The Nottingham Tree-ring Dating Laboratory and the University of Groningen's Center for Isotope Research dated the West Berkshire wood artifact to between 4640 and 4605 B.C.E., with 95 percent confidence.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by Historic England's official press release and corroborated by multiple independent sources (West Berkshire Council, The History Blog, Newbury Today, The Guardian, Ancient Pages) all reporting the same labs, date range, and confidence level. One source has a trivial 1-year discrepancy on the end date, likely a rounding artifact, not a substantive conflict. [tier=silver indep_score=0.607 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Retiree Uncovers Wooden Artifact 2,000 Years Older Than ... (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/oldest-decoratively-carved-wood-in-britain-boxford-timber/ (corroboration)
- https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/67438 (corroboration)
- https://www.westberks.gov.uk/article/45653/West-Berkshire-Museum-returns-oldest-carved-wood-in-Britain-to-Boxford (corroboration)