Archaeologists have confirmed Biblical accounts of military campaigns against the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah by reconstructing the direction and/or intensity of the Earth's magnetic field recorded in burnt remnants found at 21 different sites across Israel.

A team of researchers led by Tel-Aviv University used a collection of mud stones containing magnetic minerals that record magnetic fields when heated or burned.

This is because some rocks and materials contain minerals that respond to the magnetic field like the needle of a compass, allowing researchers to determine if the city that once stood was burned to the ground.

The study, however, also uses ancient inscriptions found at the sites and text from the Old Testament. 

Findings indicate that the army of Hazael, King of Aram-Damascus, was responsible for the destruction of several cities—Tel Rehov, Tel Zayit and Horvat Tevet, in addition to Gath of the Philistines, whose destruction is noted in the Hebrew Bible.

At the same time, the study debunks the prevailing theory that Hazael was the conqueror who destroyed Tel Beth-Shean.