15th seminar organic inclusions, amber and other fossil ...lib.brsu.by/sites/default/files/organic...

THE GDAŃSK INTERNATIONAL FAIR CO. (MTG SA) THE MUSEUM OF THE EARTH, PAS, WARSAW

Amberif 2008 Gdańsk

15th Seminar Organic inclusions, amber

and other fossil resin finds in Europe seminar under the auspices of the International Amber Association

and the Museum of the Earth, Polish Academy of Sciences / Warsaw

Gdańsk - Warsaw March 15, 2008

Part I 1. Fossil resin deposits or finds in Italy, Prof. Eugenio Ragazzi (Italy) 2. Amber deposits and finds in Belarus, Dr Maxim Bogdasarov (Belarus) 3. Holotypes and the significance of syninclusions in the collection of the Museum of

Amber Inclusions in Gdańsk, Dr Elżbieta Sontag

Part II 1. The amber trading centre west of the mouth of the River Vistula at the time of Roman

influence, Marcin Stąporek 2. Fluctuations in the supply of raw amber in 1981-2006, Wiesław Gierłowski 3. The concept of a triptych with amber elements at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,

Mariusz Drapikowski.

Gdańsk – Warsaw 2008

Museum of the Earth Scientific Conferences Paper Abstracts 25 Organisation of the 15th Seminar at Amberif 2008: Wiesław Gierłowski Scientific Director of the Seminar: Prof. Barbara Kosmowska-Ceranowicz Ph.D. Abstract editors: Academic editors: Barbara Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, Wiesław Gierłowski Translation: Dorota and Piotr Łuba Edited by: Krzysztof Gierłowski Published by: The Gdańsk International Fair Co. (MTG SA), Gdańsk The Museum of the Earth, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw

Table of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................3

FOSSIL RESIN DEPOSITS OR FINDS IN ITALY, PROF. EUGENIO RAGAZZI ...5

AMBER DEPOSITS AND FINDS IN BELARUS, DR MAXIM BOGDASAROV...12

DESCRIPTIVE TYPES AND SYNINCLUSIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GDAŃSK’S MUSEUM OF AMBER INCLUSIONS, DR ELŻBIETA SONTAG......16

THE AMBER TRADING CENTRE WEST OF THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER VISTULA DURING THE TIME OF ROMAN INFLUENCE, MARCIN STĄPOREK..................................................................................................................................................20

FLUCTUATIONS IN THE SUPPLY OF RAW AMBER IN 1981‐2006, WIESŁAW GIERŁOWSKI .......................................................................................................................26

THE CONCEPT OF A TRIPTYCH WITH AMBER ELEMENT AT THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE, MARIUSZ DRAPIKOWSKI........................................32

Amberif 2008 Organic inclusions, amber & other fossil resin finds in Europe

Fossil resin deposits or finds in Italy Eugenio Ragazzi

Department of Pharmacology and Anesthesiology, University of Padova Largo E. Meneghetti, 2 - I35131 Padova (Italy)

e-mail: [email protected]

Amber tradition in Italy probably is best expressed by the Amber Route, the ancient commercial way through which Baltic amber was carried from Northern to Adriatic regions. Archaeological findings of amber in Italy demonstrated that this material was largely used and appreciated in antiquity. Mythology also links amber to the Italian river Po, often identified with the Eridanus, where the Heliades, crying for the death of their brother Phaeton, had their tears transformed into amber. Amber in Italy was largely used as a powerful therapeutic agent according to the Materia Medica of the past (Ragazzi, 2005, 2007), as documented by many old pharmacopoeias.

In Italy finds of amber have been reported since long time, from Tertiary rocks of the Northern Apennines (Skalski & Veggiani, 1990) and especially of Sicily, where the fossil resin simetite has been found near the river Simeto.

From the Southern Alps, since recent times, the occurrence of amber has been cited only sporadically. The first record is a letter, dated 1827, where Catullo informed Brugnatelli about a fossil forest, including fossil resin, discovered in a valley near Roana, on the Asiago Plateau (Catullo, 1827). Stoppani (1886) reported that amber was collected from the Chattian beds at the base of the Monte Brione Formation, near Riva del Garda (Trento province). Anecdotal reports of amber from the Triassic of the Dolomites were from Koken (1913), Zardini (1973) and Wendt & Fürsich (1980), but no thorough study was performed before 1998 (Gianolla et al., 1998).

