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 A Brief History of Amber
by Agnes Lupa
Baltic Amber has been a subject of fascination for many many years. The first written record comes from Homer in 700 B.C when in his famous work "The Odyssey" he describes "a golden chain of exquisite workmanship strung with amber beads that gleamed like the sun". But the physical history of this captivating gemstone begins millions of years ago in an ancient pine forest.
At the time when amber was being formed, a land mass called Fenno-Sarmatia covered what is now Scandinavia, while present-day Europe lay underneath the Thetys Sea. The sap was carried from inland by the River Eridan and deposited in its delta: the present Bay of Gdansk. Gdansk is a city on the northern tip of Poland which holds the world famous Amber Market, the Ambermart. It is the 6th largest city in Poland and it's history begins over one thousand years ago. If you would like to find out more about this fascinating city, follow this link http://www.gdansk.pl.en/.
Fenno-Sarmatia was covered by the Eocene amber forest. The forest was mixed, most likely pine and oak, with the sap producing Pinus succinifera pine as the dominant species. This pine was for the longest time assumed to be the source of Baltic amber and lived between 30-40 million years ago. It would be similar to our sequoia trees today. From its Latin name was coined Baltic amber's scientific name: succinite. Recently studies have shown that Baltic amber more closely resembles resins of conifers in the Auracariaceae family from 60+ millions of years ago.
Whatever the final scientific conclusion may be, it has been a part of this earth for a very long time. Starting out as vascular tissue in a tree, being exuded as resin, then traveling through earth, air, and water to end up washing ashore the Baltic Sea to be collected, polished and turned into beautiful amber jewelry.
Some look at the stone's origins in a more mythical way, theorizing that the rays of the setting sun became congealed in the sea, which were then cast upon the shore in the form of amber. Hence, wearing the amber would warm you heart and mind and keep you body healthy and your mind focused. Various other beliefs in such positive effects of wearing amber jewelry can be traced back to wherever amber was found throughout the world. It has captivated people of all cultures. In the Gdansk area archeological finds of of amber amulets in the shapes of animals, deities and hero figurines indicate that it was ascribed magical powers. A Roman historian wrote that "Among luxury goods it is valued so high that an amber human figurine, no matter how small, costs much more than men in their prime (slaves)".
The scientific community is interested in amber for different reasons. Most famously for studying the inclusions found in some of the amber samples. Perfectly preserved plant-structures, remains of insects, spiders and other small creatures which became trapped in the sap as it oozed out of the tree have been found, increasing our knowledge of the flora and fauna of the time.
Amber has been harvested, traded and crafted into beautiful jewelry for the last 13,000 years. It has been found in many different parts of the globe, with the world's largest deposits found in the Baltic Sea. For a long time unrefined amber pieces could be gathered in multitude just walking along the shores of the sea as the amber was so abundant, but in the last 60 years due to the continued growing interest, collectors have had to undertake dredging and mining operations to meet demand.
Because cross country demand for amber also grew quickly shortly after it was been discovered, trade routes were established to assist in the transport of large quantities of rough amber. Gda�sk, the Baltic seaside town, is famous for its amber collections because it was and still is today at the crossroads of amber trade routes.
As boat was the main form of transportation during the ancient times, most of the trade routes ran along major rivers, including the Vistula and Dnieper. This 5th century river route linked the Baltic coast with the Mediterranean countries. Amber trade became a gateway for improving relations with and understanding of other cultures. It advanced economies and international relations. The Southern Baltic became famously known as the "Amber Coast". Egyptians and Arabians traveled by land in caravans along routes which became known as amber tracks to reach the amber rich coast. These routes were considered dangerous and travelers often encountered thieves along the way, but they were willing to take the risks in order to get their share what became known as the sacred stone, gold of the north and Baltic gold. Amber became such a widely traded ornamental object that the routes used to transport it became collectively known as the "Amber Road". Because it has traversed so many geographical areas and cultures amber has been given and is known by many names. Some of these include:
Tiger's Soul
Petrified Light
Sun Tears
Sea Gold
Electron
Captured Sunshine
Hardened Honey
Succinum
Freja's Tears
Tears of the Heliades
Sun Stone
Sacred Stone
Gold of the North
Follow the below links for more information on amber history, lore and more!
www.amnh.org/exhibitions/amber/varieties.html
http://amber.org.pl
http://www.gdansk.pl/en/
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