Amber Artefacts Research Articles

The Effect of Accelerated Alteration on the Discrimination between Baltic and Romanian Amber

Ten geological samples (five from each source—Romanian amber and Baltic amber) in duplicate for five different media (air, water, saline, acid and basic) were subjected to thermal alteration at 80 ± 2°C for 12 weeks, in the dark. The samples were analysed before and after the accelerated alteration experiment by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, both in transmittance and reflectance mode, and the acquired spectra were statistically processed by multivariate data analysis, mainly using principal component analysis. The results of the experiment are useful in giving a better picture of how to discriminate between archaeological amber artefacts.

LC-MS and FT-IR characterization of amber artifacts

Abstract This work focuses on using analytical methods, such as Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with mass spectrometry (MS) detection to assess archaeological and geological amber. The main goal of this study is to apply the previously developed and optimized analytical methods in verifying criteria to ascribe and characterize the origin of materials found in archaeological sites. The proposed LC-MS method was successfully applied for the quantification of succinic acid content both in geological and archaeological samples of amber and offers excellent linearity between 0.1 and 5µg mL−1. The developed FTIR method provided some criteria which is able to differentiate between Baltic and Romanian amber (Romanite) that furthermore validates on archaeological amber artefacts.

FTIR and statistical studies on amber artefacts from three Romanian archaeological sites

In the present study Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in the reflectance mode (FTIR-reflectance) – was performed on well preserved archaeological amber, originating from three Romanian archaeological sites of Roman and Byzantine cultures, which did not allow sampling material. Resulting spectra were subjected to multivariate data analysis (MDA) using Principal Components Analysis (PCA). In the light of the FTIR-reflectance bands of archaeological samples from the region 1275 to 1155 cm−1 and 900–600 cm−1 we could conclude that the samples from first two locations, Roşia Montană and Nufăru, are made from amber of Baltic origin. In the case of the third location, Isaccea, we take into account the possibility of a mixture of raw materials, both Baltic and Romanian amber. These assertions are supported by statistical analysis and the historical context. Besides the FTIR spectra comparison or other analytical data, it is very important to correlate any information about the material (colour, conservation status, historical context, connections with other artefacts) and the statistical analysis in order to favour safe conclusions.

Preservation Condition of Prehistoric Amber in the Agrarian Landscape

The Danish Research Council launched a research programme to examine the influence of urbanization, agriculture, and forestry on cultural heritage in agrarian/traditional landscapes. This article is one part of this programme and deals with amber artefacts found in aerobic soils. Amber was chosen as a material because it is present in all prehistoric periods in Denmark and it is known to have a unique deterioration pattern. The Danish county of Sønderjylland (North Slesvig) was chosen as a case study and every amber find from the Stone Age to Iron Age was examined microscopically and macroscopically: in total 433 objects. The conclusion shows that the only degradation factor is oxidation. No other factors were found to affect the degradation pattern, and the soil conditions do not seem to have had any influence.

Non-destructive analysis of amber artefacts from the prehistoric Cioclovina hoard (Romania)

Amber beads from the Cioclovina hoard (Hunedoara County, Romania), dating from the transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, were analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy – variable angle reflectance (FTIR-VAR) and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman). The aim was to determine if the raw material came from the shores of the Baltic Sea, on the Amber Route which crosses Central Europe, or if it originated from the area of the main amber occurrences in Romania, in Buzău County, around the village of Colţi. All applied analyses strongly suggest that a large part of the amber from the Cioclovina deposit has a Romanian origin, and thus no connection with the Amber Route.

Langenheim, J.H. Plant resins: chemistry, evolution, ecology and ethnobotany.

