Magnetism and Archaeology

Abstract

A RECENT discussion about reversed geomagnetic events in the Brunhes epoch contains the statement that no archaeological materials are known to be reversely magnetized¹. This may be true for the specific region that is considered in the article, but it is not true in general. G. Folgheraiter in “Rendi Conti dei Licei”, 1896, 1899; Archives des sciences physiques et naturellas (Geneva), 1899; Journal de physique, 1899; and P. L. Mercanton, in “La methode de Folgheraiter et son role en geophysique”, Archives des sciences physiques et naturellas, 1907, reported observations made on clay fired in kilns by the Etruscans and Greeks. Their results indicate that in the eighth century BC the Earth's magnetic field was reversed.