Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) provides a feasible method for carbon-14 dating of papyrus and parchment used in manuscripts. Because the AMS carbon-14 method requires only 15-20 milligrams of unwritten papyrus material for testing, it is an attractive alternative to conventional carbon-14 techniques which require at least 17 grams of material. Parchment is more difficult to test successfully since agents used to prepare the animal skin can affect the results. Palaeographers are advised to secure expert technical assistance in the preparation of the test samples in order to achieve useful results.