Thermoluminescence Dating of Ancient Pottery Sherds from Ban Pong Manao Archaeological Site, Lopburi Province, Thailand

Theeraporn Chuenpee, Kamonporn Upakankaew, Yuratikan Jantaravikorn and Wanwisa Dharnmanonda

Background and Objective: During the archaeological excavation in early 2000 at Ban Pong Manao archaeological site in Lopburi province, central Thailand, a collection of ancient pottery sherds were found. Dating these objects in absolute means was important to provide information on many archaeological aspects, including a chronology. The aim of our study, therefore, was to estimate the thermoluminescence (TL) age of those pottery sherds. Materials and Methods: To determine the TL age, we performed a multiple-aliquot regenerative-dose procedure to estimate the equivalent dose of quartz grains extracted from the samples of pottery sherds. The annual doses were obtained by measuring the radioactivity concentration of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in the pottery sherd samples and their surrounding soil. Results: The TL dating results of the samples yielded ages of 2.942±176, 3.152±184, 1.921±122, 1.668±104, 3.014±194 and 3.223±165 years before the present, which were in good agreement with the relative and absolute ages estimated from previous studies. Conclusion: We conclude that activities were undertaken on the site in the prehistoric period of Thailand and TL dating of pottery sherds from this site is possible and can complement other dating techniques.

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