Uncertainties in Archaeointensity Research: Implications for the Levantine Archaeomagnetic Curve

Archaeomagnetism is the study of the magnetic properties of archaeological artifacts, in particular the magnetic field vectors trapped in objects when fired. The data collected serve multiple communities, from geophysicists who model past variations of the magnetic field through time to archaeologists who use such field models to provide chronological constraints for the archaeological artifacts themselves. In addition to age constraints, archaeomagnetic data can answer questions such as “Was an object fired?”, or “Can these two objects be the same age?”. Accomplishing these divergent goals requires active collaboration between geophysicists and archaeologists to the benefit of both groups. Professor Tom Levy has fostered such active collaborations for decades, mentoring graduate students and post-docs with expertise in archaeology and facilitating access to rare archaeological artifacts from Jordan by the geophysical community and collaborating on joint archaeological/archaeomagnetic expeditions to Cyprus. In this paper we will describe the principles and practice archaeomagnetism, in particular, archaeointensity which uses the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field in the past. We review the development of the Levantine Archaeointensity curve, present its current state and illustrate its uses to archaeology with examples from current research in the Levant.