Influence of ground temperature variations and other factors on the accuracy of thermoluminescence dating methods based on the shape of glow curves

Abstract

The effect of ground temperature variations with time and depth as well as of other complicating factors are examined, with reference to the thermoluminescence dating methods which use the shape of glow curves as affected by ambient temperatures. It is shown that for accurate dating, detailed information is needed on the variation of temperature with time at the depth that the object being dated was found. Taking into account all the sources of error, a total uncertainty of around 20% in the ages is expected. This makes these methods of little use to archaeological dating but possibly of use in authenticity tests.