Are ceramics and bricks reliable absolute geomagnetic intensity carriers?

Morales, Juan; Goguitchaichvili, Avto; Aguilar-Reyes, Bertha; Pineda-Duran, Modesto; Camps, Pierre; Carvallo, C.; Calvo‐Rathert, Manuel

doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2011.06.007

Cited by 46 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Combining the data from both analytical methods, a wide range of firing temperatures and atmospheres has been established, as expected, within the same kiln (Table 3). This result clearly is dependent upon the structural position of the presently studied material inside the kilns as well as the dimensions of the kilns (Figure 1, Table 1) as suggested also by Morales et al (2011). As mentioned above, all the places inside a kiln did not experience the same firing conditions; in conjunction with the fact that the time operation of the kiln is commonly long, its structural materials will have suffered the effects of repeated firing processes.…”

Section: Estimated Firing Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Several successful laboratory experiments provided reliable archaeointensity results (De Marco et al 2008a, b;Spatharas et al 2011). In cases of failure during the relevant experiment, the classical rock-magnetic protocols for sample preselection proved to be insufficient for reducing this failure, as suggested by Morales et al (2011). Possible explanations could be found among the mineralogical composition and the clay paste preparation of the samples as well as their firing conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not all the places inside a kiln (see Appendix A: The ceramic kiln) had the same temperature at all times. In general, the prefiring lasted almost as long as the firing itself, and the cooling period as long as the prefiring and the firing together (Spassov and Hus 2006;Morales et al 2011).…”

Section: Archaeological Context and Location Of The Studied Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a modern Spanish kiln, Catanzariti et al (2008) report several variations of the magnetic properties even within and between bricks. Finally, Morales et al (2011) designed a complex archaeointensity experiment on an open kiln founded in AD 1815 in Mexico. They detected significant thermal gradients inside the kiln, as well as different cooling rates likely to seriously affect the intensity results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

An Archaeometric and Archaeological Approach to Hellenistic-Early Roman Ceramic Workshops in Greece: Contribution to Dating

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present article comprises a multidisciplinary archaeometric approach for the study of Hellenistic and Early Roman kilns in Greece. A collection of previously published and new archaeomagnetic data are combined with new results from mineralogical analytical experiments. The sampled material came from four areas, covering different geological contexts: Katerini, Olympiada, and Polymylos in mainland Greece, and the island of Paros. Extensive rock-magnetic experiments, including identification of the dominant ferromagnetic minerals present, their domain state, and mineralogical alterations during laboratory treatments, have been carried out in order to examine the magnetic properties of the studied materials and prove their suitability for reliable archaeomagnetic determinations. Magnetic cleaning provided well-defined archaeomagnetic directions, and archaeointensity measurements were carried out using both the Thellier-Thellier and Triaxe protocols. Information from both magnetic and mineralogical properties referring to firing conditions is further discussed along with archaeological information. Finally, a new dating of the four sites together with other structures of similar age was carried out using the Pavón-Carrasco model.

show abstract

Section: Estimated Firing Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Context and Location Of The Studied Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

An Archaeometric and Archaeological Approach to Hellenistic-Early Roman Ceramic Workshops in Greece: Contribution to Dating

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…samples SKO5 and SKO3, Table 4). Differences in firing temperatures within the same production and their impact on archaeointensity calculations were suggested by Morales et al (2011). At the fragment level, Gosselain (1992) reported evidence for large scale differentiation in their physical characteristics and Livingstone Smith (2001) documented, on the basis of a large data set from 80 firing structures, the extended diversity and complexity of firing technologies.…”

Section: Implications For Pottery Selection Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 98%

Investigating the archaeointensity determination success of prehistoric ceramics through a multidisciplinary approach: new and re-evaluated data from Greek collections

Kondopoulou¹,

Gómez‐Paccard

Aidona³

et al. 2017

Geophysical Journal International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

S U M M A R YThe Balkan area provides an almost continuous record of the geomagnetic field variations during the last eight millennia but important data dispersion and chronological gaps are still observed. In order to improve this pattern, we oriented our research towards the study of Greek prehistoric ceramics and pottery collections. We present here new archaeointensity and mineralogical results from pottery and ceramics collected in two Bronze Age sites in Northern Greece, corresponding to the middle third and middle second millennium BC. Thermal demagnetization experiments, thermomagnetic curves, thermal demagnetization measurements of three axes composite isothermal magnetization and first-order reversal curves (FORC) diagrams were performed in order to define the main magnetic carriers and select the most promising samples for archaeointensity determination. The results suggest that the majority of the studied materials are dominated by a mixture of superparamagnetic and stable single domain grains, with very little magnetic interactions. In almost all samples the main magnetic carrier observed is a low coercivity mineral, most probably magnetite and/or Ti-magnetite. Classical Thellier experiments, including both the thermoremanent magnetization anisotropy and cooling rate corrections were performed on the selected samples. Two new archaeointensities were obtained and compared with previous data available for Greece and neighbouring countries and with global geomagnetic field models results. In order to investigate the causes of the high rate of failure observed in our archaeointensity experiments, we re-examined the results obtained from the study of four collections already published by better characterizing the magnetic and mineralogical properties of the studied fragments. Specific hysteresis curves performed at different layers of ceramic fragments reveal an important degree of inhomogeneity. Mineralogical analysis of selected samples from the totality of six Greek prehistoric sites studied, including new X-ray powder diffraction analysis and a detailed description of the different geological contexts, is provided. The results suggest that the sherds were all fired in medium-high temperatures (mostly between 500• and 800• C). The nature of the baked clay paste in response to the local geology appears to account for a part of the variability in magnetic properties. We suggest that X-ray powder diffraction analyses and thorough examination of the geological environment in combination with a satisfactory knowledge of the corresponding excavations history might provide an additional tool to appropriately select pottery fragments before performing future archaeointensity experiments.

show abstract

Rock‐Magnetic and Archaeointensity Investigation of Pottery and a Burned Floor at the Tzintzuntzan Archaeological Site, Western Mexico

et al. 2012

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We report a detailed rock‐magnetic and archaeointensity analysis of four pottery fragments and a burned floor recovered from the Tzintzuntzan archaeological site in western Mexico. Results from rock‐magnetic experiments (x‐T curves and first‐order reversal curves [FORC] diagrams) indicate the suitability of most of these materials as faithful geomagnetic field recorders. Potsherds were archaeomagnetically dated by comparing their mean intensity values against the paleosecular variation curve CALS3k, suggesting A.D. 600–941 as the most probable age range. This is younger than 14C‐dated charcoal from the same burned floor (A.D. 1294–1426). More precise age estimates will require the use of the full geomagnetic vector (declination, inclination, and intensity). Multiple reheatings of the ceramic pieces, evidenced as secondary components in Zijderveld plots, could reflect multiple heating of these objects, perhaps from use as incense burners. Our study demonstrates the potential of archaeomagnetic analysis to both date burned ceramics recovered in situ and provide insight into their use‐history.

show abstract

Are ceramics and bricks reliable absolute geomagnetic intensity carriers?

Cited by 46 publications

References 27 publications

An Archaeometric and Archaeological Approach to Hellenistic-Early Roman Ceramic Workshops in Greece: Contribution to Dating

An Archaeometric and Archaeological Approach to Hellenistic-Early Roman Ceramic Workshops in Greece: Contribution to Dating

Investigating the archaeointensity determination success of prehistoric ceramics through a multidisciplinary approach: new and re-evaluated data from Greek collections

Rock‐Magnetic and Archaeointensity Investigation of Pottery and a Burned Floor at the Tzintzuntzan Archaeological Site, Western Mexico

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About