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Description
Aims: We present CCD photometry in the Washington system C and T1 passbands down to T1~22.5 in the fields of NGC 1697, SL 133, NGC 1997, SL 663, and OHSC 28, five mostly unstudied star clusters in the LMC. Methods: Cluster radii were estimated from star counts in appropriate-sized boxes distributed throughout the entire observed fields. We perform a detailed analysis of the field star contamination and derive cluster colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). Based on the best fits of isochrones computed by the Padova group to the (T1, C-T_1_) CMDs, the {delta}(T1) index and the Standard Giant Branch procedure, we derive metallicities and ages for the five clusters. We combine our sample with clusters with ages and metallicities on a similar scale and examine relationships between position in the LMC, age and metallicity. Results: With the exception of NGC 1697 (age=0.7Gyr, [Fe/H]=0.0dex), the remaining four clusters are of intermediate-age (from 2.2 to 3.0Gyr) and relatively metal-poor ([Fe/H]=0.7dex). The cluster and field age-metallicty realtions show evidence for a metallicity offset but do overlap, particularly on the upper envelope side of the cluster age-metallicity relation. Conclusions: We confirm previous results that clusters younger than ~1Gyr were formed during an outside-in process; this occurred after a bust of cluster formation that took place mainly in the outer disk and peaked at ~2Gyr ago.
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