Investigation of the thermal stability of 210 degrees C TL peak of quartz and dating the components of terrazzo from the monastery church of Tegernsee

The lifetime of the thermoluminescence (TL) peak of quartz observed at 210 degreesC using 5 degreesC/s heating rate is assessed using well-dated therm ally isolated bricks from a monastery and exposed bricks from warmer climat ic zones by comparing the absorbed dose obtained using the 210 degreesC TL peak with those obtained from 310 degreesC TL peak. The lifetimes of the 21 0 degreesC TL peak calculated for samples collected from thermally isolated excavations and exposed buildings are found to be clusted around 8000-1000 0 and 600-800 years, respectively. The results proved that 210 degreesC TL peak could be used for dating of samples younger than 1000 years without th ermal correction if the samples are thermally isolated from their environme nt. TL ages are obtained using quartz, polyminerals from brick pieces as well a s flint splinters, and other quartz inclusions extracted from the mortar of the terrazzo floor of the monastery church. The measured TL ages and the c onsistency of the results are discussed. The fine grains in the mortar, whi ch contained calcite/aragonite, could not be dated using thermoluminescence due to presence of a very strong non-radiation induced TL glow. (C) 2001 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.