Ancient Mesopotamian plates that recorded a change in the Earth's magnetic field

3,000-year-old clay tablets from her region Mesopotamia, is now a new tool in the hands of scientists to understand the history of our planet. They contain iron oxides, which with proper study can detect changes in the Earth's magnetic field.

According to the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesThe new method gives us a new way to understand how the planet's magnetic field has changed throughout history, which can help us make better predictions about its future.

We often rely on dating methods such as radio dating to learn about dating in ancient Mesopotamia. However, some of the more common objects such as plates and ceramics cannot be easily dated because they do not contain organic materials. This research establishes an important dating base that allows for completely accurate dating using archaeological magnetism.

the magnetic field The Earth is not static and changes over time. These changes can be recorded in the materials on the surface. For example, in lava, magnetic particles will align with the Earth's magnetic field and remain in that position as the lava cools and solidifies. The study of these rocks to create a record of the magnetic field throughout history is called paleomagnetism.

Now, archaeologists are taking this a step further by studying human-made objects and calling it “archaeomagnetism.” This technique is simple. Each of the 32 Mesopotamian tablets bears the name of the king who ruled when the tablet was made. They then took a small piece of plate and used a magnetometer to measure the alignment of the iron oxides. This allowed them to create a representation of the Earth's magnetic field over a period of 2,000 years, from the third to the first millennium BC.

They then compared their results with other representations of the magnetic field from other paleomagnetic studies. Taken together, this massive data source revealed the Levantine Iron Age Geomagnetic Anomaly (LIAA), a mysterious peak in magnetic field strength that occurred in present-day Iraq between 1050 and 550 BC.

In addition, large fluctuations were detected between 604 and 562 BC, showing that the Earth's magnetic field can change dramatically over short time periods.