During the last decade, more comprehensive investigations on amber findings in Italy have been conducted under geological and physico-chemical contexts. Here follows a list of these reports:

1. near Redagno and Pietralba (Bolzano province) some millimetric granules of amber from the Arenarie della Val Gardena Formation, Upper Permian (Maffi & Maffi, 1992);

2. near Cortina d’Ampezzo (Belluno province), and in Val Badia (Bolzano province) amber from the Dürrenstein Formation, Upper Triassic (Carnian) (Gianolla et al., 1998; Ragazzi et al., 2003; Roghi et al., 2006);

3. at Vernasso (Udine province) and at Ra Stua (near Cortina d’Ampezzo) amber from Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian-Santonian) and Lower Cretaceous (Albian) sites, respectively (Roghi et al., 2004);

4. at Cava Rossi quarry, Monte di Malo (Vicenza province), some centimetric amber nodules from the marly limestones of the Lower-Middle Eocene (Boscardin & Violati Tescari, 1996; Trevisani et al., 2005);

5. amber from the world-famous fossil-Lagerstätte of Pesciara di Bolca (Verona province) in Lower Eocene sediments (Trevisani et al., 2005);

6. in the Chiavon stream, near Salcedo (Vicenza province) some millimetric granules of amber from Oligocene beds (Ragazzi & Roghi, 2003);

7. similar fragments were collected also from the Oligocene of Sedico (Belluno province) (Ragazzi &Roghi, 2003).

Among these fossil resin findings (see Figure 1 for site location), probably amber from Dolomites and Bolca amber are the most peculiar ones.

Organic inclusions, amber & other fossil resin finds in Europe Amberif 2008

Triassic amber from Dolomites The Heiligkreuz-Santa Croce Formation (also known as Dürrenstein Formation, Upper

Triassic) in the Dolomites near Cortina d’Ampezzo contains one of the most ancient and substantial Triassic amber deposits in the world (Gianolla et al., 1998; Ragazzi et al., 2003,

2006; Roghi et al., 2006). The Heiligkreuz-Santa Croce Formation is in the eastern part of the Southern Alps, which was located in the westernmost part of the Tethyan margin of the Eurasian plate during Mesozoic time. The age of this formation has been dated as Late Julian-Early Tuvalian (Carnian, Upper Triassic, about 225 Ma) (Gianolla et al., 1998; Roghi, 2004). Two types of fossil resins have been found. The first type consists of fractured samples embedded in sandstone and hybrid-sandstone rocks, indicating that after production, the resin was transported. The second type consists of abundant, isolated, and exceptionally well-preserved autochthonous drops (Figure 2), concentrated in paleosol deposits. The total amount of resin found (~500 g) consists of an estimated number of at

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Figure 1. Main sites of amber finds in Italy: 1, Redagnoand Pietralba (Upper Permian); 2, Cortina d’Ampezzoand Val Badia (Upper Triassic); 3, Ra Stua (LowerCretaceous); 4, Vernasso (Upper Cretaceous); 5, Montedi Malo (Lower-Middle Eocene); 6, Bolca (LowerEocene); 7, Salcedo (Oligocene); 8, Sedico (Oligocene);9, Riva del Garda (Oligocene); 10, Northern Apennines(Tertiary); 11, Sicily (Tertiary).
least 50,000 drops. The
amber samples range from spherical to drop-like shapes

d size is 1-10 mm, although a sample 30 mm in diameter was found in sandstone matrix. Abundant plant fragments, cuticles, and amber in the paleosols and in the nearby

yers, and the presence of abundant marine invertebrates in the sandstone, suggest a rich getation in a coastal environment. Plant remains include horsetails, conifer twigs, and wood

agments. Analyses on cuticle and macrofossil fragments of some conifer shoots found in the ber-bearing paleosols indicate that the resin originated from representatives of the family

heirolepidiaceae (Roghi et al., 2002, 2006; Zavialova & Roghi, 2005). Physico-chemical investigations conducted on Italian Triassic amber (Ragazzi et al.,

