Contrary to Western Europe, the timber of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) predominate in wooden constructions in Baltic Countries. Therefore, oak (Quercus robur L.) timber was used in a small number of historical objects in Lithuania, namely, Klaipėda castle and oldtown, Kaunas City (pavement) and Vilnius Lower Castle, where oak comprised 9.2% of the excavated timbers. In addition, oak timber was found in several churches in central Lithuania, where oak is more spread in the forests due to more fertile soils.
The main material for Vilnius oak chronology was obtained from the bridge foundation construction found close to the Royal Palace gate at a depth of 4–5 m. Ring-width series of the oak beams of the bridge, together with other excavated oak logs, produced a 217-year chronology spanning from AD 1202–1418. The average hardwood/sapwood boundary date on the bridge samples that have preserved sapwood partially is between 1406 and 1407. As the average number of oak sapwood rings in Lithuania is considered to be 6–19 (12, on average), the most probable felling date of trees is situated around 1412–1425.
Using oak timber from Klaipėda oldtown, three oak chronologies were constructed by Mindaugas Brazauskas (AD 1288–1580), Karl-Uwe Heussner (AD 1318–1591), Rūtilė Pukienė (AD 1266–1536) and Adomas Vitas (AD 1247–1552). Each chronology was compiled independently from timber samples taken during different periods and constructions.
Dating churches in central Lithuania (the Diocese of Kaunas) enabled the extension of an oak chronology developed from living trees to AD 1659. Unfortunately, a gap exists between the constructed chronology spanning from AD 1659–2005 and the Klaipėda chronology.
On the left is a photo of an oak sample Inv. No. 2901 from Klaipėda. Note the bands of extremely narrow, sometimes impossible to measure, tree rings. On the right is an image of an altarpiece from St George the Martyr Church in Kaunas.
