By measuring the direction and strength of the Earth's magnetic field, as they were recorded during the burning of archaeological sites throughout the country, researchers were able to verify biblical stories about the Egyptian, Aramaic, Assyrian, and Babylonian conquest campaigns against the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. 

A joint study by Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University, in which 20 researchers from Israel and the world participated revealed this fascinating technique. In the study, the researchers were able to date 21 layers of destruction in 17 archaeological sites within Israel.

3.) explained that the classification and categorization of ancient brickwork, stonework and other man-made materials accurately dated using magnetic dating techniques can help determine the time of destruction of other man-made objects which have not. The researchers’

— ꧁༺𝐕𝐢𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚༺꧂ (@8102ops) October 26, 2022

The findings of the research show, among other things, that the army of Hazael, king of Aram-Damascus, in addition to destroying Gath also destroyed Tel Rehov, Tel Zeit, and the Tevet. On the other hand, the findings rule out the possibility that Hazel also destroyed Beit Shean, as archaeologists had thought until now. 

The researchers added that the findings confirm that the settlements in the Negev were destroyed by the Edomites, who took advantage of the fact that the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. The research was published Monday in the prestigious US journal of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It is based on the doctoral thesis of Yoav Vaknin, supervised by Professor Erez Ben Yosef and Professor Oded Lifshitz from the Department of Archeology at Tel Aviv University and Professor Ron Shaar from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

#EarthChanges Israeli scientists use archaeology to study Earth's magnetic field - World Israel News https://t.co/58PitnttyC via #hng #news pic.twitter.com/PoVKWHVjRP

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The researchers explain that in order to understand the mechanism that generates the Earth's magnetic field, geophysicists try to trace the changes in the field throughout history. For this, they also use archaeological findings which contain magnetic minerals that can record the field when they are heated, for example during a fire. 

In 2020, the researchers were able to measure the field as it was in 586 BCE based on a magnificent building that was destroyed by fire by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army in Jerusalem. 

#TAU researchers & colleagues reconstructed the earth's magnetic field recorded in burnt remnants from different #archeological sites and layers. The new data verifies Biblical accounts of military campaigns against the Kingdoms of Israel & Judah: https://t.co/2JNOVK4MLW. pic.twitter.com/Z2wM9jSk0r

— Tel Aviv University (@TelAvivUni) October 25, 2022

Now, thanks to archaeological findings that have been uncovered all over the country through decades of research, and historical information based on biblical descriptions, the researchers succeeded in reconstructing the Earth's magnetic field as recorded in 21 layers of destruction in Israel and based on the information they developed a new and reliable scientific tool for archaeological dating.

“It’s a very big enigma, why the geomagnetic field behaves as it does,” says Yoav Vaknin @TelAvivUni. #AGU20

With comments from Michele Stillinger @StThomasDFChttps://t.co/mfGtDljyA7

— AGU's Eos (@AGU_Eos) December 13, 2020

Vaknin explained that: "Based on a match or mismatch in the strength of the magnetic field and its direction, we can confirm or rule out the possibility that two sites were burned during one war campaign. Moreover, we built a curve of change of the strength of the field over time, a curve that is used as a scientific dating tool.”

For example, the researchers point out that it was known even before the study that around 830 BC, Hazael's army destroyed the Philistine-controlled Gath, a site identified with Tel Tzafit in the Israeli lowlands known as the “Shfela”. However, it was not possible to determine with certainty whether Hazael also destroyed Tel Rehov, Tel Zeit, and the ruins of Tebat.

New magnetic field evidence confirms date of First Temple's destruction#Israel #Archaeology #EarthSciencehttps://t.co/4U1JWHVjy5 via @israel21c pic.twitter.com/9rZvQtl7z4

— Onnie (@Israelwithlove) August 10, 2020

The researchers also added that one of the most interesting findings found thanks to the new dating method concerns the question of the end of the Kingdom of Judah. 

Prof. Erez Ben Yosef said: "The question of what the last days of the Kingdom of Judah looked like is an open question in research. Based on the archaeological findings, researchers estimated that the Babylonian destruction was not complete in various parts of the country, and at the same time as the destruction of Jerusalem and the border cities in the lowlands, settlements continued to exist in the Negev, In the south of the Judean Mountains and in the south of the lowland, almost untouched.”

“Now, the magnetic results suggest that not only the Babylonians are responsible for the total destruction: decades after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple, the settlements in the Negev, and probably also in the other areas, which were not affected by the Babylonian attack, were probably destroyed by the Edomites who survived the fall of Jerusalem.”