Archaeomagnetic study of five mounds from Upper Mesopotamia between 2500 and 700 BCE: Further evidence for an extremely strong geomagnetic field ca. 3000 years ago

Ertepinar, P.; Langereis, C.G.; Biggin, Andrew J.; Frangipane, Marcella; Matney, Timothy; Ökse, A. Tuba; Engi̇n, Atilla

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2012.08.039

Cited by 61 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…refs. 2 and 3; note that evidence of a 9th century BCE spike failed the more rigorous selection criteria applied in the current study (30)] and the other during the 8th century BCE. Both the 10th-century and 8th-century BCE spikes occurred during a time span of generally high field values worldwide (33), which appears to promote rapidly fluctuating and unstable fields (see discussion in Results).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six centuries of geomagnetic intensity variations recorded by royal Judean stamped jar handles

Ben‐Yosef

Millman

Shaar

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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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).archaeomagnetism | archaeointensity | levantine archaeomagnetic curve | paleosecular variation | archaeomagnetic spikes R econstruction of geomagnetic secular variation during the Holocene has implications for various fields of research, from geophysics and other planetary sciences to biology and archaeology. Such reconstructions are based predominantly on heatimpacted geological and archaeological materials, whose thermal remanent magnetization (TRM) holds information on the geomagnetic field vector at the time of their last cooling. As evidence for fluctuating field behavior, including short (decadal) periods of rapid changes, is constantly growing (1-5), using records with excellent time resolution has become increasingly of interest.To improve the accuracy and precision of age constraints associated with estimates of ancient geomagnetic field strength, the current study exploits a set of archaeological artifacts whose ages are exceptionally well constrained. This set is composed of wellstudied ceramic jars from Judah/Yehud/Judea (Jerusalem and its vicinity), which bear royal stamp impressions on their handles (6-10). The stamped jars were part of the ancient administration of this region for about 600 y, between the late eighth and late second centuries BCE. As the types of stamp impressions changed with time according to the political situation, the jar handles provide an excellent recor...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six centuries of geomagnetic intensity variations recorded by royal Judean stamped jar handles

Ben‐Yosef

Millman

Shaar

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Besides that, some new published data that were not previously in the database are included: data from Yu (2012) in Japan (Fig. 7a), data from Shaar et al (2011) and Ertepinar et al (2012) in the Middle East (Fig. 7b) and data from Gómez-Paccard et al (2012) and Tema et al (2012) in Europe (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomagnetic intensity variations for the past 8 kyr: New archaeointensity results from Eastern China

Cai

Tauxe

Deng

et al. 2014

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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In this study, we have carried out paleointensity experiments on 918 specimens spanning the last ∼7 kyr, including pottery fragments, baked clay and slag, collected from Shandong, Liaoning, Zhejiang and Hebei Provinces in China. Approximately half of the specimens yielded results that passed strict data selection criteria and give high-fidelity paleointensities. The virtual axial dipole moments (VADMs) of our sites range from ∼2 × 10 22 to ∼13 × 10 22 Am 2 . At ∼2250 BCE our results suggest a paleointensity low of ∼2 × 10 22 Am 2 , which increases to a high of ∼13 × 10 22 Am 2 by ∼1300 BCE. This rapid (less than 1000 yrs) six-fold change in the paleointensity may have important implications for the dynamics of core flow at this time. Our data from the last ∼3 kyr are generally in good agreement with the ARCH3k.1 model, but deviate significantly at certain time periods from the CALS3k.4 and CALS10k.1b model, which is likely due to differences in the data used to constrain these models. At ages older than ∼3 ka, where only the CALS10k.1b model is available for comparison, our data deviate significantly from the model. Combining our new results with the published data from China and Japan, we provide greatly improved constraints for the regional model of Eastern Asia. When comparing the variations of geomagnetic field in three global representative areas of Eastern Asia, the Middle East and Southern Europe, a common general trend of sinusoidal variations since ∼8 ka is shown, likely dominated by the dipole component. However, significant disparities are revealed as well, which we attribute to non-dipolar components caused by movement of magnetic flux patches at the core-mantle boundary.

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“…Ben-Yosef et al (2009) and Shaar et al (2011) reported high field intensity fluctuations in the southern Levant (Israel and Jordan) during the 10th and the 9th century BCE that they referred to as "geomagnetic spikes". The "spikes" are the extreme climax of a high field maximum (>160 ZAm 2 ) in the Levant that appears in close approximation to other unusually high paleointensity values seen in Turkey (Ertepinar et al, 2012) and Georgia (Shaar et al., 2013), and to other local maxima with lower values seen, for example, in France (Herve et al, 2013), and SE Asia (Hong et al, 2013). Thus, at least at a continental scale, the high-field episode is likely associated with a complicated field structure Kovacheva et al, 2009;Tema and Kondopoulou, 2011;Tema et al, 2012;Kovacheva et al, 2014), suggesting a complex global deviation from a simple dipole configuration (de Groot et al, 2013(de Groot et al, , 2015 that calls for further investigation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SV is among the least well constrained of the geomagnetic phenomena. Yet, it is of key interest for a number of research fields: In geophysical research SV is used to study geodynamo processes, outer core properties, and lower mantle heterogeneities (Jackson et al, 2000;Jackson and Finlay, 2007;Korte and Holme, 2010); in climatic and environmental research SV is used to decipher the role that geomagnetism may play in controlling climate (Gallet et al, 2005(Gallet et al, , 2006Courtillot et al, 2007;Wanner et al, 2008;Knudsen and Riisager, 2009;Ertepinar et al, 2012); in geochronology, SV helps constrain chronologies for archaeological dating (Ben-Yosef et al, 2008b;Lodge and Holme, 2009;Ben-Yosef et al, 2010;Pavon-Carrasco et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large geomagnetic field anomalies revealed in Bronze to Iron Age archeomagnetic data from Tel Megiddo and Tel Hazor, Israel

Shaar

Tauxe

Ron

et al. 2016

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

170

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Archaeomagnetic study of five mounds from Upper Mesopotamia between 2500 and 700 BCE: Further evidence for an extremely strong geomagnetic field ca. 3000 years ago

Cited by 61 publications

References 70 publications

Six centuries of geomagnetic intensity variations recorded by royal Judean stamped jar handles

Six centuries of geomagnetic intensity variations recorded by royal Judean stamped jar handles

Geomagnetic intensity variations for the past 8 kyr: New archaeointensity results from Eastern China

Large geomagnetic field anomalies revealed in Bronze to Iron Age archeomagnetic data from Tel Megiddo and Tel Hazor, Israel

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