Archaeomagnetometry, geomagnetic fluctuations, and the Acra Fortress

TECHNOLOGY WATCH: Hellenistic Wine Jars from Rhodes Reveal the Secrets of Earth’s Magnetic Field and the Jerusalem of the Maccabees. An international study uses Hellenistic ceramics with Rhodes stamps to track abrupt changes in the magnetic field and shed light on the Seleucid fortress of Acra in Jerusalem ( Guillermo Carvajal, LBV).

A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, Ariel University, and the University of California San Diego has managed to extract high-resolution geomagnetic information from 24 ceramic pieces found in three Jerusalem sites: the City of David, the Jewish Quarter, and the Givati parking lot.

The result, published in Archaeometry, confirms that the magnetic field suffered a dramatic collapse in the first half of the 2nd century BCE and, moreover, offers an unexpected tool to precisely date the most controversial archaeological contexts of Hellenistic Jerusalem.

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For PaleoJudaica posts on the Givati Parking Lot excavation and the many discoveries there, start here and follow the links.

For more archaeomagnetic (geomagnetic, paleomagnetic, etc.) dating stories, see here and links.

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