M. Járó - L. Költő szerk.: Archaeometrical research in Hungary (Budapest, 1988)

Dating - ERDÉLYI Balázs: Thermoluminescence dating in the history of arcmtecture

To clarify these problems, ten bricks were taken from the masonry and the stairs. TL dating was performed by the quartz inclusion method. The results answered postitively all problems. Sample No. 84/5 taken from the basement wall at the junction of nave and apsis is 786 ±38 years old, i. e. the brick had been fired in 1198 ±38 years, as presumed. Testing of the stair bottom demonstrated the choir to have been built in the 19th century, along with the renovation of the stairs to the choir doorway. Finally, in connection with the TL dating of monuments, it should be pointed out that no reliable starting point can be obtained other than by taking an adequate number of representative samples from the buüding. This is of particular importance since — evaluation has to consider that results represent the date of firing rather than that of buüding-in, generally not an essential deviation if not in the event of re-use of old bricks; or better - results refer only to a group of bricks rather than to the entire building. Another trouble may arise from the unsuitability of some bricks to TL dating from geological, chemical or physical causes. In the case of villas in the Vene to, this fact excluded 35% of the samples from the investigation (Goedicke et al, 1981). This proportion is considered of general validity, in spite of the more favourable proportion in our investigations. References Becker, K.: Solid State Dosimetry. CRC Press, Cleveland, Ohio, 1973, Bogyay, T.: The Rotunda of Kallósd. (In Hungarian). Dt. Szemle, Budapest, 1940 Chang, K. C: Rethinking Archaeology. New York, 1967. Erdélyi, B. — Kása, I. — Zádor, M.: Thermoluminescence Dating of Some Hungarian Romanesque Chuches. BBA, West Berlin. (In press), Goedicke, C. — Slusallek, K. — Kubelik, M.: Thermoluminescence Dating in Architectural History: Venetian Vülas. Journal of the Society of Architectura History, Vol. XL, No. 3.203. Philadelphia, October 1981. Kása, I. — Erdélyi, B. — Zádor, M. — Bajnóczy, G.: Thermoluminescence Dating of Some Hungarian Medieval Churches. Periodica Polytechnica, Chem. Eng., Vol. 28 (1984), Nos. 3—4. p. 263. Budapest. Michels, J. W.: Dating Methods in Archaeology. New York, 1973.