A Brief Human History of Amber

The Baltic for much of this period was covered in glacier ice, but as this gradually thawed and retreated so the hunters moved ever further North in search of their quarry; reindeer and in the process reached the Baltic and the major source of amber in Europe.

It is reported in a number of books that the earliest occurrence of worked amber by man dates back to 7,000 BC and was discovered in West Zealand, Denmark. It was found in an ancient bog in a remarkable state of preservation as you can see in this external site picture, thanks no doubt to the anaerobic environment in which it had either been placed or fallen. The find is a pendant depicting four angular human figures and some striped patterning. Many of the Mesolithic articles depict human figures in one form or another.

David Grimaldi in his book Amber - Window to the Past cites an earlier occurrence however. According to Grimaldi the earliest worked pieces of amber were discovered in Southern England, near the Cheddar/Creswell crags in an ancient cavern called Gough’s cave. The age of these beads lies between 11,000 and 9,000 years B.C. placing them in the earlier Palaeolithic.

During the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic period amber was not thought to have been commonly traded but certainly amber did begin to be exchanged amongst the existing peoples of that time. Amber or more precisely Succinite has been discovered in many ancient sites as grave goods and lost artifacts.

From the Neolithic, 4,000 years BC to 1,900 year BC and into the Bronze age, 3,000 years BC to 1,000 years BC saw a remarkable expansion in the trading and distribution of Baltic amber. Farming began to supersede hunting as the predominate culture with larger settlements and villages beginning to appear. With this came an increase in trading and exchanging of commodities with other tribes and groups. Amber was no doubt one of these items.

The commencement of amber trading has been roughly established as beginning about 3,000 years BC though certainly as has already been mentioned some amber had been exchanged before that time.

It was during the Bronze Age that the famous amber trade routes were established. These were accepted ‘highways’, trade routes across the whole of Europe and extending into the Far East. These routes have been established by amber finds found in archaeological sites around and along these ancient courses. No doubt the result of trading and exchanges done along these ancient tracks and roads.

It was from this period that it is thought the first amber reached the British Isles in the form of raw amber or possibly pre worked beads. This excludes amber that already existed and was found on the East Anglia coast of England. It is important to remember that this was a post glacial period with population numbers only just beginning to increase following a long period of zero to low growth in this region.

It is also evident that amber began to play an important role in the cultural life of the peoples of this time. Its occurrence in grave goods and the prominence given to it clearly indicates that amber was held in some awe by these ancient societies.

Amber from the Baltic and this period has been found as far away as Greece, Egypt, Northern Ireland and Mesopotamia. The Egyptian amber has been dated to approximately 3,200 year B.C. Schliemann reported finding large quantities of amber in his excavations of Mycenae and the fabled city of Troy.

One of the most famous and well-preserved finds from this time is the famous Hove Cup. This was recovered from a burial mound in Hove, a small town on the South coast of Britain. The find was a small round cup measuring 6.4 cm from top to bottom and 8.9 cm across. One of the best photographs of this find is in Grimaldi’s book Amber - Window to the Past where its translucence and colour is well displayed. The cup has been dated to 1,500 years BC and is held at the in Royal Pavilion, Brighton.

The advent of the Iron age, approximately 1,000 years BC to 500 years BC saw a remarkable flowering in the quality of worked amber. Pieces discovered and retrieved from archaeological sites range from beautiful figurines and carved statutory through to brooches and jewellery which looks remarkably contemporary even today. The geographic distribution of amber from this period was extended still further across Europe and the middle and Far East.

Spekke in his book ‘The Ancient Amber Routes and the Geographical Discovery of the Eastern Baltic’ attributes a significant amount of development and growth in Northern Europe to the resources put into and gathered from the trading of amber during this time.

The Phoenicians were the major sea traders at this time and amber was a prime commodity for them together with Tin. (The latter was possibly traded from the Cornish in the South West Peninsula of the United Kingdom.) The Phoenicians traded with the ancient Baltic peoples for the amber. No doubt the price they paid for this rare gem was significantly lower than the value they subsequently traded it on for.

Phoenicians went to great lengths to hide the source of their golden bounty and ancient literature tells stories of Phoenician Ships Captains wrecking their own boats when being shadowed and followed by rival traders trying to ascertain the source of the amber. (The first case of industrial espionage?)

Lucille Saunder MacDonald in her book ‘Jewels and Gems’ relates a story that Phoenician traders told to help shield their amber’s origin.

‘Now that the Phoenician’s had seen the amber gathered from the sea, they determined to keep the secret for themselves and thus guard the lucrative trade. When the fleets returned to Syria, many were the tales told of perils to the north, of lodestones which would draw the ships to destruction on hidden reefs, of whirlpools which would suck them down to the bottom of the ocean, of witches who enchanted men by turning them into beasts, of terrible sea serpents, and awesome monsters. So well did these ancient sailors spin their yarns that for many centuries afterwards mariners feared these mythical perils’.

