Variations in geomagnetic intensity and temperature in the second Millennium B.C. in Spain

The Bronze ceramics of the Baeza archeological monument in Spain is studied by archaeomagnetic methods. In the 19th and 18th centuries B.C, the intensity of the geomagnetic field varied from 40 to 60 mkT. The variations are smooth; they attained their maximum in the 16th to 15th centuries B.C. The obtained data on the variations in the geomagnetic intensity perfectly agree with the results of previous investigations for the ceramics from the Bronze Age multilayered archeological monuments Azuer and Ubeda. The temperature in the region of the Baeza monument is estimated in the interval from the 18th to the 13th centuries B.C. It experiences wave-like variation, ranging from ??15 to 23°C and attains its maximum in the 16th century B.C.     

Archaeomagnetic study of ceramics from the Neolithic Los Castillejos multilayer monument (Montefrio,Spain)

The geomagnetic intensity variation from the middle of the 4th millennium BC to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC is reconstructed from the archaeomagnetic study of ceramic material taken from 24 layers of the Los Castillejos monument (Montefrio, Spain). The general patterns of the geomagnetic intensity variation reconstructed by studying materials from the Cendres Cave and Los Castillejos monuments (Spain) are similar. The intensity level is revised in the time interval including the minimum of the “fundamental” oscillation of the geomagnetic field; the characteristics of geomagnetic intensity variations whose superposition can provide the intensity variation observed in the study time interval are determined. Constraints on the climate humidity variation over the settlement lifetime are obtained from heating-induced variations in the magnetic susceptibility of the ceramics.     

Archaeomagnetic studies of materials from the Gorelyi Les and Ust-Khaita monuments (Eastern Siberia)

Archaeomagnetic studies of materials from archaeological monuments of the Irkutsk and Baikal regions provided new constraints on the geomagnetic intensity variation in Eastern Siberia for the interval from the 5th millennium BC through the 1st millennium AD. Material from the Gorelyi Les and Ust-Khaita multilayer archaeological monuments of the Irkutsk region is dated according to layer depths of deposits. Data on the geomagnetic intensity obtained from archaeomagnetic studies corroborate the validity of this method of dating. It is established that the average level of the geomagnetic intensity smoothly rose in the interval from the 5th millennium BC through the 1st millennium AD, with faster variations being superimposed on this trend. The pattern of the geomagnetic intensity variation is similar to those in other Eurasian regions.     

Archaeomagnetic study of ceramics from the El Molon archaeological monument (Spain

Data on the geomagnetic field intensity in the first millennium BC and the 8th–10th centuries AD are obtained from the study of materials from the El Molon archaeological monument (Spain). A 75-yr averaged curve of the variation in the geomagnetic field intensity in the area of the zero meridian over the last three millennia is constructed from a set of new and previously obtained data on the geomagnetic intensity variations in Spain and France. The field intensity smoothly decreases in the time interval studied, and variations a few centuries long are superimposed on this trend. Unlike the present-day relationship, the average level of the geomagnetic field intensity in Spain in the first millennium BC was higher than in the Caucasus.     

Variations in the geomagnetic field strength in the 5th–3rd centuries BC in the eastern Mediterranean (according to narrowly dated ceramics)

The magnetization of ceramics from the eastern Mediterranean dated within a short period (mostly shorter than ±20 years) has been studied, which made it possible to specify the geomagnetic field variations on the time interval 5th–3rd centuries BC. The 11-year time series of the geomagnetic field strength values has been constructed. The field strength changes have been considered, which indicated that the centennial variation with a characteristic time of ～130 years (according to the obtained data) is observed on this time interval as well as during the last two millennia. The ceramic material from the Mayskaya Gora archeological site (Taman), the preparation succession of which was established based on the shape of pottery but the problem of absolute dating was not solved, has been dated.     

Variations of the main geomagnetic field intensity in the region of the Taman Peninsula during the last 13 centuries

The archaeomagnetic studies of ceramics from the Hermonassa multilayer archaeological monument in the Taman Peninsula provided the data on the intensity of the main geomagnetic field in the past. The data for the interval from VIII to XX centuries A.D. demonstrate a well pronounced decreasing trend in the geomagnetic field intensity during this time. Three stages, each lasting for a few centuries, are distinguished in the variations of the centennial average field which slightly varies within each stage and generally decreases from 70 to ~45 μT during the entire period from VIII to XX centuries A.D. The variations of the geomagnetic field in the interval from XII to XVII centuries A.D. have a form of quasi-harmonic oscillations with a characteristic time of about 300 years.     

