Stabilized sand deposits from arid regions are often used as palaeoenvironmental proxies for past periods of enhanced aeolian activity. Although widespread use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques has opened up the possibility of systematic analyses of dune building chronologies, palaeoenvironmental histories cannot be reconstructed from chronological data alone. The reconstruction of regional palaeoenvironmental histories should consider all available evidence - stratigraphic, sedimentological and micromorphological, and chronological. This paper highlights potential issues with the interpretation of dune records in the context of stratigraphic preservation, using examples from the Tirari Desert in Australia and the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. Key words: iterdunes, linear dunes, luminescence dating, lunettes, Quaternary, Tirari Desert, Kalahari Desert.