Soil and susceptibility: aspects of thermally induced magnetism within the dynamic pedological system

Magnetic surveys now form part of the panoply of techniques used in archaeological investigations. Techniques such as magnetic gradiometry depend on bodies of soil developing enhanced magnetic susceptibilities. This enhancement, whether via heating or by ongoing pedological processes, is due to reduction and oxidation cycles within the soil. The salient point of this paper is that, the soil is a dynamic medium in which iron is subject to ongoing soil process. Several case studies are examined to illustrate these points.