Ancient Mesopotamian Bricks Unveil Secrets of Earth's Magnetic Field

Archaeomagnetic study confirms the existence of a mysterious geomagnetic anomaly and provides a new tool for dating ancient artifacts.

Researchers used ancient Mesopotamian bricks to gain insights into Earth’s magnetic field changes 3,000 years ago.
The bricks, inscribed with the names of Mesopotamian kings, have yielded important insights into a mysterious anomaly in Earth’s magnetic field.
The team hopes that using this “archaeomagnetism,” will improve the history of Earth’s magnetic field, and can help better date artifacts that they previously couldn’t.
The researchers were able to confirm the existence of the “Levantine Iron Age geomagnetic Anomaly,” a period when Earth’s magnetic field was unusually strong around modern Iraq between about 1050 to 550 BCE for unclear reasons.
The team also found that in five of their samples, taken during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II from 604 to 562 BCE, the Earth’s magnetic field seemed to change dramatically over a relatively short period of time, adding evidence to the hypothesis that rapid spikes in intensity are possible.