GEOMAGNETIC-FIELD VARIATIONS AS DETERMINED FROM BULGARIAN ARCHAEOMAGNETIC DATA .1. THE LAST 2000 YEARS AD

The archaeomagnetic determinations obtained from the collections of archaeological materials, dated in the last 2000 years are summarized. The review describes the materials used, the methodology applied, the local database organization, the principles of data processing and smoothing procedures. Errors evaluation at different levels of analysis of the experimental results are described. Special attention is paid to the archaeointensity determinations. Some rock magnetic properties studied in connection with the difficulties in the Thellier method are summarised. The curves of geomagnetic field elements variations for the last 2000 years for Bulgaria are shown. The Bauer plots, VGP path and VDM curve are also discussed, the latter confirming the general decrease in the strength of the geomagnetic field from the beginning of this era to the present. Westward drift of the geomagnetic field non-dipole part cannot be considered proved yet for the time interval 7th to 13th Centuries AD from the Bulgarian directional data.