Geomagnetic field variations as determined from bulgarian archaeomagnetic data

The archaeomagnetic determinations obtained from the collections of archaeological materials, dated in the last 2000 years are summarized. The review describes the materials used, the methodology applied, the local database organization, the principles of data processing and smoothing procedures. Errors evaluation at different levels of analysis of the experimental results are described. Special attention is paid to the archaeointensity determinations. Some rock magnetic properties studied in connection with the difficulties in the Thellier method are summarised. The curves of geomagnetic field elements variations for the last 2000 years for Bulgaria are shown. The Bauer plots, VGP path and VDM curve are also discussed, the latter confirming the general decrease in the strength of the geomagnetic field from the beginning of this era to the present. Westward drift of the geomagnetic field non-dipole part cannot be considered proved yet for the time interval 7th to 13th Centuries AD from the Bulgarian directional data.     

Variation of the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field in Portugal in the 1st millennium BC

The study of magnetization of the ceramic material from 21 archeological monuments of Portugal (the Evora province), dated archeologically from the Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age has been carried out. For the purpose of more detailed timing of the material from the monuments the method of ceramic age dating on the basis of its porosity has been used. In order to take into account the distorted factors in the determination of the parameters of the ancient geomagnetic field with the aim of the maximal approximation to the actual values the diagnostic features of magnetite weathering have been considered and the level of weathering of the magnetic fraction in the ceramics from archeological monuments has been determined. The data of geomagnetic field-strength variation in the time interval of the 12th century BC to the beginning of the Common Era have been obtained. The field-strength at this time interval varied in the range of 60–90 micro Tesla with the maximal values in the 9th, 8th, and the second half of the 5th to the beginning of the 4th century BC. In addition, the timing of the ceramic material from the urns of the megalithic complex Monte de Tera of the Evora province has been clarified.     

Geomagnetic field intensity in the first millennium BC from data on ceramics of the Los Villares archaeological monument (Spain)

The geomagnetic field variation pattern in the second and third quarters of the first millennium BC is obtained from data on ceramic material sampled in the Los Villares multilayer archaeological monument (Spain). The analysis of available data on the geomagnetic field variation in Spain over the last seven millennia shows that it is similar to the geomagnetic variation pattern observed in other Eurasian regions. The amplitude of the “fundamental” (8000-yr) oscillation (≈20 μT) estimated from the Spain data exceeds significantly its amplitudes in other regions, which supports the previously noted tendency to a westward increase in the amplitude of the fundamental oscillation.     

Statistical Analysis of Palaeomagnetic Data from the Last Four Centuries: Evidence of Systematic Inclination Shallowing in Lava Flow Records

The main objective of this work is to compare directional (declination and inclination) volcanic and archaeomagnetic data for the last four centuries (~1600–1990) with the historical geomagnetic predictions given by the GUFM1 model which spans from 1590 to 1990. The results show statistical agreement between archaeomagnetic data and directions given by the geomagnetic field model. However, when comparing the volcanic data with the model predictions, marked inclination shallowing is observed. This systematically lower inclination has already been observed in local palaeomagnetic studies (Italy, Mexico and Hawaii) for the 20th century, by comparing recent lava flows with the International Reference Geomagnetic Field (IGRF) model. Here, we show how this inclination shallowing is statistically present at worldwide scale for the last 400 years with mean inclination deviation around 3° lower than the historical geomagnetic field model predictions.     

Geomagnetic Field Intensity during the Neolith in the Central East European Plain

The conducted archeomagnetic studies resulted in data on variations in the geomagnetic field intensity in the central East European Plain (Sakhtysh I site area, ? = 56°48′ N, λ = 40°33′ E) during the time interval of 5–3 ka BC. The geomagnetic field intensity varied mainly within the range of 30–60 μT. In the first half of the 5th millennium BC, the mean level of geomagnetic field intensity was about 35 μT. In the second half of the 5th–early 4th millennium BC, it rose to about 50 μT and then decreased again to reach a mean value of about 40 μT in the period of 4–3 ka BC. Comparison of the geomagnetic field intensity variation based on the obtained data and the data on the Caucasus region for the same time interval demonstrates a certain similarity.     

