The Hallstatt plateau or the first millennium BC radiocarbon disaster, as it is called by some archaeologists and chronologists,[1] is a term used in archaeology that refers to a consistently flat area on graphs that plot radiocarbon dating against calendar dates. When applied to the Scythian epoch in Eurasia, radiocarbon dates of around 2450 BP (Before Present), so c. 500 BC, always calibrate to c. 800–400 BC, no matter the measurement precision.[2] The radiocarbon dating method is hampered by this large plateau on the calibration curve in a critical period of human technological development. Just before and after the plateau, radiocarbon calibration gives precise dates. However, during the plateau the calendar date estimates obtained when calibrating single radiocarbon measurements are very broad and cover the entire duration of the plateau. Only techniques like wiggle matching can yield more precise calendar dates during this period. The plateau is named after the Hallstatt culture period in central Europe with which it coincides.[3]