Wood of 7,000 years

2020/02/12 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Materialak

In the Czech Republic is the oldest wooden structure made by man, a square structure in the form of a boat. It seems a structure of support of the walls of a well of 80x80 cm of height and 1,40 m of height, being oak wood.

From the point of view of archaeologists it is an important discovery. On the one hand, because it is made with quite complex techniques of woodcarving, and on the other, because it is an object of about 7,000 years, that of the Neolithic. That is also interesting because they have used dendrochronology to know when it is. That is, the reading of the rings of the wood, and never before has such an ancient dating been made by this method. Two other similar wells have already been found in Czech Republic, the Neolithic, but not so old.

From the point of view of the science of materials, the discovery is also remarkable and the conservation of this wood will be a great challenge. It has been preserved for having been immersed in water for 7,000 years.

The wood has remained submerged and if it is dried, the structure deforms and is lost. Those who work the wood know it: humidity and heat are used to bend the wood and give shape. And the wood that has remained immersed in water, when it is dried, deforms. This is the case of the San Juan galleon, the famous whaling that sank in the Canadian bay of Red Bay. The gallon is still submarine in Canada, since if removed from the subsoil it will not be preserved. And it is not the only case.

In this case of the Czech wood well, scientists will try to dry it. But for this they need a substance that keeps it in submerged conditions. There is the challenge. For the moment, a type of sugar is being tested in the hope of maintaining the cellular structure of the wood.

They have made a great discovery in Czech Republic. Wood made of 7,000 years. The oldest known. And its conservation is now a great challenge.