Estudio arqueomagnético preliminar de dos hornos medievales del monasterio de San Pelayo(Cevico Navero, Palencia)

Abstract

An archaeomagnetic and rock-magnetic study on burnt archaeological samples from two kilns from the monastery of San Pelayo (Cevico Navero, Palencia), is reported. The aim of the study is to date their last use with archaeomagnetism. The studied materials correspond to a kiln for manufacturing bells and another one for tiles, both discovered during the monastery excavation. The study shows the suitability of these materials to determine the ancient direction and intensity of the Earth´s magnetic field during their last combustion. The main magnetic carrier is pseudosingle domain (PSD) magnetite, indicating that the magnetic signal is stable. Two mean archaeomagnetic directions were obtained for both kilns. The mean direction for the bell´s kiln is: [N = 30, Dec = 2.6°, Inc = 45.2°, k = 221.3, α95 = 1.8°] and for the tile´s kiln is: [N = 13, Dec = 359.0°, Inc = 45.6°, k = 93.8, α95 = 4.3°]. The comparison of both directions with the secular variation curve of the Earth´s magnetic field available for the Iberian peninsula, has determined their last use between 1293 – 1382 AD (bell´s kiln) and 1280 – 1419 AD (tile´s kiln), respectively (at 95% confidence level). These results show how archaeomagnetism is a useful dating tool for archaeological combustion structures, with a dating resolution similar to that obtained with radiocarbon.