03; Roghi et al., 2006; Tonidandel et al, 2008) by solid-state Fourier-transform infrared alysis (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass-ectrometry (pyr-GC/MS), laser desorption ionization (LDI), atmospheric pressure chemical nization (APCI), atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI), thermogravimetry (TG), fferential thermogravimetry (DTG) and automatized elemental analysis yielded a complete aracterization of the amber, and allowed comparison with other fossil resins from different


geographical origin, age and palaeobotanical source. Triassic amber characterization and comparison with other fossil resins was obtained also using statistical linear and multivariate techniques applied to mass spectrometry and thermal analysis data (Ragazzi et al., 2003; Tonidandel et al., 2008). FTIR revealed absorption bands typical of all fossil resins, and the spectrum region from 8–10 µm provided a fingerprint of the Triassic amber that differs from that of other known resins. The NMR spectrum also showed typical pattern for fossil resins, but peculiar peak abundances permitted further characterization of the Triassic amber, both in the saturated (10–70 ppm) and unsaturated carbon region (100–160 ppm). The amber also lacks exomethylene resonances found in younger resins at 110 and 150 ppm. Thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) analyses of combustion behavior of Triassic amber indicated a main exothermal event near 437 °C, higher than that of other known resins. The elemental composition of Triassic amber is consistent with well-known constituents of natural resins, although the sulfur content was higher, likely due to high sulfur content in the embedding sediment. Italian Triassic amber also preserved fossil microorganisms that have been recently investigated (Schmidt et al., 2006). The microbes were embedded directly (autochthonous) in their microhabitats. They are representatives of all trophic levels of a microbiocoenosis: algae as producers, protozoans as consumers and fungi as decomposers. Embedded fossil microorganisms resemble existing species. The find suggests that the basal levels of the food webs of land-living communities, despite large changes of terrestrial habitats during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, have undergone little morphological change since Triassic time.

Figure 2. Typical shapes of Triassic amber of the Dolomites (bar: 5 mm).


In the same chronostratigraphic interval of Heiligkreuz-Santa Croce Formation, amber was found also in the Schilfsandstein deposits (Germany), Raibler Schichten and Lunzerschichten (Austria) and in the Chinle Formation (Arizona). Discovery of this fossil resin through a wide area in deposits of the same age suggests that resin exudation from the ancient trees could have been influenced by both evolutionary factors and palaeoclimatic fluctuations. Palynological and microbiological data, linked to the synchroneity of the amber-bearing stratigraphic intervals, suggest time-limited humid event, which during late Triassic broke the prevalent and generalized arid climate (Gianolla et al., 1998; Roghi, 2004, Roghi et al., 2006). The discovery of amber only in a few limited stratigraphic layers within the Triassic succession, together with other palaeontological findings, suggests either that the conditions of sediment deposition were very peculiar or, more probably, that the amber-producing plants received an environmental stress that led to the production of a large amount of resin, and in only a short interval of geological time.

Another reason for the scientific interest of Triassic amber is that it permits comparisons with younger fossil resins, providing the opportunity to learn more about the process of amberization (that is, the maturation of fossil resins) and possibly also to translate this knowledge for the diagnostics of ambers which have undergone thermal or diagenetic alterations (Ragazzi et al., 2006).

Eocene amber from Bolca Another peculiar site of amber finding in Italy is Bolca, located in Lessini Mountains,

about 25 km north-east of Verona. Bolca is a famous fossil fish locality known all over the world since the half of the XVI century, and is the only Italian fossil site candidate to enter into the World Heritage List compiled by the UNESCO to preserve the areas with exceptional cultural or natural value. The site is called Pesciara (that means “place with fishes”) and consists of sedimentary beds within widespread volcanic rocks. Although the sedimentary limestone beds cover an area of some hundred square meters and are less than 20m-thick, they permitted the extraction of more than 250 species of fossil fishes, but also a very rich flora (both marine and continental) and an incredibly diverse fauna including insects, crustaceans, reptiles, and birds. The fossil assemblages allowed the reconstruction the palaeoenvironment, suggesting the presence of a shallow carbonate platform, relatively close to the shoreline, and with peculiar conditions allowing the exceptional preservation of the fishes.

The Bolca amber (Trevisani et al., 2005) occurs as greenish, centimeter-sized nodules (Figure 3), coming from the lowermost fish-bearing level of the Pesciara limestone. The age has been determined by biostratigraphical analysis of the foraminiferal assemblage as being Middle Cuisian (Early Eocene, about 55 Ma) (Trevisani et al., 2005).

