This is only because it is well calibrated with objects of known age. Example: wood found in a grave of known age by historically reliable documents is the standard for that time for the C14 content. This standard content of C14 can then be used for wood not associated with a historically documented date. Dates up to this point in history are well documented for C14 calibration. Thus, if radiocarbon worked in mid second millennium BC Egypt, then it should work also in the Aegean. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 171: 583-590. Historic England, and its predecessor English Heritage, have produced technical advice on scientific dating techniques. This page provides an introduction to these documents. Scientific dating methods are important tools in helping to understand and date archaeological sites and they are now used routinely during archaeological investigations.
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