THE PRE‐DOSE TECHNIQUE: A NEW THERMO‐LUMINESCENT DATING METHOD

ABSTRACTS A thermoluminescent (TL) glow‐curve peak occurs around 110°C for the mineral quartz. Its sensitivity may be changed by application of a radiation dose (termed the pre‐dose ) followed by a heating of the quartz to 500°C: heating alone causes no sensitivity change. The enhancement observed (measured relative to the sensitivity of the peak prior to heating) is a measure of the magnitude of the pre‐dose. For quartz extracted from pottery the sensitivity enhancement induced by laboratory heating records a natural pre‐dose, i.e. the accumulated dose experienced during archaeological burial. The latter quantity is used in TL age‐determination and a test programme is reported on the application of the pre‐dose dating method to sites covering the Roman era in Britain forward to modern times.