Works of art and furniture
Accessible timber can document species, making techniques, later alterations and usable chronological evidence.
- Furniture
- sculptures
- woodwork
- painted panels
- frames
- stalls
Didier Pousset · Archaeodendrometrist
Reading wood to illuminate history
Didier Pousset assists heritage institutions and professionals with the scientific study of historic timber, from defining the protocol to reporting the findings.
Associate researcher at the ARTEHIS laboratory · Expert at the Dijon Court of Appeal
A comprehensive reading of wood
Archaeodendrometry combines xylology, which identifies wood species; dendromorphology, which studies the shape and conversion of timber; tracology, which examines tool marks and reconstructs gestures; and dendrochronology, which dates wood through the year-by-year study of growth rings.
These complementary approaches apply to works of art and furniture, archaeological remains, architectural timber and musical instruments.
A tailored study
How a study is carried out
Frame the enquiry
Clarify the object or structure, its context and accessibility, and the questions the study needs to address.
Define the protocol
Select the appropriate methods, areas to examine and, where necessary, the conditions for observation or sampling.
Examine and analyse
Document the timber, measure usable data and compare it with the available references or comparative material.
Report the findings
Present the observations, their interpretation and their limits in the format agreed during scoping.
Services
Areas of work
Archaeology
Waterlogged wood is studied through identification, dating, dimensions, and surviving cutting and shaping marks.
- Boats
- construction remains
- domestic objects
Architectural wood
A representative group can refine timber chronology and contribute to reconstructing the progress of a building project.
- Frames
- half-timbers
- ceilings
- floors
- panelling
- stairs
Musical instruments
Dendrochronology of resonance wood looks for dating evidence and compares it with the available references.
- Great organs
- violins
- cellos
- double basses
- harpsichords
Expertise in practice
Projects
Case studies presenting the objects examined, the methods used and the findings.
Case study
Sixteenth-century painted panel — Holy Family
Dendrochronological and dendromorpho-tracological study of an oak panel depicting the Holy Family.
Case study
In-depth study of Vosges violins
A study campaign examining spruce used by nineteenth-century instrument makers in Mirecourt, Vosges.
18–20 May 2026
Comparative study of Zadkine sculptures
Non-intrusive archaeodendrometric comparison of two wooden groups bearing Ossip Zadkine's signature.
About
Didier Pousset
Archaeodendrometrist, associate researcher at the ARTEHIS laboratory and expert at the Dijon Court of Appeal.
His approach combines xylology, dendromorphology, tracology and dendrochronology to read materials, technical gestures and time.