# Carbon dating - is this available for mere mortals, or even what I need to date an old building?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carbon-dating-is-this-available-for-mere-mortals-or-even-what-i-need-to-date-an-old-building/1014832>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 26, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carbon-dating-is-this-available-for-mere-mortals-or-even-what-i-need-to-date-an-old-building/1014832 "2025-02-26T15:40:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carbon-dating-is-this-available-for-mere-mortals-or-even-what-i-need-to-date-an-old-building/1014832/21 "2025-02-27T15:23:18Z")

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Yes lots of old nails, and hooks in the wall. Of course, they could be from any time in its history.

I did notice a couple of large nails with square heads sticking out of the wall that look hand made - a quick google tells me they’re likely pre-1800, although that would align with the age of the main house so not many surprises there.

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