MARIE-AGN»S COURTY is a geologist and researcher at the French Centre for
Scientific Research. Her scientific background is in Earth Sciences,
Quaternary Geology and Prehistory. She is specialised in research on i)
sedimentary formation processes of archaeological sites based on the use of
soil micromorphology; ii) reconstruction of ancient paleogeography with a
special focus on effects of geodynamical constrains on human settlement
pattern and effects of natural factors on the preservation of past human
landscapes; iii) palaeoclimatic reconstructions based on the study of soil
archives. Her main research areas are North West Europe, North West India,
the Middle East.
An English translation of a part of her recently published study entitled,
"Causes And Effects Of The 2350 BC Middle East Anomaly Evidenced By
Micro-debris Fallout, Surface Combustion And Soil Explosion" can be read
here: http://www.knowledge.co.uk/sis/abstract/courty.htm
In it she refers to a "layer with an uncommon petrographic assemblage, dated
at ca. 2350 BC ... In occupation sequences, the layer displays an uncommon
dense packing of sand-sized, very porous aggregates that suggests
disintegration of the mud-brick construction by an air blast. In the virgin
soil, the burnt horizon contains black soot and graphite, and appears to have
been instantaneously fossilised by a rapid and uncommon colluvial wash. ...
The restricted occurrence of the later suggests that the massive tephra
accumulation can no longer be considered as a typical fallout derived from
the dispersion of material from a terrestrial volcanic explosion. Analytical
investigations in various directions have been unable, so far, to refute or
confirm that a cosmic event would have been the cause for production of both
the widely distributed mysterious particles and the localised thick tephra.
Origin of this mysterious phenomena still remains unsolved."
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