Geomagnetic evolution: 400 years of change on planet Earth

Spherical harmonic coefficients of the geomagnetic field, calculated from historical observations of declination, inclination and intensity, and from archaeomagnetic inclination results, have been used to produce a film of geomagnetic change since 1600 A.D. The non-dipole geomagnetic field is found to be constantly changing: no fixed or standing non-dipole features are observed. Non-dipole foci are seen to have lifetimes of a few hundred years. The westward drift, which was an important feature of the 18th and early 19th century geomagnetic field, was less pronounced in the 17th century. The growth, evolution, decay and replacement of non-dipole foci, but not their movement are found to have been the major features producing century-long secular directional magnetic variation. Most of the low degree and order spherical harmonic coefficients have changed significantly over the last few hundred years. In particular the change in sign of the axisymmetric quadrupole around 1837 A.D. is noted. Sustained, century-long, intensity changes, however, appear to have been dominated by variations in the intensity of the centred dipole, rather than by non-dipole field fluctuations.     

中国四川地区地球磁场强度的长期变化

运用 Thellier 逐步热退磁法,主要测定了我国四川一些地区新石器时期至明、清各朝代的地球磁场总强度值。本文结果表明,在过去5000多年里,该地区地球磁场的总强度随时间呈较大幅度的变化。将该地区与我国其它相关地区地球磁场总强度的长期变化曲线进行对比研究的结果表明:变化的总趋势大致可比,但最高值出现的时间不同.从过去四千年间,新疆、四川、广东、福建及洛阳一些地区的地球磁场强度变化曲线中最高峰和跨时千余年的"M"型变化中低峰出现的时间推得的滞后速度在0.01°-0.03°/a 之间。     

A Regional Archaeomagnetic Model for the Palaeointensity in Europe for the last 2000 Years and its Implications for Climatic Change

The SCHA.DI.00 directional model for the geomagnetic field in Europe for the last 2000 years (Pavón–Carrasco et al., 2008) has been updated by modelling the palaeointensity. This model, SCHA.DI.00, was developed from available Bayesian European Palaeosecular Variation Curves using the regional Spherical Cap Harmonic Analysis technique. The comparison of the palaeosecular variation curves, given by the regional model, with available archaeomagnetic data not used in its development showed an improvement with respect to the fit obtained by global archaeomagnetic models. In this paper advantage is taken of recently published palaeointensity databases to develop a complete (direction and intensity) regional archaeomagnetic model for the last 2000 years valid for the European region: the SCHA.DI.00–F model. Not only does this complete model provide an improvement for example for archaeomagnetic data studies, but it is also shown that this new regional model can be used to study the recently proposed link between the centennial secular variation of the geomagnetic field and climate change. The pattern of the archaeosecular variation of the field intensity obtained by SCHA.DI.00–F seems to verify the hypothesis presented by Gallet et al. (2005) about a possible (causal) connection between changes in the geomagnetic field intensity and in climate parameters, opening the door for more discussions on this challenging subject.     

High-temperature archeointensity measurements from Mesopotamia

We present new archeointensity results obtained from 127 potsherds and baked brick fragments dated from the last four millennia BC which were collected from different Syrian archeological excavations. High temperature magnetization measurements were carried out using a laboratory-built triaxial vibrating sample magnetometer (Triaxe), and ancient field intensity determinations were derived from the experimental procedure described by Le Goff and Gallet [Le Goff and Gallet. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 229 (2004) 31–43]. As some of the studied samples were previously analyzed using the classical Thellier and Thellier [Thellier and Thellier . Ann. Geophys. 15 (1959) 285–376] method revised by Coe [Coe. J. Geophys. Res. 72 (1967) 3247–3262], a comparison of the results is made from the two methods. The differences both at the fragment and site levels are mostly within ± 5%, which strengthens the validity of the experimental procedure developed for the Triaxe. The new data help to better constrain the geomagnetic field intensity variations in Mesopotamia during archeological times, with the probable occurrence of an archeomagnetic jerk around 2800–2600 BC.     

Archaeomagnetic secular variation in the UK during the past 4000 years and its application to archaeomagnetic dating

This paper examines the limitations and deficiencies of the current British archaeomagnetic calibration curve and applies several mathematical approaches in an attempt to produce an improved secular variation curve for the UK for use in archaeomagnetic dating. The dataset compiled is the most complete available in the UK, incorporating published results, PhD theses and unpublished laboratory reports. It comprises 620 archaeomagnetic (directional) data and 238 direct observations of the geomagnetic field, and includes all relevant information available about the site, the archaeomagnetic direction and the archaeological age. A thorough examination of the data was performed to assess their quality and reliability. Various techniques were employed in order to use the data to construct a secular variation (SV) record: moving window with averaging and median, as well as Bayesian statistical modelling. The SV reference curve obtained for the past 4000 years is very similar to that from France, most differences occurring during the early medieval period (or Dark Ages). Two examples of dating of archaeological structures, medieval and pre-Roman, are presented based on the new SV curve for the UK and the implications for archaeomagnetic dating are discussed.     