On the basis of the physico–chemical and palynological analysis of the site, some hypotheses were proposed about the palaeobotanical origin of the fossil resin, probably linked to Angiosperms. FTIR spectrum of the amber did not show the typical morphology of Baltic shoulder. Comparing the infrared spectra of different fossil and recent resins published in the literature (Langenheim & Beck, 1968; Langenheim, 1969), an overall similarity can be found among Bolca amber with resins of the Angiosperm genus Hymenaea (Leguminosae/Fabaceae family) producing Madagascar copal and Dominican and Mexican amber. A closer similarity can be observed between the IR spectrum of Bolca fossil resin and the spectrum of glessite (Kosmowska-Ceranowicz et al., 1993; Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, 1994, 2001), a dark-brown fossil resin found in Germany (Bitterfeld mine, Saxony-Anhalt, and Lusatia), which has been attributed to the family Burseraceae, and in Borneo, attributed to the family Dipterocarpaceae (Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, 1994).

Bolca amber has a relatively high content of sulfur (2%) as the consequence of high content of the element in Bolca layers, possibly linked with the peculiar taphonomic event which permitted the exceptional conservation of fossils in the site. Alternatively, the high


level of the element might be related to an elevated palaeoenvironmental content of sulfur, such as in a site near volcanic activity, as documented in the area from Upper Paleocene to Oligocene. The amount of resin secretion from trees could have been increased in regions affected by volcanic eruptions (Prof. B. Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, personal communication).

The finding of fossil fish assemblages, and the prevalence of miliolids and alveolinids,

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Figure 3. A sample of Bolca amber (diameter 3.5 cm).

uggested the presence of a reef environment, close to the ancient coastal line of articulated merged lands. Moreover, abundant intact fossil remains of continental plants and insects, esides the presence of amber, confirmed this interpretation and suggested that the fossil resin ad not been subjected to any reworking and that belongs to a primary deposit. The remnants f aquatic plants, such as Eichorniopsis sp. and Maffeia sp., of insects such as dragonflies typical of freshwater), and fishes such as Eolates sp., Scatophagus sp. and Cyclopoma sp. which probably lived in brackish water near river outlets), suggested the presence of fluvial ystems and coastal ponds (Trevisani et al., 2005).

Another fossil resin found in Lessini Mountains, at Monte di Malo (Vicenza province) n Cava Rossi quarry, about 15 km from Bolca, has shown a strict similarity with Bolca amber Trevisani et al., 2005). The close resemblance of the physico–chemical properties of amber rom both sites (mainly FTIR spectra and thermal analysis behaviour), together with the iostratigraphical correlation obtained by means of larger foraminiferal biozones, permitted to ypothesize that the two amber layers are substantially isochronous (Middle Cuisian, Early


Eocene). However, it is possible to hypothesize some differences; while the Pesciara of Bolca palaeoenvironment was very close to the continental areas and with peculiar conditions allowing the exceptional preservation of the fauna and flora, the Cava Rossi palaeoenvironment was more distal and open to marine influxes, since scarce continental components but relative abundance of more frankly marine dinoflagellates were found.

Aim of future research will be to expand knowledge concerning Italian fossil resins of geological interest; in particular, the availability of some among the oldest samples in the world, may provide peculiar information on the process of amber maturation.

References 1. Boscardin, M., & Violati Tescari, O., 1996. Gemme del Vicentino. Publication of Museo

Civico G. Zannato, Montecchio Maggiore, Italy, 114 pp. 2. Catullo, T.A., 1827. Scoperta di una foresta fossile. Squarcio di lettera del Prof. Catullo al

Prof. Brugnatelli. Giornale di Fisica, Chimica, Storia Naturale Medicina ed Arti, Decade II, Tomo X, 151.

3. Gianolla, P., Ragazzi, E., & Roghi, G., 1998. Upper Triassic amber from the Dolomites (Northern Italy). A paleoclimatic indicator? Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 104 (3): 381–390.

4. Koken, E., 1913. Kennitnis der Schichten von Heiligenkreuz (Abteital, Südtirol). Abhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Geologischen Reichsandstalt 16 (4): 1 – 43.

5. Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, B., 1994. Bursztyn z Borneo - największe na świecie złoże żywicy kopalnej. Przegląd Geologiczny, 7:576–578, 604.

6. Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, B., 2001. Wie Bernstein entsteht. In:: Krumbiegel, G., Krumbiegel, B. (Eds.), Faszination Bernstein. Goldschneck-Verlag, pp. 17– 35.

7. Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, B., Krumbiegel, G., & Vavra, N., 1993. Glessit, ein tertiäres Harz von Angiospermen der Familie Burseraceae. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie 187 (3): 299– 324.

8. Langenheim, J.H., & Beck, C.W., 1968. Catalogue of infrared spectra of fossil resins (ambers): I. North and South America. Botanical Museum Leaflets Harvard University 22 (3): 65– 120.

9. Langenheim, J.H., 1969. Amber: a botanical inquiry. Science 163:1157– 1169. 10. Maffi, D., & Maffi, S., 1992. Le piu` antiche ambre delle Alpi. Paleocronache 1992 (1):,

39– 48. 11. Ragazzi, E., 2005. L’ambra, farmaco solare. Gli usi nella medicina del passato. Zielo

Edizioni, Padova, 114 pp. 12. Ragazzi, E., 2007. L’ambra in medicina. In: E. Trevisani (Ed), Ambra - Il fascino di una

gemma fra mito scienza e vanità. Minerva edizioni, Bologna, p. 44-52. 13. Ragazzi, E., Fedele, P., Gianolla, P., & Roghi, G., 2003. L’Ambra Triassica delle

Dolomiti. Rivista Mineralogica Italiana 1:21-22. 14. Ragazzi, E., & Roghi, G., 2003. Prima segnalazione di ambra nei sedimenti oligocenici di

Salcedo (Vi) e di Sedico (Bl). Studi e Ricerche, Associazione Amici del Museo, Museo Civico G. Zannato, Montecchio Maggiore, Italy, pp. 19–22.

15. Ragazzi, E., Roghi, G., & Gianolla, P., 2006. Comment On I. Angelini And P. Bellintani, ‘Archaeological Ambers From Northern Italy: An Ftir–Drift Study Of Provenance By Comparison With The Geological Amber Database’, Archaeometry 47, 2 (2005) 441–454. – Archaeometry 48 (4): 715-719.

16. Ragazzi, E., Roghi, G., Giaretta, A., & Gianolla, P., 2003. Classification of amber based on thermal analysis. Thermochimica Acta 404, 43–54.

17. Roghi, G., 2004. Palynological investigations in the Carnian of the Cave del Predil area (Julian Alps, NE Italy). Rev. Palaoeobot. Palynol. 65:179-193.


18. Roghi, G., Gianolla, P., & Ragazzi, E., 2002. Paleobotanical features of Upper Triassic amber in the Southern Alps (Italy). 6th European Paleobotany-Palynology Conference, August 29 - September 2, 2002, Athens (Greece), Abstract book, pp. 235-236.

19. Roghi G., Kustatscher E., & van Konijnenburg-van Cittert J.H.A., 2006. Late Triassic plants from the Julian Alps (Italy). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 45:133-140.

20. Roghi, G., Ragazzi, E., & Fedele, P., 2004. L’ambra cretacea delle Dolomiti e delle Prealpi Giulie (Italia). Giornate di Paleontologia S. P. I., Meeting of the Italian Palaeontological Society, Bolzano (Italy) 21-23 May 2004, Abstract book, p. 52.

21. Roghi, G., Ragazzi, E., & Gianolla, P., 2006. Triassic Amber of The Southern Alps (Italy). Palaios 21(2): 143-154.

22. Schmidt, A.R., Ragazzi, E., Coppellotti, O., & Roghi, G., 2006. A microworld in Triassic amber. Amber as old as the first dinosaurs captured the diversity of microbial life 220 million years ago. Nature 444 (14 Dec 2006): 835.

23. Skalski, A., & Veggiani, A. 1990. Fossil resin in Sicily and the Northern Apennines: Geology and organic content. Praze Muzeum Ziemi 41:37-49.

24. Stoppani, A., 1886. L’ambra nella storia e nella geologia con speciale riguardo agli antichi popoli d’Italia nei loro rapporti colle origini e collo svolgimento della civilta` in Europa. Fratelli Dumolard editori (Milano: coi tipi di A. Lombardi), Milano, XX-277 pp.

25. Tonidandel, L., Ragazzi, E., Roghi, G., & Traldi, P., 2008. Mass spectrometry in characterization of ambers. I. Studies of amber samples of different origin and ages by Laser Desorption Ionization, Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization and Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization mass spectrometry. Rapid Comm. Mass Spectrom. 22: (in press).

