Archaeologists are beginning to unravel the secrets of ancient civilizations thanks to advanced magnetic techniques.
When archaeology meets physics: revealing the past with science
Researchers are using a method known as archaeomagnetic dating to reconstruct military campaigns described in the Bible, according to a new paper. It's part of a growing number of technological ways to find and date buried objects.
"The current study clearly demonstrates that archaeomagnetic applications can have a substantial impact on an entire field of study. Biblical archaeology and archaeological research in general will benefit greatly from the application of this method in future research," Oded Lipschits, one of the study's authors, told Lifewire in an email interview.
The researchers used archaeological finds containing magnetic minerals, which, when heated or burned, record the magnetic field at the time of the fire. In a 2020 study, researchers reconstructed the magnetic field as it was on the 9th of the month of Av, 586 BCE, the Hebrew date of the destruction of the First Temple and the city of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army.
