A Matlab tool for archaeomagnetic dating

Abstract

A Matlab tool for archaeomagnetic dating has been developed in this work. Well-dated palaeosecular variation curves (PSVCs) can be used to date archaeological artefacts with unknown ages. The archaeomagnetic direction (declination and/or inclination) and the archaeointensity obtained from the archaeological artefact are compared with a master PSVC. In addition, historical lava flows with controversial ages can be dated using this methodology. The dating process follows the descriptions given by Lanos (2004), which is based on the combination of temporal probability density functions of the three geomagnetic field elements. Here, we develop an interactive tool in Matlab code to carry out archaeomagnetic dating by comparing the undated archaeomagnetic (or lava flow) data with a master PSVC. The master PSVCs included with the Matlab tool are the different European Bayesian curves and those generated using both regional and global geomagnetic field models. A case study using all the PSVCs available in Europe and some undated archaeomagnetic data has been carried out to analyze how the different PSVCs affect the dating process. In addition, the dating uncertainty and the relocation error have been analyzed in the European region. Results show that some regional Bayesian PSVCs and the regional SCHA.DIF.3K archaeomagnetic model are the best choices to obtain an accurate date in Europe. Moreover, when it is available, the full geomagnetic field vector must be used for archaeomagnetic dating.