Ancient Mesopotamian Bricks Reveal Changes in Earth's Magnetic Field

Study provides a new method for dating ancient artifacts, correlating the reign of ancient kings to fluctuations in Earth's magnetic field.

Ancient Mesopotamian bricks have revealed changes in Earth's magnetic field dating back 3,000 years.
The bricks, which contain grains of iron oxide, were used to reconstruct the behavior of the planetary magnetic field over a period of about 2000 years, from the 3rd to the 1st millennium BCE.
The research confirmed the existence of the Levantine Iron Age geomagnetic Anomaly (LIAA), a mysterious spike in magnetic field strength thought to have taken place over what is now Iraq between around 1050 and 550 BCE.
The analysis also revealed short, dramatic fluctuations during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II between around 604 and 562 BCE, showing that Earth's magnetic field can change quite significantly on short timescales.
The study provides a new method for dating ancient bricks and ceramics, correlating the reign of ancient kings to fluctuations in Earth's magnetic field.