Project Details
Projekt
What is the maximum geomagnetic field strength in Western Europe circa 1000 BC? An investigation of geomagnetic spikes and archaeomagnetic jerks.
Applicant
Gwenaël Hervé, Ph.D.
Subject Area
Geophysics
Term
from 2015 to 2018
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 265360031
Archaeomagnetic data from Western Europe and the Near East suggest that the period between 1200 and 500 BC contains the highest field intensities and the most rapid rate of change in magnetic field intensity within the entire archaeological record. The exceptional rate of change contradicts geodynamo models, which predict the measured values are two to three orders of magnitude greater than the maximum allowable value from the magnetohydrodynamic codes. However, just a few archaeointensity results exist from Western Europe during this period. The Near East data yielding the highest intensities were obtained from metallic slag deposits whose magnetic properties are poorly known and tested. To better understand geomagnetic secular variation of the geomagnetic field during this crucial time window, we propose an archaeomagnetic study of artefacts from six sites in southern Germany and central France that will lead to a resolution of 4-7 points per century. The results will improve global geomagnetic field models and substantiate the existence of the rapid field changes referred to as archaeomagnetic jerks and geomagnetic spikes. Once constructed, our intensity curve will allow archaeologists to use archaeomagnetic methods to date sites within the period from the Final Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
