archæomagnetism Archæol.
(ˌɑːkiːəʊˈmægnətɪz(ə)m)
[f. archæo- + magnetism.]
(The study and interpretation of) the remanent magnetism of archæological remains, esp. for dating purposes. Cf. palæomagnetism.
| 1958 Cook & Belshé in Antiquity XXXII. 167 (heading) Archaeomagnetism: a preliminary report on Britain. 1959 Times 7 May 11/4 Archaeomagnetism is based on the principle that many clays and stones, if heated beyond a certain point..tend to get a fixed magnetism in the direction of the earth's magnetic north at the time they cooled after firing. The earth's magnetic field varies with time in direction, so that the remanent magnetization of a piece of fired clay or stone should be characteristic of some particular time in the earth's history at that place. 1962 Archaeometry V. 17 At present the magnitude of the scatter of remanent directions in samples from the same structure is a serious obstacle to attaining the quarter of the century originally hoped for as the dating span obtainable from archaeomagnetism. 1980 Times 18 Aug. 14/7 The hearths within the buildings are also being measured for their archaeomagnetism. |
Hence ˌarchæomagˈnetic a., of or pertaining to archaeomagnetism.
| 1962 Archaeometry V. 4 (heading) Magnetic dating: some archaeomagnetic measurements in Britain. 1970 Science 3 Apr. 111 A series of archeomagnetic measurements have been carried out on archeologic materials from Arizona and Mexico. 1972 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. CII. Suppl. 2. 11 Dating by archaeomagnetic and thermoluminescent methods. 1979 Rescue News Dec. 5/6 The dating of Medieval pottery..is being tackled by selective kiln excavations where archaeomagnetic dates can be obtained. 1981 Archaeometry XXIII. 23 (heading) Archaeomagnetic determination of past geomagnetic intensity using ancient ceramics. |