Preliminary dating results for ancient ceramics from Romania by means of thermoluminescence

The preliminary results from dating two types of ancient ceramic from Romania by means of thermoluminescence are presented. The measurements are the first TL dating in a Romanian laboratory. Pottery collected from two Eneolithical sites (Petresti culture) and two types of Roman ceramic were investigated using the quartz inclusion technique and an additive dose procedure. The annual dose was estimated using instrumental neutron activation and the calculated values ranged between 2.7 and 3.7 mGy per annum. The analysis yielded reproductible growth curves and the ages obtained range between 5321±2575321±257 and 5850±509y in good agreement with the dates assigned by archaeologists (5000–6000 y) for the Neolithic samples. The ages for the Roman samples, 1790±1251790±125 and 1850±170y were also consistent with their known ages.