An updated catalogue of Greek archaeomagnetic data for the last 4500 years and a directional secular variation curve

We present an updated compilation of Greek directional archaeomagnetic data for the last 4.5 millennia. The data set comprises 89 directions from archaeological artefacts and volcanic rocks. Most of the data come from the Late Bronze Age (1700-1400 BC) that is the flourishing period of the Minoan civilization in Crete, while parts of the classical (480-323 BC), Hellenistic (323-31 BC) and Roman (146 BC-330 AD) periods are also well covered. The dataset has been analysed using the Bayesian approach for curve building and a directional secular variation (SV) curve for Greece is proposed. Comparisons with regional and global model predictions show a general agreement even though some discrepancies are observed for some time intervals. The new curves together with the previously published intensity SV curve for Greece, also using the Bayesian approach, form a homogeneous set and enrich our knowledge of the full geomagnetic field vector variation in Greece during the last millennia.     

Behaviour of the earth's magnetic field as recorded in the sediment of Loch Lomond

A palaeomagnetic record of geomagnetic secular variation during the last 7000 years has been obtained from the sediments of Loch Lomond, Scotland. The magnetic direction fluctuations repeat well between cores and show greater detail, especially over the last 5000 years, than other European records. A time scale has been derived from¹⁴C analyses on the Lomond sediment and comparison with other¹⁴C-dated sediments. Investigation of relative palaeointensity determination methods has shown that the widely used normalization parameter of partial ARM is insensitive to even small sediment grain size fluctuations.The new high-fidelity direction record and improved time scale show that geomagnetic field changes have not followed a simple oscillatory pattern during the last 7000 years. The record enhances the application of palaeomagnetism to dating recent sediments, as the main declination swings are now characterized by fine detail, and paired inclination data are also available. The problem of mismatching swings when correlating with other paired directional records is thus reduced.The palaeomagnetic record agrees well with some archaeomagnetic results. It confirms the period of anticlockwise motion of the geomagnetic field vector, between 1000 and 600 years B.P., which was first documented by English archaeomagnetic investigations. Clockwise motion is shown to predominate during the remainder of the last 5500 years. The VGP path does not correlate with that of Japanese archaeomagnetic results nor North American sediment data from 2000 to 0 years B.P. This suggests that the secular changes are dominated by local non-dipole sources rather than wobbling of the main geomagnetic dipole.     

Geomagnetic Field Variations as Determined from Bulgarian Archaeomagnetic Data. Part II: The Last 8000 Years

The knowledge about past secular variations of the geomagnetic field is achieved on the basis of archaeomagnetic researches of which the Bulgarian studies form an extended data set. In Part I (Kovacheva and Toshkov, 1994), the methodology used in the Sofia palaeomagnetic laboratory was described and the secular variation curves for the last 2000 years were shown. In Part II (this paper), the basic characteristics of the prehistoric materials used in the archaeomagnetic studies are emphasised, particularly in the context of the rock magnetic studies used in connection with palaeointensity determinations. The results of magnetic anisotropy studies of the prehistoric ovens and other fired structures are summarised, including the anisotropy correction of the palaeointensity results for prehistoric materials, different from bricks and pottery. Curves of the direction and intensity of the geomagnetic field during the last 8000 years in Bulgaria are given. The available directional and intensity values have been used to calculate the variation curve of the virtual dipole moment (VDM) for the last 8000 years based on different time interval averages. The path of virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) positions is discussed.     

Geomagnetic field intensity in the eastern Mediterranean region in the second half of the 1st millennium BC and the beginning of our era

The magnetization of ceramic material manufactured in the eastern Mediterranean is studied. Data on the variation in geomagnetic field intensity in the time interval from the fourth-quarter of the 6th century BC through the 2nd century AD are obtained. The main tendency of the variation in the field intensity until approximately the middle of this interval is its decrease, after which the average intensity level varied insignificantly over the three next centuries. Variations with characteristic times of a few tens to a few hundreds of years are superimposed on the smooth variation in the field intensity approximated by a sinusoid with a period of 1600 yr. The data obtained in this work confirm the previously derived conclusion that short-term intensity variations have been permanently present in the geomagnetic field in the recent millennia.