From an analysis of broken pottery and statuary, archaeologists have estimated that an ancient settlement in southwestern Arabia was established around 1000 B. C. However, new evidence suggests that the settlement is considerably older: tests show that a piece of building timber recently uncovered at the site is substantially older than the pottery and statuary.
The statement that "the tests used to determine the age of the pottery and statuary had been devised more recently than those used to determine the age of the building timber" most seriously undermines the conclusion drawn from the new evidence.