The Etruscans were a major trader of amber during these early times. A favoured use of amber was in the production of bronze and amber fibulae and particularly jewellery worn by Etruscan woman of that time.

References to amber from Greek literature abound. Homer’s work ‘The Odyssey’ contain numerous references, for example:

‘For Antonius his henchman bare a broidered robe, great and very fair, wherein were golden brooches, twelve in all fitted with bent clasps. And the henchman straightaway bore Eurymachus a golden chain of curious work, strung with amber beads shining like the sun' Book XVIII.

It was the Greek philosopher Thales around about 600 years BC who first documented amber’s ability to attract small seeds, dust, pieces of cloth when rubbed against wool. The Greek word for amber was elektron and this gives us the route of the modern day word electricity relating back to this earlier discovery of static electricity.

There were many stories in Greece of where the amber originated. Mythology stated that the Heliades Sisters shed tears for the death of their brother Phaeton into a river called Eridanus which ran into a great sea (The Greek’s interpretation of the Baltic Coast?) located in cold arctic north. Herodotus the famous Greek philosopher disputed this however, pouring scorn on the whole idea.

Italic and Greek interest in amber faded between 600 BC and 800 BC even during the classical period of Greek history. But the Roman Empire which began in 753 BC began to take up the interest in amber when the former declined. This was slow at first but amber artifacts have been retrieved from these early periods.

As the Roman Empire grew, plundered as well as traded amber began to flood into Rome. Most of the Roman amber antiquities recovered are as a direct result of the expansion of Rome’s frontier borders. This reached its pinnacle in the immediate centuries before and after the birth of the man Jesus Christ.

Amber became such a prized possession that Pliny the Elder in his work ‘Natural History’ detailed at length the various myths and legends regarding amber’s origin but unequivocally stated that:

‘Amber is formed by the pith which flows from trees of the pine species, as a gum flows from cherry trees and resin from pines’.

A remarkable understanding that was to be lost and only re-established more than 1,500 years later. He also stated that the geographic origin of amber was -

‘ in the islands of the north of the Northern ocean that is called Glessum by the Germans, and that for this reason when Germanicus Caesar was commanding a fleet in those regions, the Romans gave the name of Glessaria to one of these islands’.

During the reign of the Emperor Nero a roman knight was dispatched to the far North to locate the source of the ‘Northern Gold’. This was quite some feat at that time as the untamed regions of the Germanic tribes had to be negotiated and unknown territories traversed.

Pliny wrote;

‘There still lives the Roman knight who was sent to procure amber by Julianus, superintendent of the gladiatorial games given by Emperor Nero. This knight traveled over the markets and shores of the country, and brought back such an immense quantity of amber that the nets intended to protect the podium from the wild beasts were studded with buttons of amber. Adorned likewise with amber were the arms, the biers, and the whole apparatus for one day. The largest piece the knight brought back weighed thirteen pounds.’

This was later to be recognised as a major influence in Rome’s history as this simple but daring act opened up many northern trade routes which up until that time had not been exploited.

On the other side of the planet in China, amber was also playing a significant role in the life of the peoples there. Little literature in English exists but the American Anthropological Association published ‘Historical Jottings on Amber in Asia‘ by Berthold Lauffer. This is a brief but descriptive account of amber in the literature of China.

The first reference to amber in Chinese literature was in the Ch’ien Han shu (Annals of the Former Han Dynasty) written by Pan Ku and after his death completed by his sister Pan Chao. It contains a reference to western countries and in particular Ki pin, which it states produces amber, Ki pin is in fact, Cashmir. The annal was written in 92 A.D. Trading relations between China and Cashmir began during the reign of Emperor Wu (140-85 BC) according to Lauffer and so it is likely that amber was traded into China at this time and perhaps a little earlier.

Pliny in his ‘Historia Naturalis’ states that amber is found in India, the specific entry reads:

‘That amber is found in India too, is a fact well ascertained. Archelaus, who reigned over Cappadocia, (A Roman province of the Emperor Tiberius) says that it is brought from that country in the rough state, and with the fine bark still adhering to it , it being the custom there to polish it by boiling it in the grease of a sucking-pig. One great proof that amber must have been originally in a liquid state is the fact that, owing to its transparency, certain objects are to be seen within - ants, for example, gnats and lizards. These, no doubt, must first have adhered to it while liquid, and then, upon its hardening, have remained enclosed within.’

(It is with some regret and embarrassment that the author has been unable to find any other significant English references to amber in the middle and far east. I would be obliged to any readers of this page who can supply further references or information.)

With the shrinkage and the eventual demise of the Roman Empire that was effectively complete by the early fifth century AD the Dark Ages swept in. Literary references to amber all but vanished. But amber and its place in society and art did not. Anglo-Saxon and Celtic crafts people produced some of the most beautiful and exquisite amber pieces despite the barbarity of times.

