The use of pictorial remanent magnetization as a dating tool: State of the art and perspectives

Red colored paintings contain small amount of antiferromagnetic hematite grains. When the red pigment is applied to the wall, these grains are free to move and they align their magnetic moment with the Earth's magnetic field. The resulting magnetization is called pictorial remanence. Here, we evaluate the usefulness of natural remanent magnetization carried by mural paintings in archaeomagnetism in order to try to estimate whether it may be used as a reliable dating tool. Moreover, we report a first ever attempt to analyze samples of cave paintings.