Bulgarian archaeomagnetic studies: A review of methodological progress andapplications in archaeology

Archaeomagnetic studies in Bulgaria have a long history and the well establ ished secular variation curves of the three elements of the ancient geomagn etic field (declination, inclination and intensity) for the last 8000 years enable the dating of archaeological features of burnt clay, independently of other methods. The determination of ancient palaeointensity is the most difficult characteristic and requires very cautious evaluation of the suita bility of the burnt clay material. The present paper is an overview of the methodological progress in studying the suitability of the materials for ar chaeomagnetic investigations. The main rock-magnetic methods and summary of the most common results are presented involving the archaromagnetic practi ce in the palaeomagnetic laboratory in Sofa. In addition, supplementary inf ormation obtained by magnetic measurements, which can be helpful for archae ology, are discussed. An example of archaeomagnetic dating procedure is als o presented.