A Little Bit of Amber History

During the Middle Ages, prayer beads were exported as the main product of tooled Baltic amber. From the 16th century into the 18th century, bracelets, necklaces, containers, boxes, bowls, plates, flutes, buttons, mouth pieces for pipes, chess sets, watch cases and even luxury interior fittings were made using amber. The bulk of the amber trade took place in Königsberg and Danzig, modern Russia and Poland, respectively. In Rome, during the reign of Nero, Romans travelled to the coast of germania to purchase amber. One expedition proved so successful that a special "amber day" was arranged, where this costly item was used to decorate the gladiator games. In the protective netting between spectators and the arena, a glittering amber ornament was placed within each knot and the actual arena was apparently strewn with amber! During that time, the southwest coast of the Baltic Sea was the most important supplier. The Romans maintained regular trade connections with northern Europe along the so called "Amber Routes".

Even earlier, amber was revered by the Phoenicians, who traveled the seaway to what is today the Danish west-coast. Grave-finds from all countries around the Baltic Sea prove that earlier amber was a common trade object to Stone Age man. Since prehistoric times amber has thus been a readily sought after material. Its color, luster, warmth, aroma, electric properties and background, in a scientific sense, place amber in a special category among ornamental stones.

Amber in Human Culture
The interest in amber awoke as early as the antiquty and it has excited admiration for many centuries now, which is testified to by records and archaeological findings. Discoveries of new amber deposits reveal the remotest times in the history of mankind and the role of amber in the develompent of culture.
In the famous Greek myth of Pheathon, apart from the lively mythical story there appears a motive of amber origin explanation as understood by the scholars of ancient world.
Amber was mentioned in Homer's Odyssey. Reading the words of Telemachus praising the royal palace of Menelaus in Sparta, one may wonder if the Amber Room from Selo had not been modelled on the prototype in Sparta.
Homer described a necklace made of silver and amber and glowing like sun, which Odysseus's wife Penelope received as a gift. He also mentioned the Phoenicians, noable merchants in the objects of luxury. They, who established their state at the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea as early as 3,000 BC, had a considerable role in amber trade. Greek masters of amber handcraft had to purchase their row material from somewhere.
Studies have shown that some 3,000 famous pearls of Mycenae were made of Baltic amber. If Penelope's necklace mentioned by Homer had survived, under close investigation it also could have answered the question about its origin.