The retrieval of artifacts from graves, barrows and other archaeological sites shows ancient trade routes formed before the rise of the Roman Empire and lost during it, slowly beginning to be re-established.

Germanic culture (if we can use such a generic term to encompass such a broad cultural group) used amber extensively in its ornaments and jewels, as did the Anglo Saxons. But in the opinion of the author the use of amber by the Celts was a pinnacle of amber craftwork.

Amber began to make something of a comeback in the medieval period. The Teutonic Knights in 1283 became absolute rulers of Prussia and also created a monopoly on amber production within the Samland Peninsula. The major product became Paternoster beads. In fact the makers of this particular religious article even had their own job title; Paternostermachers.

The Teutonic Knights ruled the amber industry with an iron hand, to the extent that they forbade the collection of amber from the Baltic beaches on pain of death. The Beach Masters or Amber Lords enforced this law and there are many accounts of unfortunates who picked up amber and where hanged for it. The picture to the right is a copper engraving some 400 hundred years (1774) after this period. It shows that little progress had been made, Wagner the artist has drawn a group of amber gathers, note the two gibbets prominently displayed in the picture; top left, mid right.

In the ensuing years licenses and agreements were granted to different bodies and personages, the licenses were granted and retrieved over the following 500 years. Paternosters remained the staple amber product.

Bruge became one of the major centres of amber manufacturing. In the 14th century more than three hundred apprentice amber craftsmen were on record as working within the city.

By the end of the 14th century the sale of amber as well as the gathering was completely encompassed and controlled by the Order, to such an extent that within the city of Königsberg (Now Kaliningrad) a mining site, it was forbidden for anyone to own or possess any unworked pieces of amber.

The Teutonic monopoly was transformed over this period into a series of monopolistic Guilds. In 1480 the Danzig Amber Guild was formed. The Guild consisted of amber lathe turners who wanted to become another centre for amber working. The Teutonic grip still existed but was answerable to the King of Poland. The Order complained to the king about the granting of this license seeing it as either a challenge to the existing Guilds in Bruges and Lübeck or a further dilution of power. They failed to change anything.

A publication of 1491; 'Hortus Sanitatus' an ancient herbal book, shows an old wood cut of the fabled amber tree. Here you can see the tree appears to bearing some unusual fruit, as well as resin being exuded from the trunk.

One of the principles of control which was maintained throughout this time was the separation of the gathering of the amber from the working of the amber. This was applied with some rigour and artists wishing to work with amber outside one of the guild’s centres had to apply for a license to do so. It was as late as 1641 before this protocol was breached and Königsberg was officially granted a guild for working amber, the first place where amber was both extracted and worked in the same place.

In the 17th century the Baltic amber trade drew closer to becoming an industry. But the oppressive rule continued, the fisherman of the Baltic coast had to swear an oath to the state that they would turn in to the authorities anyone they knew guilty of illegally gathering amber.

The first major written work since classical times was published in the last quarter of the 17 century. Here is the front cover page of the same book written by P.J. Hartmann, entitled 'Succini Prusfici'.

1713 saw the creation of a legend, The Amber Room. Frederick William the First authorised the building of an entire room built of amber. Its’ beauty became famous and was visited by Tsar Peter, who was greatly taken by its splendour. The room was later presented to him as a gift.

The Amber Room remained in the possession of Russia until 1944 when it mysteriously vanished. What happened is not fully known, it is known that the Russians had removed the amber panels from the room to a hiding and storage place in Novosibirsk. Invading Nazi soldiers discovered this. The room was crated up and transported to Kaliningrad. But in 1945 allied troops were about to move into Kaliningrad and the amber panels were moved again. Exactly where they were moved again is unknown. Much speculation and tales have been told of where they lie, if indeed they do still exist. Stories of new leads and new clues constantly re-appear in the press and for many people the hunt continue.

The Russian people have decided however not to let this loss continue, even if it means re building the room, which is exactly what they are in the process of doing. The following links provide background information and shows the progress of some incredibly gifted Russian artisans in their slow progress towards the re building of Peter the Great’s, fabled Amber Room.

Today, the amber industry is expanding at an incredible rate. Some interesting facts were reveled in issue 27 of 'Inclusion/Wrostrek' newsletter:

'About 70% of the amber artifacts produced in 1996 worldwide originated in Poland, and of those - 805 in the region of Gdañsk. the number of amber factories in the Gdañsk region increased from 600 to 3000 between 1989 and 1996, the number of artists and workers from 700 to 8500, and the amount of raw amber used in the artifact production from 40 to 193 metric tonnes during that time.Most of the amber manufactured is imported from Samland (Russia). In 1959 only 6 metric tonnes of raw amber was used by 120 workers in 7 amber factories.'

Details of the environmental impacts of this exploitation can be reviewed at the following site entitled Case Study.