# Thermoluminescence dating · Concept

> Dating fired clay or burnt stone by the light it stores since it was last heated.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01EV5D0/thermoluminescence-dating  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Concepts](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts)Thermoluminescence dating

Concept · archaeometry · in 2 mysteries

# Thermoluminescence dating

Dating fired clay or burnt stone by the light it stores since it was last heated.

[Vinča signs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs)[Glozel: the inscribed tablets of the Fradin field](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/glozel)

Minerals in pottery and burnt stone trap energy from natural radiation; heating releases it as light. Measuring that light, and the local radiation dose, gives the time since the object was last fired. It dates things radiocarbon cannot, such as the pottery of Sanxingdui and burnt sediment at impact-claim sites.

## Where it comes up

**[Vinča signs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs)**

[Q: Were the Tărtăria tablets fired in antiquity or only after their discovery in 1961?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs/questions/QST0DEDWAJYJ4J4/were-the-tartaria-tablets-fired-in-antiquity-or-only-after)

**[Glozel: the inscribed tablets of the Fradin field](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/glozel)**

[Q: Do the thermoluminescence dates on the Glozel ceramics record the original firing or a later reheating?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/glozel/questions/QST0DEDTPR71P95/do-the-thermoluminescence-dates-on-the-glozel-ceramics)

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Thermoluminescence dating [Concept CPT0DECW01EV5D0]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DECW01EV5D0
```

Key

**CPT** 0DECW01EV5D0

Record

Concept

Field

Archaeometry

Related

[Radiocarbon dating](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW013KR34/radiocarbon-dating) · [Stratigraphy](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01M0SC0/stratigraphy)

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Related concepts

[Radiocarbon dating](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW013KR34/radiocarbon-dating)[Stratigraphy](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01M0SC0/stratigraphy)

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