Интердисциплинарно изследване на средновековна пещ от Велики Преслав

Interdisciplinary Study of a Medieval Furnace from Veliki Preslav

Abstract

In 2015, a small (forger’s?) furnace was excavated at the western part of the sector near the northern facade of the basilica at the site “Ruler`s Church – Necropolis”. It was archaeologically dated back to the first quarter of the 11th century. Baked materials from the partially preserved floor of the furnace were investigated and dated archaeomagnetically. The results of the analyses performed indicate that the collected samples carry very weak magnetic signal, which does not allow applying the complete set of laboratory experiments. Nevertheless, the determined geomagnetic elements (inclination, declination and intensity) are very realistic and well-grouped. Moreover, they correspond quite well to the ones expected for the considered period. The time interval sug­gested by the archaeomagnetic dating is 983 – 1067 AD, with a probability density maximum ca. 1010 AD. This result fully correlates to the archaeological data. The study presented is an excellent example of the appli­cability of archaeomagnetic method for both relative and close to the absolute dating of samples collected from poorly preserved and not very reliable structures according to the requirements for archaeomagnetic dating.