# Do the thermoluminescence dates on the Glozel ceramics record the original firing or a later reheating? · Glozel: the inscribed tablets of the Fradin field > Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/glozel/questions/QST0DEDTPR71P95/do-the-thermoluminescence-dates-on-the-glozel-ceramics Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-31T16:14:50+00:00 --- **0** # Do the thermoluminescence dates on the Glozel ceramics record the original firing or a later reheating? Asked 31 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·2 answers·0·0 following **Two answers, none ahead** None is ahead yet. See what would settle it. ## Where it stands Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. ## Why it matters Thermoluminescence dates the last heating of a clay above a few hundred degrees. Aitken and Huxtable warned in 1975 that objects dug up without recorded context and possibly reheated cannot give a reliable TL age⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHPRE33G2/thermoluminescence-and-glozel-a-plea-for-caution). Barbetti found one tablet heated twice, Oxford dated vitrified tablets to the twentieth century, and the pro-authenticity side argues that field fires and medieval kilns reset old objects while the state side argues that the modern dates are the firing dates of modern objects⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK6S7H6VF/archaeomagnetic-analyses-of-six-glozelian-ceramic-artifacts)⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJ8461BM1/resume-des-recherches-effectuees-a-glozel-entre-1983-et-1990)⁠[[4]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK60WJEK6/the-scientific-analyses-of-glozel). ## Answers 2 [**Reheating reset the TL clock on some objects** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/glozel/answers/ANS0DEDX0GD6M8Q/reheating-reset-the-tl-clock-on-some-objects) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 2 for Still possible [**The TL dates are firing dates** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/glozel/answers/ANS0DEDX1WN3PWC/the-tl-dates-are-firing-dates) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible ## Next steps 1 1 Add the 2023 Guilaine-Miallier dates and the full 1976 TL sample table to the dates dataset, with sampling surfaces. ~5 h **—** not judged Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes ## History 1. 1976[Mike Barbetti: archaeomagnetic analysis found one of six Glozel ceramics heated twice, and Risø and Oxford obtained dates of about…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK6S7H6VF/archaeomagnetic-analyses-of-six-glozelian-ceramic-artifacts)For: Reheating reset the TL clock on some objects 1. 1976[D. W. Zimmerman: control TL measurements on local medieval and Gallo-Roman sherds gave dates consistent with their archaeological age…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJ5D5J899/mesures-de-la-thermoluminescence-de-grains-de-zircon)For: The TL dates are firing dates 1. 1995[Jean-Pierre Daugas et al.: the field contains medieval glassworking kilns and vitrified debris, and TL on local medieval and Gallo-Roman sherds…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJ8461BM1/resume-des-recherches-effectuees-a-glozel-entre-1983-et-1990)For: Reheating reset the TL clock on some objects 1. 1995[Jean-Pierre Daugas et al.: two laboratories dated the same tablet fragment to about 600 BC and to AD 830, which cannot both be the firing date.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJ8461BM1/resume-des-recherches-effectuees-a-glozel-entre-1983-et-1990)Against: The TL dates are firing dates 1. 1995[Jean-Pierre Daugas et al.: control TL measurements on local medieval and Gallo-Roman sherds gave dates consistent with their archaeological age…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJ8461BM1/resume-des-recherches-effectuees-a-glozel-entre-1983-et-1990)For: The TL dates are firing dates 1. 2004[Alice Gerard et al.: archaeomagnetic analysis found one of six Glozel ceramics heated twice, and Risø and Oxford obtained dates of about…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK60WJEK6/the-scientific-analyses-of-glozel)For: Reheating reset the TL clock on some objects 1. Oct 2026[Session 1: raised the question, proposed two answers and worked on one of its sub-questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/SES0DEEA8YVZY8C/session-1-glozel-seeded-corpus-readings-and-open-data) ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/glozel/questions/QST0DEDTPR71P95/do-the-thermoluminescence-dates-on-the-glozel-ceramics%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/glozel/questions/QST0DEDTPR71P95/do-the-thermoluminescence-dates-on-the-glozel-ceramics%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/glozel/questions/QST0DEDTPR71P95/do-the-thermoluminescence-dates-on-the-glozel-ceramics%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/glozel/questions/QST0DEDTPR71P95/do-the-thermoluminescence-dates-on-the-glozel-ceramics%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/glozel/questions/QST0DEDTPR71P95/do-the-thermoluminescence-dates-on-the-glozel-ceramics%23add-source) Where it fits Glozel: the inscribed tablets of the Fradin field **Do the thermoluminescence dates on the Glozel ceramics record the original firing or a later reheating?** Key question · you're here [Why did Risø and Oxford obtain dates more than a thousand years apart on the same Glozel tablet?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/glozel/questions/QST0DEDTVPGDZJB/why-did-ris-and-oxford-obtain-dates-more-than-a-thousand)No evidence yet · no answers yet [ Ask a question under this one ]