At https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/babylons-ishtar-gate-may-have-a-totally-different-purpose-than-we-thought-magnetic-field-measurements-suggest … archaeologists made use of the clay bricks at Babylon’s Ishtar Gatte to measure the magnetic field to determine the construction date. This new method of dating comes up with a date around the time of Ezekiel. The magnetic field was sort of haywire at that time, and therefore seems to be rock solid as opposed to C14 methodology which may be compromised as a result of the electromagnetic movements. Hence, although this post comes as a result of a press release, or the preferred take at the link above, one should take the results seriously. A full reading of the research paper would be advisable in order to clarify the processes involved.
The Ishtar Gate was bright blue. It must have been quite magnificent to see. It has been suggested it was erected in order to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem. However, Nebuchadnezzar conquered a lot of other places in his campaign into the Levant. The new date puts the old ideas out of sync. For instance, Nebuchadnezzar is known to have ordered the construction at some point in his reign but it was previously thought he did not outlive that construction. It was thought it was built, or modified, on three occasions. The new research, using archaeomegnetism, came up with a date of 583BC – for the whole monument. In other words, Nebuchadnezzar would still have been alive when it was completed.
The research article is at https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293014 …