Six centuries of geomagnetic intensity variations recorded by royal Judean stamped jar handles
Open accessAbstract
Earth’s magnetic field, one of the most enigmatic physical phenomena of the planet, is constantly changing on various time scales, from decades to millennia and longer. The reconstruction of geomagnetic field behavior in periods predating direct observations with modern instrumentation is based on geological and archaeological materials and has the twin challenges of ( i ) the accuracy of ancient paleomagnetic estimates and ( ii ) the dating of the archaeological material. Here we address the latter by using a set of storage jar handles (fired clay) stamped by royal seals as part of the ancient administrative system in Judah (Jerusalem and its vicinity). The typology of the stamp impressions, which corresponds to changes in the political entities ruling this area, provides excellent age constraints for the firing event of these artifacts. Together with rigorous paleomagnetic experimental procedures, this study yielded an unparalleled record of the geomagnetic field intensity during the eighth to second centuries BCE. The new record constitutes a substantial advance in our knowledge of past geomagnetic field variations in the southern Levant. Although it demonstrates a relatively stable and gradually declining field during the sixth to second centuries BCE, the new record provides further support for a short interval of extreme high values during the late eighth century BCE. The rate of change during this “geomagnetic spike” [defined as virtual axial dipole moment > 160 ZAm 2 (10 21 Am 2 )] is further constrained by the new data, which indicate an extremely rapid weakening of the field (losing ∼27% of its strength over ca. 30 y).
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The three Lion stamped jar handles measured for paleointensity in previous research had probably been manufactured at least a few decades after 586 BCE.
“the three Lion stamped jar handles [72] that were measured for paleointensity in previous research [20] had probably been manufactured at least a few decades after 586 BCE.”
From The Earth’s magnetic field in Jerusalem during the Babylonian destruction: A unique reference for field behavior and an anchor for archaeomagnetic dating (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
Table 2 (Discussion; page not provided) reports paleointensity results for three Lion-stamped handles. Table 1 (Discussion; page not provided) gives Lion stamps a likely age range of 586–520 BCE, supporting manufacture after 586 BCE but not the more specific assertion that it was probably at least a few decades later. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the Levant, the termination of the LIAA was constrained to the 7th century BCE by moderate field values measured from Judean stamped pottery and pottery from Syria.
“In the Levant, the termination of the LIAA was constrained to the 7th century BCE by moderate field values measured from Judean stamped pottery [20] and pottery from Syria [66, 70].”
From The Earth’s magnetic field in Jerusalem during the Babylonian destruction: A unique reference for field behavior and an anchor for archaeomagnetic dating (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
The Discussion (page unavailable) reports a sharp decline in intensity in Judean stamped jar handles between 732 and 701 BCE, followed by a gradual decrease from the seventh century BCE onward. This supports a waning of the eighth-century spike, but the paper does not explicitly constrain its termination to the seventh century or describe the seventh-century values as moderate. The Syrian pottery is attributed to separate citations, not this source. (LLM, conf=0.78)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOut of 36 paleointensity specimens, 30 met acceptance criteria, a relatively high success rate.
“Out of 36 specimens, 30 met our acceptance criteria (S5 Table) [20, 32, 57], which is a relatively high success rate.”
From The Earth’s magnetic field in Jerusalem during the Babylonian destruction: A unique reference for field behavior and an anchor for archaeomagnetic dating (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
The Results section reports that 158 of 211 specimens passed the cited paper’s criteria and calls its 74% success rate relatively high. This supports the comparison to a high success rate, but the cited paper does not report the citing authors’ figure of 30 out of 36 specimens. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the archaeological research of the Levant, the growing body of archaeomagnetic data enables an increasingly reliable dating method.
“In the archaeological research of the Levant, the growing body of archaeomagnetic data [19–21] enables an increasingly reliable dating method [22–24].”
From The Earth’s magnetic field in Jerusalem during the Babylonian destruction: A unique reference for field behavior and an anchor for archaeomagnetic dating (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
The intensity results compared to two different Rosette handles show a VADM difference of more than 10 ZAm2.
“Our intensity results compared to those of two different Rosette handles [20] show a VADM difference of more than 10 ZAm2.”
From The Earth’s magnetic field in Jerusalem during the Babylonian destruction: A unique reference for field behavior and an anchor for archaeomagnetic dating (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
Paleointensity data were analyzed using the Thellier GUI program following the automatic interpretation approach, using the same acceptance criteria as Shaar et al. [32] and Ben-Yosef et al. [20].
“Paleointensity data were analyzed using the Thellier GUI program [56] following the automatic interpretation approach [32, 57]. Here, we used the same acceptance criteria as in Shaar et al. [32] and Ben-Yosef et al. [20] (S5 Table).”
From The Earth’s magnetic field in Jerusalem during the Babylonian destruction: A unique reference for field behavior and an anchor for archaeomagnetic dating (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
The 586 BCE new results show considerably higher field values than those measured from the Rosette type produced before the 586 BCE destruction and from the Lion type produced after it.
“The 586 BCE new results show considerably higher field values than those measured from the Rosette type (marked “R” in Fig 8C) that were produced before the 586 BCE destruction and from the Lion type (marked “L” in Fig 8C) produced after it.”
From The Earth’s magnetic field in Jerusalem during the Babylonian destruction: A unique reference for field behavior and an anchor for archaeomagnetic dating (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
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- Authors
- Ben-Yosef, E., Millman, M., Shaar, R., Tauxe, L., & Lipschits, O.
- Affiliations
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel;
- Tel Aviv University (IL)
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2017-02-13
- Volume
- 114
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 2160-2165
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC5338537
- OpenAlex
- W2588435568
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 2.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (20112359)
- National Science Foundation (EAR-1345003)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Keywords
- geomagnetic field history, royal seals, Judah, Southern Levant, paleomagnetism, virtual axial dipole moment, 8th century BC, storage jars, archaeomagnetic dating
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