Studio dendrocronologico di campioni provenienti da strutture pastorali d’alta quota in Val di Sole (Trento, progetto ALPES)

This paper presents the dendrochronological study of some wood samples from two historical dry-stone structures located in Val Poré and Val Molinac (Val di Sole, Trento, Italy), at an elevation of about 2300 m. The study was undertaken in the context of the ALPES research project and developed from the results of the undergraduate work of Maria Chiara Chistè. The study involved the sampling and analysis of the wood from dormant joists that were part of the roofing structures of two shepherd huts: MZ001S, located in Val Molinac, and MZ011S, in Val Poré. The anatomical study of the wood has shown that the species used are larch and spruce, both of them present on this altitudinal belt and most probably collected from the immediate surroundings. The dendrochronological study has provided an accurate age for the samples coming from the MZ011S site, which date from 1986. This date matches with the archaeological information available on the last phases of use of these structures. This case study shows that the application of the dendrochronology has provided a novel archaeological and chronological information, that is, the age of the last restoration of the dry-stone structures, which works as a terminus post quem for their final abandonment.