The bricks had seals with the names of Mesopotamian kings. This allowed scientists to confirm the time interval in which the magnetic peak occurred.
Geologists often use rock analysis to study the Earth’s magnetic fields, but in more recent times, when there is no possibility to study rocks because they have not yet had time to form, we need to use archaeological artifacts. We can think of clay bricks or pottery as man-made rocks for studying Earth’s magnetic fields.
Matthew Howland, in an interview with CNN
The analysis of the bricks showed that, during that period, there was a rapid and intense strengthening of the magnetic field. The phenomenon, however, only lasted a few decades.
According to scientists, the discovery is important for understanding how the magnetic field and natural phenomena linked to it behave.. Additionally, identifying these anomalies can help determine when archaeological artifacts were produced.
We will continue this work, apply it to more bricks, and deepen our understanding of the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field over time. But perhaps even more exciting is that archaeologists working at sites in Iraq and Syria can look at our data and apply the same techniques to undated artifacts. This can help resolve many chronological debates.
Matthew Howland, in an interview with CNN
The search was published by scientists Matthew Howland, Lisa Tauxe, Shai Gordin, Mark Altaweel, Brendan Cych and Erez Ben-Yosef in the academic journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”.
2023-12-30 07:00:00
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