The magnetic properties of baked clays and their implications for past geomagnetic field intensity determinations

Burnt clays provide a vital source of information about the archaeomagnetic field but their magnetic properties, and the dependency of these on thermal history, are diverse, complex and poorly understood. Here, we attempt to shed light on this problem through the investigation of artificial clay samples prepared from three different clay types repeatedly heated in known magnetic field to two different temperatures (400 and 700 degrees C). Combined rock-magnetic and X-ray analyses were carried out to obtain information about the mineralogical content and magnetic properties of the diverse raw and heated clays, and also their evolution during the course of multiple heating/cooling treatments. The magnetic behaviour of the three clay types evolved significantly during the course of being repeatedly heated to both 400 and 700 degrees C. Phyllosilicates containing iron-substitutions in their matrix apparently played an important role in supplying iron- oxides during the heatings and the iron oxides themselves underwent progressive oxidation. The samples heated to the higher temperature exhibited more ideal magnetic behaviour but even those heated only to 400 degrees C achieved magnetic stabilization after multiple heatings. After 10 reheating treatments, samples heated to both peak temperatures yielded reliable palaeointensity results and a grand mean intensity value F-a = 48.57 +/- 1.19 mu T which differs by less than 2 mu T (or about 3 per cent) from the known intensity of the inducing field. The results confirm that the thermoremanent magnetization produced as a result of multiple heatings even to moderate temperature in the antiquity can give reliable palaeointensity determination. They also highlight that materials from repeatedly used baked clay structures (kilns, hearths, etc.) may be far more appropriate for archaeointensity study than singly baked clay structures (destruction layers, floor plasters, etc.).