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Creators/Authors contains: "Ben-Yosef, E"

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  1. Paleomagnetic, rock magnetic, or geomagnetic data found in the MagIC data repository from a paper titled: An archaeomagnetic study of the Ishtar Gate, Babylon 
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  2. Uziel, Joe (Ed.)
    Data from the marriage of paleomagnetism and archaeology (archaeomagnetism) are the backbone of attempts to create geomagnetic field models for ancient times. Paleointensity experimental design has been the focus of intensive efforts and the requirements and shortcomings are increasingly well understood. Some archaeological materials have excellent age control from inscriptions, which can be tied to a given decade or even a specific year in some cases. In this study, we analyzed fired mud bricks used for the construction of the Ishtar Gate, the entrance complex to the ancient city of Babylon in Southern Mesopotamia. We were able to extract reliable intensity data from all three phases of the gate, the earliest of which includes bricks inscribed with the name of King Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BCE). These results (1) add high quality intensity data to a region relatively unexplored so far (Southern Mesopotamia), (2) contribute to a better understanding of paleosecular variation in this region, and the development of an archaeomagnetic dating reference for one of the key regions in the history of human civilizations; (3) demonstrate the potential of inscribed bricks (glazed and unglazed), a common material in ancient Mesopotamia, to archaeomagnetic studies; and (4) suggest that the gate complex was constructed some time after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and that there were no substantial chronological gaps in the construction of each consecutive phase. The best fit of our data (averaging 136±2.1 ZAm2) with those of the reference curve (the Levantine Archaeomagnetic Curve) is 569 BCE. 
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  3. Paleomagnetic, rock magnetic, or geomagnetic data found in the MagIC data repository from a paper titled: Application of copper slag in geomagnetic archaeointensity research 
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  4. Archaeomagnetic dating is a firmly established dating technique applicable to a wide variety of heat-treated anthropological materials and is advantageous for sites that lack materials suitable for radiocarbon dating. To correct recent misinterpretations of the method, we provide examples of how archaeomagnetic dating curves are calibrated and show how, in some instances, the technique can provide superior results. We emphasize that no single dating technique is capable of resolving the challenging chronology controversies in the Levant, and instead argue that multiple dating methods must be integrated in order to achieve the highest possible temporal resolution. 
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