree rings – known as dendrochronology – is an established scientific technique for understanding the past. Tree rings can be examined in living or dead trees, or in objects made of wood, from the beams of a house to the planks of a ship.

The width of the rings…