The First Catalog of Archaeomagnetic Directions From Israel With 4,000 Years of Geomagnetic Secular Variations
Open accessAbstract
The large and well-studied archaeological record of Israel offers a unique opportunity for collecting high resolution archaeomagnetic data from the past several millennia. Here, we initiate the first catalog of archaeomagnetic directions from Israel, with data covering the past four millennia. The catalog consists of 76 directions, of which 47 fulfill quality selection criteria with Fisher precision parameter (k) ≥ 60, 95% cone of confidence (α95) < 6° and number of specimens per site (n) ≥ 8. The new catalog complements our published paleointensity data from the Levant and enables testing the hypothesis of a regional geomagnetic anomaly in the Levant during the Iron Age proposed by Shaar et al (2016, 2017). Most of the archaeomagnetic directions show <15° angular deviations from an axial dipole field. However, we observe in the 10th and 9th century BCE short intervals with field directions that are 19°-22° different from an axial dipole field and inclinations that are 20°-22° steeper than an axial dipole field. The beginning of the first millennium BCE is also characterized with fast secular variation rates. The new catalog provides additional support to the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly hypothesis.
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In 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 [21]
The Archaeo-Chronological Applications section (page unavailable) says the 47 new data points are a significant step toward a Levantine reference curve for archaeomagnetic dating and describes a dating application using existing data. It does not establish that the method is already becoming more reliable; it presents development of the reference curve as future work. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe Levantine Iron Age Anomaly (LIAA) spanned from the 10th century BCE until at least the 5th century BCE in the Near East and Europe.
“a high field anomaly, which spanned from the 10th century BCE until at least the 5th century BCE in the Near East and Europe [5, 21, 35–37].”
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 [21]
The Comparison With Sedimentary Data section describes a high-field Levantine anomaly between approximately 1050 and 750 BCE, which includes the 10th century BCE. It does not support its continuation to at least the 5th century BCE or its occurrence in Europe; the passage calls it a local anomaly in the Levant. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe LIAA is characterized by generally high averaged field values (130-160 ZAm2), with short episodes of higher field values and geomagnetic spikes, fast secular variation rates and large angular deviations from the GAD field.
“This anomaly is characterized by generally high averaged field values (130–160 ZAm2), with short episodes of higher field values and geomagnetic spikes, fast secular variation rates and large angular deviations from the GAD field.”
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 [21]
The Comparison With Sedimentary Data section reports high field values during the LIAA, two spikes above 160 ZAm², and angular deviations of 19–22° from the axial dipole field. Results and Discussion interprets tenth- to ninth-century BCE directions as evidence of fast geomagnetic changes. The copy does not give 130–160 ZAm² as an averaged field-value range or establish the duration of the higher-field episodes; page numbers were not available. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Shaar, R., Hassul, E., Raphael, K., Ebert, Y., Segal, Y., Eden, I., Vaknin, Y., Marco, S., Nowaczyk, N. R., Chauvin, A., & Agnon, A.
- Affiliations
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
- Tel Aviv University (IL)
- GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (DE)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Shaar, Ron
- ORCID
- Venue
- Frontiers in Earth Science
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2018-10-25
- Volume
- 6
- ISSN
- 2296-6463 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2892672917
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 1.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Frontiers in Earth Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Publication Database GFZ (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences) (submittedVersion)
- Publication Database GFZ (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Publication Database GFZ (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Israel Science Foundation (1364/15, 1181/12)
- German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (I-2398-301.8/2015)
- Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources (215-17-027)
- 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 secular variation, paleointensity, 1st millennium BC, magnetic inclination
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