A Rock-Magnetic Quest for Possible Ore Sources for the Ancient Iron-Smelting Industry in the Olkhon Region (Lake Baikal, Siberia)

Rock-magnetic techniques were used to examine the topsoil layer of Kurma archaeological site (in the Olkhon region, on the north-western coast of Lake Baikal, Siberia) in an effort to determine the possible sources of iron ores for iron-smelting centres (at about the bc/ad boundary). Measurements have shown a magnetic enhancement of the topsoil due to magnetite grains resulting from weathering of strongly magnetic crystalline rocks. They have also revealed a preliminary picture of the distribution of strongly magnetic topsoils around the ancient iron-smelting centres. Perhaps, in addition to traditional sources of raw materials, the ancient metallurgists used black sand talus as an ore deposit.