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magnetometer

A magnetometer lets archeologists measure magnetic strengths and detect buried artifacts without digging and destroying a site. It gives them a better idea of where to dig. The Earth acts like an enormous magnet, with north and south magnetic poles. Buried objects can also have a magnetic field. This instrument can detect the magetic fields that buried objects produce.

Stats

Stumper

When archeologists use magnetometers, they take hundreds of readings. The shape of these magnetic variations can reveal:

what an object is made of

what color an object is

the age of an artifact

Correct!

A magnetometer can reveal what an object is made of, and how much iron the object has inside of it.

Stumper

The Earth's natural magnetic field explains why:

most beaches have a high tide twice a day

a compass needle will always point north

days are longer in the summer

Correct!

The Earth's natural magnetic field explains why a compass needle will always point north, no matter where you are. The spinning Earth is like a giant magnet, with two magnetic poles, the North Pole and the South Pole.

Fact or Fiction

Magnetometers can be used to detect shipwrecks.

Fact

Fiction

Fact

Magnetometer are commonly used by marine archeologists. They can detect steel in a ship, or iron anchors and cannons.

Fact or Fiction

An archaeologist's eyeglasses can interfere with a magnetometer's reading.

Fact

Fiction

Fact

A magnetometer is very sensitive to tiny magnetic differences. It can detect underground rocks, power lines, electrical storms, belt buckles, and even watches.

Image credits: main image, AMNH, David Hurst Thomas.

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