https://doi.org/10.4081/peasa.24

Cracking the code of Earth's magnetic mysteries: ancient secrets unveiled by byzantine bricks reconfirmed by Mesopotamian ceramics

Vol. 3 (2024)
Published: January 9, 2024
Archeomagnetism, Byzantine age, Byzantine churches, Mesopotamian bricks, Levantine slags
Abstract Views: 259
PDF: 55
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

The study of the magnetization of artifacts discovered at archaeological sites, such as ceramics or hearth remnants, is known as archaeomagnetism. This technique is based on the idea that some materials get magnetized in the direction and intensity of the Earth's magnetic field at the time when heated or exposed to extreme heat. Development in the field has been made to improve magnetometer devices and sample size, as well as measuring techniques of thermal remanent magnetization. It helped to study the variation of the complex Earth’s magnetic field or geomagnetic field (GMF) for both geophysical and archaeological dating benefits. The rapid change in GMF within a few hundred or decades, as being of genuine origin or methodological and sample unsuitability has been a matter of debate. Data from about 40 years ago derived from well-dated Byzantine churches that first confirmed such geomagnetic spikes is discussed along with recent archaeomagnetic data from Mesopotamian inscribed bricks and Levantine slags.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Aitken, M.J., Allsop, A.L., Bussell, G.D., Liritzis, Y. and Winter, M.B., (1989) Geomagnetic intensity measurements using bricks from Greek churches of first and second millennia AD. Archaeometry 31:77-87 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.1989.tb01058.x
Ben-Yosef, E et al., (2009) Geomagnetic intensity spike recorded in high resolution slag deposit in Southern Jordan. Earth Planet Sci. Lett. 287:529–539. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2009.09.001
Howland, M.D, Lisa Tauxe, et al., (2023) Exploring geomagnetic variations in ancient Mesopotamia: Archaeomagnetic study of inscribed bricks from the 3rd–1st millennia BCE. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 120:e2313361120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313361120
Kovacheva, M., Spatharas, V., Liritzis, I., (2007) New archaeointensity results from Greek materials, Archaeometry 42:415–429. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2000.tb00891.x
Liritzis, I., Lagios, E. (1993) .A global archaeomagnetic data bank. EOS 74:303-306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/93EO00276
Liritzis, Y. (1989). Greek archaeomagnetic intensities; Some aspects of reliability and geophysical implications. Earth Moon Planets 47:1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00056327
Liritzis, Y., Kovacheva, M. (1992). Evidence for sharp changes in the archaeomagnetic intensity variation during the last 2000 years. Phys Earth Planet Inter 70:85-89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9201(92)90163-P
Shaar, R., et al., (2022). Archaeomagnetism in the Levant and Mesopotamia reveals the largest changes in the geomagnetic field. J Geophys Res Solid Earth 127:e2022JB024962. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB024962
Shaar, R., Tauxe, L., Goguitchaichvili, A., Devidze, M., Licheli, V. (2017) .Further evidence of the Levantine Iron Age geo-magnetic anomaly from Georgian pottery. Geophys Res Lett 44:2229–2236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071494
Skilles, D.D. (1970). Method of Inferring the Direction of Drift of the geomagnetic Field from Paleomagnetic Data. J Geomag Geoelec 22:441-462. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5636/jgg.22.441
Xanthakis, J., Liritzis, I. (1991). Geomagnetic field variation as inferred from archaeomagnetism in Greece and palaeo-magnetism in British lake sediments since 7000 BC. Monograph, Academy of Athens Publication, No 53.

How to Cite

Liritzis, I. (2024). Cracking the code of Earth’s magnetic mysteries: ancient secrets unveiled by byzantine bricks reconfirmed by Mesopotamian ceramics. Proceedings of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, 3. https://doi.org/10.4081/peasa.24
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.


Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.