Magnetic stratigraphy of Vesuvius products II - Medieval lavas

Abstract Within the framework of an extensive palaeomagnetic survey of Vesuvius products 67 sun-orientated samples from 5 lava flows, presumably emplaced in medieval times, have been collected in Torre del Greco: 3 flows from the lava flow sequence at the Villa Inglese quarry, stratigraphically below pyroclastics of AD 1631, and the remaining 2 from nearby outcrops at Scogli di Prota and Torre Bassano, respectively. The linearity analysis, carried out using very stringent criteria on at least 6 specimens per site subjected to either PAFD or PTD, has allowed us to define clearly the characteristic magnetisation patterns. Their within site mean directions define a SVC path covering a time interval of a few hundred years around AD 1000, as suggested by a comparison with part of the transferred Etna SVC. The time interval of AD 968-AD 1037 previously suggested for the Java flows investigated may be too narrow and whilst the Torre Bassano Java flow can be correlated with one of the Villa Inglese quarry lava flows investigated, the Scogli di Prota lava flow is the youngest of all.