26. Trevisani, E., Papazzoni, C.A., Ragazzi, E., & Roghi, G., 2005. Early Eocene amber from the Pesciara di Bolca (Lessini Mountains, Northern Italy). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 223: 260– 274.

27. Wendt, J., & Fürsich, F.T., 1980. Facies analysis and palaeogeography of the Cassian Formation, Triassic, Southern Alps. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 85:1003–1028.

28. Zardini, R., 1973. Geologia e fossili attorno a Cortina d’Ampezzo. Ed. Ghedina, Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy), p. 34.

29. Zavialova, N., & Roghi, G., 2005. Exine morphology and ultrastructure of Duplicisporites from the Triassic of Italy. Grana 44: 337-342.


Amber deposits and finds in Belarus M.A. Bogdasarov

While studying the regularities of the dissemination of fossil resins on Earth it is not

difficult to notice that different kinds of fossil resins are linked to areas, which have retained certain features of their geological history. The resiniferous deposits of Belarus occupy a special position among the potentially productive complexes of amber of the western part of the East European platform. The terrain of south-western Belarus is situated between the floor spaces with documented amber deposits on the Sambian Peninsula and the north-western declines of the Ukrainian shield. Many common traits are found in the constitution, composition and conditions of the formation of the Paleogene deposits in those regions, which along with direct discoveries of fossil resins within the Polesye region of Belarus underscores the prospect of finding significant resin amounts there. The vast majority of the fossil resins found in the marine Paleogene deposits of Belarus is dated for the deposits of the Kharkov Fm. (=horizon), which in considerable terrain are widely found within all structure-facies zones (BURLAK 2005). In the most comprehensive profiles of the Kharkov Fm., the changeover of sediments reflecting the transgressive and regressive development cycles of a sea basin is observed.

The sediments of the bottom part of the Kharkov Fm. (Late Eocene) on the Polesye saddle and in the Podlasye-Brest depression are represented by arenaceous, glauconitic-quartz, micaceous, non-carbonated silts, with fields transforming into sands (glaucous, rarer green-grey, close-grained, frequently alevrite to various extent, clayed, glauconite-quartz, micaceous, non-carbonated). The sediments of the bottom part of the Kharkov Fm. are normally underlain by the formations of the Kiev Fm. and in the peripheral parts of the paleobasin in the south of the Polesye saddle and the Podlasye-Brest depression by the blurred formations of the Upper Cretaceous. Here, in the base surface of the profile, conglomerates of rubble and concretions of dark grey, very strongly phosphoritic sandstone are observed. The layer of the Upper Eocene sediments in the Podlasye-Brest depression is 10 to 12 meters and on the Polesye saddle it is 5 to 7 meters thick.

The deposits at the top of the Kharkov Fm. (Early Oligocene) in the south of the Polesye saddle and in the Podlasye-Brest depression are represented by the uniform stratum of glaucous, occasionally green-grey, close-grained, well sorted glauconite-quartz, frequently micaceous sands with occasional large and medium-sized well rounded quartz grains. The layer of the deposits at the top of the Kharkov Fm. considerably varies in thickness from 6 to 15 meters. Over the greater part of the Podlasye-Brest depression, the Kharkov Fm. is covered with the continental deposits of the Upper Oligocene – Neogene, while the rest of the area – with the Quaternary formations. The mineralogical composition of the formations of the Kharkov Fm. is dominated by quartz and glauconite, with a subordinate place occupied by muscovite, feldspars, phosphates, spalls of effusive and metamorphic rocks. The quantity of heavy mineral content is insignificant.

The age of the sediments of the Kharkov Fm. is determined on the basis of the studies of spores and pollen, algal flora, mollusks, spicules of sponges and confirmed by the data of the radioactive geochronology (BURLAK 2005). There are two palynocomplexes in these deposits, which are described quite well by S.S. MANYKIN (1973) and A.F. BURLAK (1992). The first is characteristic for the horizon’s bottom, its taxonomic composition is close to the Kiev suite (Middle Oligocene) and it displays considerable similarity with the spore-pollen complex of the Obuhov suite of the Kiev Pridneprovye territory (Upper Eocene). The second palynocomplex – in the upper portion of the deposits of the Kharkov Fm. – in its systematic composition of pollen of the coated and gymnosperms is close to the palynocomplex of the


Mezhigor suite (with amber) of northern Ukraine (Early Oligocene). Palaeontological data makes it possible to designate the age of the deposits of the Kharkov Fm. as Late Eocene – Early Oligocene (Priabonian – Rupelian). The Late Eocene age of its bottom is also confirmed by the results of the K-Ar analysis of the autogenic glauconite: by three definitions it is dated 37.0; 37.5 and 38.0 ± 2 million years (MURASHKO 1994).

