Bursztyn w muzeum

The aim of presented work was to establish the provenance of unique amber jewelry dated back to Early Iron Age discovered in burial chambers of archeological excavations in Domasław, Lower Silesia (Poland). To assess the origin of the archeological amber objects, there was performed a comparative analysis of over 100 artifacts and reference material originated from amber sources within reasonable proximity to the axcavations. Succinite (Baltic amber) from tertiary deposit at the seashore from North Harbor in Gdansk (Poland) and Sambian Penisula, Yantarny near Kaliningrad (Russia) valchovite or/and neudorfite from Valchov in Moravy (Czech Republic) dated back to Upper Cretaceous and amber originating from Lower Silesia (cenoman from Boleslawiec, Poland) were used as a reference material. Raman and positron annihilation spectroscopies have been previously successfully applied in provenance studies of archeological amber jewelry, and both techniques were accepted as a method of choice in current investigation. All Raman measurements of valuable amber objects were performed in situ. Raman spectra collected for analyzed artifacts confirmed their Baltic origin. The study showed that annihilation positron spectroscopy is effective toll in the provenance investigations of raw amber material but can be misleading in analysis of previously processed material.

Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses 53, 2017

The purpose of this work was to presents the first multidisciplinary provenance study of archaeological amber objects dated to the period of the Middle Ages in Poland. Performed investigations employed the gemmological analysis combined with the Raman spectroscopy analysis. In order to determine the provenance of raw material two possible amber sources were taken under the consideration: the Baltic succinite and the fossil amber from the Czech deposits. Comprehensive study performed for 21 artefacts excavated at the Santok and Milicz sites have pointed to the deposits at the coast of the Baltic Sea as the source of raw amber. The obtained results verified the existence of the trade routes between the Baltic zone and the discovered centres like Milicz located in the northern Lower Silesia (Poland) in the Middle Ages.

The spread of amber in Lithuania and its popularity over different periods, application of amber in ornament production, changing trends in amber jewelry wear as well as the links of these customs with gender, sex, and, more generally, with the Lithuanian ivorld outlook, are the issues usually discussed based on ungrounded assumptions that the amber artifacts found in Lithuanian burial sites and the cultural strata of hill-forts and settlements had originated from the Lithuanian coast. It is unexpected, but credible possibility, that Baltic Sea amber artifacts, belonging to different archeological sites across Lithuania, are not only local products, but also imports via different trade routes. As far as analysis of Lithuanian amber artifacts has established, raw amber was exported from the coast southwards. Lathed and semi-lathed amber beads found at the cemeteries in central Lithuania, the lower Nemunas region and even in coastal Lithuania and dated to the late Roman Iron Age—early Migration period, are imports of several workshops in the lower Vistula, Kuiavia areas, Mazurian Lakeland, Sambian peninsula and other regions. On the other hand, it should be noted, that amber beads of common shapes known since the Roman Iron Age onwards, figure-eight shaped beads-pendants and these of other less common shapes, as well as beads and other amber artifacts typical of the Vendel and the Viking Age were produced by local amber crafstmen in coastal Lithuania.

The focus of this report and catalogue is the amber discovered at Bernstorf, Freising district between 1997 and 2005. 56 pieces of amber were recovered over a period of nine years. Of these, 50 were studied by the author in October 2014 at the Archäologische Staatssammlung (State Archaeological Collection) in Munich (ASM). The amber and gold finds have been attributed to the Bronze Age, but strong differences of opinion still remain about their authenticity. The rather disparate publication history of the site and its finds has made it difficult for those not intimately involved to build a coherent picture of the situation. The aim of this current paper is, for the first time, to present and discuss the amber assemblage as a whole by building on the additional, but still incomplete, information about the amber which was provided in the recent publication of a collected volume about the archaeology of, and archaeological investigations at Bernstorf. This provides an opportunity to review interpretations of and research on the amber which have been ongoing over twenty years. This report begins with a brief introduction to the history of archaeological activity on the site. Amber as a material is introduced and its various characteristics described. Next, the amber from Bernstorf is examined in more detail. For the first time a chronological listing of all the amber and gold finds is published. A discussion follows about the amber and the various analyses and interpretations over the years. New evidence and interpretations proposed in the 2016 Bernstorf volume are critically assessed. Although this report touches on where the Bernstorf amber would fit into a wider European Bronze Age context, a full discussion of this is not included. On the basis of the physical condition of some of the amber, the author’s conclusion is that the amber found at Bernstorf was not placed there during the Bronze Age, but in more recent times. The report concludes with a catalogue of the 56 amber pieces.

The expansion of Baltic amber through Europe has traditionally been associated to the spread of the Bell Beaker culture during the 3rd millennium BC. In Iberia, this phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the southern half. Here we present an amber bead recovered in a Late Neolithic funerary cave (3634 − 3363 2σ cal BC) from northeastern Iberia where more than 12 individuals had been buried. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) results of four samples revealed their complete resemblance with Baltic succinite reference spectra. Despite being a single bead, this finding provides the earliest evidence of the arrival of Baltic amber to the Mediterranean and Western Europe, before the Bell Beaker phenomenon and more than a millennium earlier than traditionally thought.

The Amber Roads, 2016

In this paper the Author presents the results of his studies on Stone Age use and popularisation of amber in the distinct South Baltic macro-region (Vistula macro-region). The paper provides analysis of the cultural, chronological and regional characteristic of the finds, different potential uses of amber and its processing, as well as the development of local and long-distance amber exchange. The author also discusses some aspects of how the exchange was organized, the methods of transportation and goods offered as exchange for amber. The last part presents a general overview of amber use and working (processing) by the Late Neolithic people (RZC) in the Niedźwiedziówka micro-region. Niedźwiedziówka remains the largest concentration in the world of seasonal camps with remnants of hundreds of amber-processing workshops, thousands of halffinished ornamental products, industrial waste and tools.