Manfred Bietak

"Manfred Bietak pointed out other dangers in dendrochronological dating. It is ‘methodologically wrong to compare different varieties of wood originating from different regions…The ecosystem could be…different. Also different kinds of trees react to climate in different ways. The juniper is from central Anatolia…Far away from one housing cedar…likely to be from a region near the seashore…[thus] we are forced to use the artefacts from the ship as a way of dating.’"

"Manfred Bietack also reminded us, ‘It is a great illusion to believe that sciences are more reliable, at least just now, in obtaining absolute dates especially when the data available is so limited…even more by the subjective selection process of the author’s…Radiocarbon years do not correspond to calendar years due to unsteady cosmic radiation and uneven absorption of carbon 14,’ which is ‘explored by calibration…by taking a series of well dated trees…subjecting to measurements…[which] involves a lot of interpretation’ and ‘which can also vary between different laboratory conditions…fragments of wood are likely to be old and re-used when deposited…contamination and pre-treatment in laboratories can be looked on as yet another complication which has not been sufficiently resolved.’"