When I agreed to review this book, I did so because I thought it would be an opportunity to bring myself up‐to‐date in a field I felt I ought to know more about. I had no idea that it would make such compulsive reading. Jean Langenheim has spent her career working on plant resins and she has done a great service by assembling her wealth of knowledge and experience into this marvellous book. The blandness of the title belies the wealth of information contained in its pages. In her preface, Langenheim states that she decided ‘the book should tell the whole story of these fascinating plant substances’. I can only say that she has succeeded in her aim. The book is a real eye‐opener to the fact that we are surrounded in our daily lives by products made from or containing plant resins or compounds derived from them. If you doubted their importance to mankind before reading this book, you won’t afterwards! As botanists we are all familiar with Canada Balsam as a mountant for microscope specimens (the more mature ones among us anyway), but few of us are probably aware of its older uses by native North Americans as ‘an antiseptic salve for sores, cuts and burns and an internal medicine for colds, consumption, menstrual irregularity, as a laxative and for other ills’. As Langenheim demonstrates, the list of uses of resins in folk medicine and pharmacy alone is huge. They have been used since ancient times as anaesthetics, analgesics, anti‐allergens, anti‐carcinogens, antiseptics, antibiotics, antispasmodics and astringents (and these are just some of the uses beginning with ‘a’!). The impression given in the book is that every known human illness has been treated with a resin or resin component by someone, somewhere, sometime. They have also been used as aphrodisiacs, contraceptives, flavourings, fuel, for illumination, incense, jewellery, laxatives, narcotics, ornaments, in paints and varnishes, as perfume fixatives, paper coatings and in floor‐coverings (linoleum), etc. The list is seemingly endless. The chapters are laid out in a logical way, beginning with a clear explanation of exactly what resins are, their structure and chemistry and the numerous plants and parts of plants in which they are produced. This is followed by an account of the formation and geographical distribution of amber deposits, which leads naturally into a discussion of evolution of resin production and resin‐producing plants. The account of the ecological roles of resin and the co‐evolution occurring between plants and insects is particularly fascinating, illustrating, for example, the evolutionary ‘arms race’ between plants and predatory beetles, as well as the way resins are used as construction materials by bees for defence of their hives against bacterial and fungal pathogens. The ethnobotanical section of the book dealing with historical and cultural importance of amber and resins and their uses by indigenous peoples demonstrates the key role played by these substances in the civilization of human beings. It was by trading Baltic amber for metals with more advanced peoples that the Neolithic peoples of the Baltic region were enabled to move out of the Stone Age. The book describes how analysis of traded amber artefacts has been used in archaeology to establish trading patterns and relationships between peoples in the ancient world. An equally thorough treatment is applied to the more recent history of resin in the development of New World countries. Excellent accounts are given of the development of the naval stores trade in America and the trade in copal from Agathis australis in New Zealand. The section on the use of resins by indigenous cultures is fascinating and very relevant at a time when traditional plant remedies are being re‐evaluated for use as pharmaceuticals. A number of useful appendices are included listing resin‐producing plants and their distribution; chemical skeletons of fossil resins; age, location and plant source of amber deposits; common names, plant sources and use of resins, and, importantly for the non‐specialist, a comprehensive glossary. The bibliography runs to 68 pages and there are useful plant and subject indexes. The book is very well‐written and highly readable. It provides a comprehensive account that will appeal to both newcomers to the subject as well as to specialists. There is something here for botanists of all disciplines and for non‐botanists in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, pharmaceutical research, and even the interested layman. Considering the size of the book, the quality of its production and the fact that it contains 24 colour plates in addition to black and white photographs, numerous line drawings, maps and tables, it is hard to believe that the price is so low. The book is not only an excellent work of scholarship, it is also excellent value for money.

The conservation of amber

The British Museum (London) has extensive collections of amber artifacts. Analysis is carried out on amber for both authentication and provenancing. Infrared spectroscopy has been widely used in the past but other methods are becoming available. Several factors, including environmental conditions, contribute to the deterioration of amber, making it vulnerable to damage through handling. Where consolidation is required, the materials used must not interfere with possible future analysis. This paper considers the selection of resin and solvent mixtures for the consolidation of amber, as well as improved methods for storage and display. The materials recommended have well-known properties and can be removed from small samples prior to analysis.

