The breakthrough by researchers from four Israeli universities allows archaeologists to determine more precisely what firing temperatures a burnt object underwent.
The new study was used to verify the biblical description of the destruction of the Philistine city of Gath as recorded in 2 Kings 17:17.
Archaeologists studying findings from the site, were able to demonstrate that the bricks in a wall from the city were burned in a conflagration during the destruction of the city, and not made from kiln-fired bricks as had been previously assumed.
Its the same technique that is mentioned in the story of the Tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis.
Bricks are made from mud, which contains millions of ferromagnetic particles. Sun-dried bricks have a random magnetic orientation. When bricks are fired, the magnetic particles align to the earth’s magnetic field. That’s not what the researchers found.
Most researchers believe that this technology did not reach Israel until much later, with the Roman conquest.
Researchers discovered that the bricks from Gath were fired at a temperature consistent with a conflagration, not kiln-firing.
The findings are important for determining the intensity of the fire and the scope of destruction in Gath—the largest and most powerful city in the land at the time, and also for understanding construction practices in the region.