Thousands of years ago, for reasons that will probably always remain a mystery, some of the kauri forests that grew over much of the North of the North Island of New Zealand were destroyed. These trees were buried under peat swamps where they have remained undisturbed until recent times. There are differing theories regarding what caused these events but whatever the cause, these trees have been sealed from the air and have been preserved for thousands of years.

Exactly how many thousands is open to debate but logs have been independently carbon dated from 3,000 to over 45,000 years old. Whether or not there are errors in some of the assumptions and the methodology used in dating this wood is also debated hotly today. It is not my intention to enter the debate here. I use this wood not because of its age but because of it's unique beauty.

What we can say is the timber is, without question, the oldest workable timber in the world. The wood is not petrified but can be sawed, planed and turned like many other species although the more figured pieces can be a bit temperamental at times.

If you are interested in the carbon dated age of the ancient kauri on your particular custom instrument I can arrange this for a fee. I will take two off-cuts from the back or sides and arrange for the testing to be carried out at an approved institution on one of these samples. The actual sample tested is destroyed in the dating process but you will receive the original certificate with the estimated date from the institution of testing along with the second sample piece of wood mounted and framed for display.