In this study the archaeomagnetic technique is used to date a kiln from an archaeological site located in Toledo (39º 51' 46'' N, 4º 01' 38'' O). At this archeological site a total of 8 combustion structures were excavated. The structure investigated corresponds to the TO3 kiln. A total of 14 specimens coming from 7 field samples , have been studied. The plaster technique was used for sampling, by creating a horizontal surface orientated by both solar and magnetic compasses. Samples have been treated with a progressive alternating-field (AF) demagnetization technique with the following demagnetization steps: 2.5, 5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mT. During the process of magnetic cleaning one stable magnetic component was isolated which has been considered as the characteristic remanent magnetization component (ChRM), and has been interpreted as a thermal remanent magnetization (TRM) acquired during the last use of the kiln. The mean direction of the ChRM (D=-18.5°, I=62.8°, ¿95=2.1°) has been compared with the geomagnetic field expected values obtained by regional and global existing models of the geomagnetic field evolution as well as by the Iberian and French palaeosecular variation curves. The archaeomagnetic dating was performed by means of the archaeo-dating tool. Consistent values were obtained by using different paleosecular variation curves based on global and regional models or local compilations. The archaeomagnetic age obtained for the structure by the GUFM1 global model, based on historical observations, is [1803AD 1859AD].

Peer reviewed