Geomagnetic fields reveal the truth behind Biblical narratives - Phys.org

A associated survey by TAU and the Hebrew University, involving 20 researchers from antithetic countries and disciplines, has accurately dated 21 demolition layers astatine 17 archaeological sites successful Israel by reconstructing the absorption and/or strength of the earth's magnetic tract recorded successful burnt remnants. The caller information verify the Biblical accounts of the Egyptian, Aramean, Assyrian, and Babylonian subject campaigns against the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

Findings indicate, for example, that the service of Hazael, King of Aram-Damascus, was liable for the demolition of respective cities—Tel Rehov, Tel Zayit, and Horvat Tevet, successful summation to Gath of the Philistines, whose demolition is noted successful the Hebrew Bible. At the aforesaid time, the survey refutes the prevailing mentation that Hazael was the conqueror who destroyed Tel Beth-Shean.

Other geomagnetic findings uncover that the cities successful the Negev were destroyed by the Edomites, who took vantage of the demolition of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians.

The groundbreaking interdisciplinary survey was published successful the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and is based connected the doctoral thesis of Yoav Vaknin, supervised by Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef and Prof. Oded Lipschits of TAU's Institute of Archaeology and Prof. Ron Shaar from the Institute of Earth Sciences astatine the Hebrew University.

Yoav Vaknin explaining astir the research. Credit: Tel Aviv University

The researchers explicate that geophysicists, attempting to recognize the mechanics of earth's magnetic field, way changes successful this tract passim history. To this extremity they usage archaeological findings containing magnetic minerals which, erstwhile heated oregon burned, grounds the magnetic tract astatine the clip of the fire.

Thus, successful a 2020 study, researchers reconstructed the magnetic tract arsenic it was connected the 9^th of the period of Av, 586 BCE, the Hebrew day of the demolition of the First Temple and the City of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army.

Now, utilizing archaeological findings unearthed implicit respective decades astatine 17 sites passim Israel, alongside humanities accusation from past inscriptions and Biblical accounts, the researchers were capable to reconstruct the magnetic fields recorded successful 21 demolition layers. They utilized the information to make a reliable caller technological instrumentality for archaeological dating.

Yoav Vaknin explains that "based connected the similarity oregon quality successful strength and absorption of the magnetic field, we tin either corroborate oregon disprove hypotheses claiming that circumstantial sites were burned during the aforesaid subject campaign. Moreover, we person constructed a saltation curve of tract strength implicit clip which tin service arsenic a technological dating tool, akin to the radiocarbon dating method."

One illustration fixed by the researchers is the demolition of Gath of the Philistines (identified contiguous arsenic Tel Tzafit successful the Judean foothills) by Hazael, King of Aram-Damascus. Various dating methods person placed this lawsuit astatine astir 830 BCE, but were incapable to verify that Hazael was besides liable for the demolition of Tel Rehov, Tel Zayit and Horvat Tevet.

Now the caller study, identifying afloat statistical synchronization betwixt the magnetic fields recorded astatine each of these 4 sites astatine the clip of destruction, makes a precise beardown lawsuit for their demolition during the aforesaid campaign.

A demolition level astatine Tel Beth-Shean, connected the different hand, signaling a wholly antithetic magnetic field, refutes the prevailing proposal that it excessively was destroyed by Hazael. Instead, the magnetic information from Beth-Shean bespeak that this city, on with 2 different sites successful bluish Israel, was astir apt destroyed 70-100 years earlier, a day which could correspond with the subject run of the Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq.

Shoshenq's run is described successful the Hebrew Bible and successful an inscription connected a partition of the Temple of Amun successful Karnak, Egypt, which mentions Beth-Shean arsenic 1 of his conquests.

One of the astir absorbing findings revealed by the caller dating method has to bash with the extremity of the Kingdom of Judah. Prof. Erez Ben Yosef says, "The past days of the Kingdom of Judah are wide debated. Some researchers, relying connected archaeological evidence, reason that Judah was not wholly destroyed by the Babylonians.

"While Jerusalem and frontier cities successful the Judean foothills ceased to exist, different towns successful the Negev, the confederate Judean Mountains and the confederate Judean foothills remained astir unaffected. Now, the magnetic results enactment this hypothesis, indicating that the Babylonians were not solely liable for Judah's eventual demise.

"Several decades aft they had destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple, sites successful the Negev, which had survived the Babylonian campaign, were destroyed—probably by the Edomites who took vantage of the autumn of Jerusalem. This betrayal and information successful the demolition of the surviving cities whitethorn explicate wherefore the Hebrew Bible expresses truthful overmuch hatred for the Edomites—for example, successful the prophecy of Obadiah."

Prof. Oded Lipschits adds that "the caller dating instrumentality is unsocial due to the fact that it is based connected geomagnetic information from sites, whose nonstop demolition dates are known from humanities sources. By combining precise historical information with advanced, broad archaeological research, we were capable to basal the magnetic method connected reliably anchored chronology."

A abstracted paper, presenting the technological principles of the caller archaeomagnetic dating method, is successful preparation. Prof. Ron Shaar, who led the geophysical aspects of the study, arsenic good arsenic the improvement of the geomagnetic dating method, explains that "Earth's magnetic tract is captious to our existence. Most radical don't recognize that without it determination could beryllium nary beingness connected earth—since it shields america from cosmic radiation and the star wind. In addition, some humans and animals usage it to navigate. The geomagnetic tract is generated by earth's outer core, astatine a extent of 2,900 km, by currents of liquid iron."

"Due to the chaotic question of this iron, the magnetic tract changes implicit time. Until precocious scientists believed that it remains rather unchangeable for decades, but archaeomagnetic probe has contradicted this presumption by revealing immoderate utmost and unpredictable changes successful antiquity. Our determination present successful Israel is uniquely conducive to archaeomagnetic research, owed to an abundance of well-dated archaeological findings. Over the past decennary we person reconstructed magnetic fields recorded by hundreds of archaeological items."

"By combining this dataset with the information from Yoav's probe of humanities demolition layers we were capable to signifier a continuous saltation curve showing rapid, crisp changes successful the geomagnetic field. This is fantastic news, some for archaeologists who tin present usage geomagnetic information to find the property of past materials and for geophysicists studying the earth's core."

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