Abstract
The large and well-studied archaeological record of Israel offers a unique opportunity for collecting high resolution archaeomagnetic data from the past several millennia. Here, we initiate the first catalog of archaeomagnetic directions from Israel, with data covering the past four millennia. The catalog consists of 76 directions, of which 47 fulfill quality selection criteria with Fisher precision parameter (k) ≥ 60, 95% cone of confidence (α95) < 6° and number of specimens per site (n) ≥ 8. The new catalog complements our published paleointensity data from the Levant and enables testing the hypothesis of a regional geomagnetic anomaly in the Levant during the Iron Age proposed by Shaar et al (2016, 2017). Most of the archaeomagnetic directions show <15° angular deviations from an axial dipole field. However, we observe in the 10th and 9th century BCE short intervals with field directions that are 19°-22° different from an axial dipole field and inclinations that are 20°-22° steeper than an axial dipole field. The beginning of the first millennium BCE is also characterized with fast secular variation rates. The new catalog provides additional support to the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly hypothesis.
Highlights
Despite decades of intense paleomagnetic research, many details of geomagnetic secular variations have still remained elusive
The largest deviation from an axial dipole field, between 20◦ and 30◦, occupies a confined area in the southern Atlantic associated with a low field intensity anomaly termed “South Atlantic Anomaly” (SAA) (Thebault et al, 2015)
The Israeli archaeomagnetic catalog is assembled from a collection of several sources: Two unpublished Masters theses: (A) Segal (2003) that includes two sites published in Segal et al (2003) and (B) Hassul (2015); Two published articles: (C) Shaar et al (2016), and (D) Shahack-Gross et al (2018); and (E) New data from 15 structures labeled hereafter “this study”
Summary
Despite decades of intense paleomagnetic research, many details of geomagnetic secular variations have still remained elusive. The question whether the SAA is Levantine Archaeomagnetic Directions Catalog a typical secular variations characteristic or, instead, a unique geomagnetic phenomenon is yet to be tested It is not fully understood if rates and amplitudes of secular variations measured during the past few centuries (Jackson et al, 2000) represent the characteristic behavior of the geomagnetic field in earlier periods. To fill these gaps in knowledge there is a growing need for reliable and precise paleomagnetic datasets in sub-millennial temporal resolution from periods preceding direct measurements of the geomagnetic field
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