Did you know that many cultures, including the Norse and the Greeks, had myths that identified amber as the petrified tears of their gods? Or that gladiators would sometimes sew amber into their clothing, believing it would bring them success in battle? Amber has a long and interesting history...
Amber Origins
Most all of the amber that we know today was actually formed approximately 30-90 million years ago; many years before modern humans walked the earth. So, when humans did make their way to the areas surrounding the Baltic sea for the first time, the amber was already there, they just had to pick it up and admire it...and so begins the history of amber and humans.
Scientists presume that the trade in amber started as early as the New Stone Age. Amber, obtained in major excavation centers in Jutland and on eastern Baltic Coast began to spread in central Europe reaching even Egypt. Baltic amber beads were found in 3400-2400 BC pharaoh tombs in Tethys pyramid. German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann who in 1871-1890 excavated Troy in addition to other artifacts found amber beads. Scientists established that they were made from amber that had been brought from the Baltic Coast in about 3000 BC. This archaeologist has found Baltic amber also in cupola tombs of Mycenaean culture built on Crete Island in 1600-800 BC.
In the 1st - 3rd centuries there was an intensive trade in amber between the Roman Empire and its colonies. This led to the formation of so called "amber road". Amber was treasured and called "northern gold" in Greece and in the Roman Empire. In times of the Emperor Nero (54-68 AD) the value of a small amber statuette was greater than that of a young healthy slave. Transparent reddish or golden amber was especially valuable and was used to manufacture decorative adornments, small implements, utensils, and tools. Opaque amber was used only in the manufacturing of incenses.
Pliny the Elder in his work "Naturalis Historia" describes those times and tells a story about one Roman rider who managed to bring a massive amount of amber with which it was possible to decorate not only an amphitheater but also gladiators' clothes and arms. The biggest piece weighed over 4 kg. Amber destined for the Roman Empire was stored in intermediate points. Three such warehouses with 3 tons of amber have been found in the neighborhood of Wroclaw.
Today amber continues to fascinate and intrigue each and everyone who gets in contact with it. It is still highly valued for its beautiful colors, individual variations, lightweight-ness, luster and warmth. Read some more about amber.
