‘Weird Fact Wednesday: KST and geomagnetic dating’

     

Courtesy Biblical Archaeology

The Givati parking lot excavation site in Jerusalem.

A scientific study published earlier this month posits the charred findings remaining from the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar 2600 years ago helps today’s research into archaeomagnetic dating, and that the history of Solomon’s Temple facilitates the research.

Titled “The Earth’s Magnetic Field in Jerusalem During the Babylonian Destruction: A Unique Reference for Field Behavior and an Anchor for Archaeomagnetic Dating,” the peer-reviewed paper was published August 7, at which time Biblical Archaeology Review explained:

“…researchers revealed that they were able to determine what the Earth’s geomagnetic field was at the time of the destruction. This allows scientists to compare to the geomagnetic field of today, chart the changes that have occurred over a precise period of time, and potentially project geomagnetic changes into the future. Earth’s geomagnetic field provides stability to Earth’s atmosphere and protects the planet from outside particles. For scientists, greater understanding of how the geomagnetic field has differed from a precise time 2,600 years ago, may provide important insights.

“In the study, researchers analyzed hundreds of burnt floor segments from a building in the Givati parking lot excavation in the City of David. By archaeomagnetic analysis, They were able to establish that most samples had reached a temperature of more than 1100 degrees Farenheit, such that the material would demagnetize, then orient to the magnetic field in the cooling down process. They could also determine that most of the samples were from the second floor of the original building, which had collapsed when the beams holding it up had been destroyed in the fires of Nebuchadnezzar’s sacking of Jerusalem, an event that marked the end of the Iron Age in the Levant.”

Read this research paper here.