Although dendrochronology is now commonly used and widely accepted as a dating technique, and many tree-ring chronologies exist for numerous areas of Europe, there are still major problems with the method. Discussed are some of the main problems encountered by dendrochronologists looking at archaeological timbers where there is little freedom of choice at the sampling stage. Examples are given which illustrate these difficulties and show the possible limitations of dendrochronology as a tool for dating. In spite of the problems, many of the examples, such as the timbers from Coppergate in York or the Roman waterfronts in London, also demonstrate the success of the method and its potential in the field of archaeology.