Pracownie bursztynnicze w południowo-wschodnim rejonie gdańskiego grodu na przełomie X-XI wieku

The excavations of Gdańsk have revealed large quantities of amber artifacts. The presence of both raw material and unfinished artifacts indicates that amber was worked on the spot. Unworked amber and unfinished artifacts were mainly concentrated in excavation trenches XI, XIV and XXII located within the assumed seat of the feudal lord (fig. 1), in layers dating from the end of the 10th to the first quarter of the 11th century. Remains of at least a few workshops producing finger-rings have come to light. However, no traces of any buildings have survived. Of the 43 amber objects found in trench XI as many as 35 are unfinished finger-rings. An area of only 8 m2 in trench XIV (storage pit and layer) yielded 4,069 amber lumps and 60 unfinished finger-rings in various stages of working. Workshops concentrated in the more important quarter of Gdańsk used raw materials which were the monopoly of the prince, i.e. amber and silver (a crucible with traces of melted silver has come to light). It seems very likely that the artisans in question were working directly for the court of the prince.

The F. A. Paneth Collection of East Prussian Amber

The collection of East Prussian amber made by the late Professor F. A. Paneth has been placed in the collections of the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Durham and is on permanent display. A brief account of Professor Paneth's interest in amber is given together with notes on the occurrence of amber in East Prussia and some of the properties of the mineral. Lists of specimens of East Prussian amber and amber artefacts in the collection and lists of books and papers on East Prussian amber deposited in the University Library at Durham form appendices to the paper.

Classification of the Amber Beads of the Hungarian Bronze Age

Spectroscopic provenance analysis of Hungarian amber artifacts has shown that nearly all of them are of Baltic amber or succinite, which occurs naturally only in northern Europe. The present paper explores the question whether these beads were made in northern Europe and imported into Hungary as finished products, or were made in Hungary from imported raw material.To this end, 659 extant amber beads of the Bronze Age of Hungary are divided into 17 types by shape and dimensions. The significance of the typology is borne out by striking diachronical patterns: e.g., flattened globular beads (Group III) are virtually limited to the Middle Bronze Age, while truncated bi-conical beads (Group IX) are essentially exclusive to the Late Bronze Age. By comparing Hungarian bead forms of a given period with those of countries to the north, including Denmark and the Baltic States, the classification offers a means by which imported beads may be distinguished from locally made beads.

The chemical identification of baltic amber at the Celtic oppidum Staré Hradisko in Moravia

The Celtic oppidum Staré Hradisko north of Brno in Moravia, ČSSR, has long been noted for its wealth of archaeological amber artifacts. Since there are several substantial deposits of fossil resins in the immediate vicinity of the site, it has been an open question whether the settlement was a centre of exploitation and exportation of these local raw materials, or whether it was an entrepôt of Baltic amber on its way to southern and southeastern Europe. Because of extensive weathering, many of the amber finds at Staré Hradisko cannot be identified by infra-red spectroscopy. A new analytical method, which determines the amount of succinic acid by means of gas chromatography, has been developed to show that the amber of Staré Hradisko is, in fact, of the Baltic variety called succinite.

Bronze and Iron Age Amber Artifacts in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina

The question as to whether or not Yugoslavia played a role in the Bronze Age amber trade to Greece has traditionally been answered negatively because of the scarcity of amber finds in that country. Amber finds that have come to light as a result of more intensive exploration after World War II have been thought to be of local origin by some Yugoslav scholars. Spectroscopic analysis of 35 archaeological amber artifacts from the Yugoslav provinces of Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina of the Bronze and Iron Age shows 31 of them to be of imported Baltic amber. The finds are discussed in their archaeological and geographic contexts as a first step towards re-assessing the place of the Eastern Adriatic area in the southward movement of amber.

Bronze and Iron Age Amber Artifacts in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina

Bronze and Iron Age Amber Artifacts in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina