In cooperation with the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (ZVDKS), Novo mesto unit, and based on previous dendrochronological dating, we selected 2 representative double hayracks in Ratje village, Slovenia. The older Papež's hayrack was first built at the end of the 18th century and the younger Blatnik's at the end of the 19th century. The objectives of this project were to define and name the elements of the hayracks, to determine the places to collect wood samples, to perform wood identification, and to findout whether the selection of timber species varied between 2 hayracks. Wood was identified macroscopically or microscopically by using identification keys. We made 111 identifications in the Papež's double hayrack. We determined 5 wood species and found that 33 elements were made of oak (Quercus sp.), 56 of poplar (Populus sp.), 13 of beech wood (Fagus sylvatica), 6 of spruce (Picea abies) and 3 of silver fir (Abies alba). Oak was used for the exposed and loaded parts, whereas poplar and beech were used for the parts that were not exposed to moisture. On the BlatnikŽs double hayrack 128 identifications were made and 5 wood species identified. Oak with 115 elements predominated. Furthermore, 3 elements were made of spruce, 7 of pear (Pyrus sp.), 2 of poplar and 1 of cherry (Prunus avium) wood. In addition to the above the older hayrack contained 56 elements in Slovenian language named "late" which were mainly made of fur wood. Also the younger hayrack contained 56 such elements, but they were mostly made of spruce wood. These elements were most likely replaced several times during the existence of the hayracks.
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