Magnetic prospecting is the most widely used method for the investigation of archaeological remains in the world. This method is often applied before and during various engineering exploration (e.g. road construction, preparing areas for various types of building) and areas of agricultural utilization. Taking into account an extremely high concentration of archaeological sites of different age at Israeli territory, prompt geophysical-archaeological assessment of areas allocated for engineering and agricultural utilization, is a necessary preliminary component of the design process. However, noise both of natural and artificial origin strongly complicates interpretation of observed magnetic anomalies. The most significant disturbing factors are oblique magnetization (magnetization vector in the Israeli territory is inclined about 45°), complex geological structure (presence of a variety of disturbing bodies) of investigated site, influence of rugged topography, as well as influence of modern iron-containing objects. The non-conventional procedures developed by the authors are intended for application in such complicated environments and include elimination of noise from various sources, selection of 'useful' anomalies against the noise background, qualitative and quantitative interpretation of anomalies and three-dimensional physical-geological modelling. Effective integration of these procedures with other interpretation methods allowed rapid localization of tens of archaeological remains and their protection from unpremeditated destruction.

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Larson in 1991 [1] put forward a hypothesis on the extremely high development of diamond-bearing kimberlites in the Mid-Cretaceous period. In Israel, the Cretaceous magmatic activity is well known in the central Negev. The first microdiamond in Israel was found in northern Negev [2] and the authors associated its origin with an extraterrestrial event. An integrated analysis of several geological and geophysical factors enables us to select for detailed investigations the area of Makhtesh Ramon canyon situated near the town of Mizpe-Ramon (northern Negev). Data of aero-and land magnetic surveys as well as self-potential method were analyzed using modern interpreting methods. Application of geochemical/geophysical ion-selective analysis testifies to presence of kimberlite-like bodies located at a small depth. Performed mineralogical analyses of subsurface geological associations allowed to identifying a variety of minerals of diamondiferous association: chrome-diopside, orange garnet, bright-crimson pyrope, picroilmenite, black spinel, olivine, anatase, tourmaline, aggregates of perovskite, yttrium phosphate, moissanite and corundum [3][4][5]. The recent geochemical analyses signify to discovering of quasi-kimberlite rock -meimechite, traces of REE and some platinum group elements also testify presence of diamondiferous associations. Finally, five diamonds (with a size exceeding 1 mm) and more than 400 microdiamonds (< 1 mm) have been discovered in this area [6]. Thus, we can unambiguously concluding that the Makhtesh Ramon area contains typical products of kimberlite pipe destruction.

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