Dating bricks of the last two millennia from Newcastle upon Tyne: a preliminary study

Bricks from a group of four independently dated late medieval buildings in Newcastle upon Tyne have been tested to establish their suitability for luminescence dating as part of a wider study of the dating of post-Roman and medieval brick buildings. The luminescence characteristics of quartz extracted from the bricks were determined using TL (210 degreesC peak) and OSL measurement procedures. Both TL and OSL measurement procedures based on SAR and SARA protocols were applied to determine the palaeodose, The luminescence dates for three sampled locations are in good agreement with the assigned architectural dates; the fourth appears to be older raising doubts concerning the architectural assessment of the sampled phase. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.