By now, the fact of the amber-bearing sediments of the Kharkov Fm. on the territory of Belarus has been established by a large number of borehole profiles. However, due to the non-representative character of the sampling works, the obtained results do not provide enough reliable data on the scale of the ore fields. The resins in core samples typically have the form of thin scraps of grains with dimensions of no more than 1.0 cm. Quite possibly they were fragmented during the boring. From the point of view of the prospects of amber-bearing, the Polesye saddle is of the greatest interest and it is characterized by the accumulation of shallow-water deposits, in relation to the sineclizes situated to the east and to the west. The shallow (epicontinental) character of the water of the Eocene–Oligocene sea is confirmed by the differences in the Upper Oligocene spore-pollen complexes of the southwest and southeast regions of Belarus. Thus, the composition and interrelation of the found forms of the spore-pollen complexes of the western regions are closer to the even-aged complexes of the Baltic and Western Europe than to the complexes from the deposits of the southeast of the republic (BURLAK 2005).

Despite certain rearrangement at the tectonic stage of development, the Middle-Upper Paleogene sediments on the Polesye saddle (especially in its southern and eastern parts) are situated higher – in relation to the current hypsometric position of the base surface of the Kiev Fm. – in comparison with the adjoining floor spaces of the adjacent sineclizes. The amplitude of this difference is about 20 m and is especially accurately traced on isohypses +60 and +80 m. In the southern part of the terrain of the Polesye saddle, in the immediate vicinity of the floor spaces with the expressed recurrence of sedimentations, profiles which are completely filled with non-sorted sands are sometimes found. The formation of such profiles may have had a polygenetic nature but is more likely due to the perturbing influence of running paleorivers. The picture is completed by the accumulation of the gentle graded sands dissecting the deposit region of the carbonate rocks of the Kiev Fm. (Bartonian) and wedging in the field of argillaceous silts both of the Kiev and the Kharkov Fm. In the light of the above-mentioned criteria, the areas with such profiles have a potential of resin accumulation.

Single finds of fine resin grains are known in the Neogene deposits forming the so-called "lignite" formation in the southern regions of Belarus. Fossil resins are found in the closed-grained silica sands containing fine vegetative detritus and separate weathered glauconite grains. It seems that, due to denudation, they come from Paleogene resiniferous sediments which underlie the carboniferous strata. Considerable clumps of resins in the Neogene deposits of Belarus should not be expected.

The indirect testimony of the more amber-bearing deposits of the Kharkov Fm. are also the finds of individual chunks and the whole clumps of the redeposited fossil resin in Quaternary deposits in which they have been entered during the spreading of Paleogene formations. In the Quaternary deposits of Belarus, the finds of fossil resins are predominantly known in the south-west regions, in sandres and limnetic-alluvial plains of the Brest Polesye and in the alluvial plains of Pripyat Polesye. The distribution of the resin finds in the profile allows us to allocate them to fluvial-glacial and limnetic-alluvial facies. So far, about 50 sites of fossil resin finds have been recorded in the Quaternary deposits of the southwest of Belarus (AZHGIREVICH et al. 2000; BOGDASAROV 2001).

The forming of amber placers in the Quaternary sediments took place at the expense of the material from Paleogene deposits and the subsequent differentiation of this material in fluvial-glacial streams. This statement is a criterion for local forecasts and amber prospecting in areas which have not been researched yet (AZHGIREVICH et al. 2000; BOGDASAROV 2001).


The prospective evaluation of the amber-bearing and extraction possibilities of the Quaternary deposits of Belarus can be executed only for the southwest of its terrain. The Republic’s Southeast is not promising in this regard. The secondary amber placer accumulations revealed up until the present are not industrially viable. The fossil resin prospecting operations in the Quaternary deposits are carried out in a rather restricted terrain – only within a paludous massive of the Gatcha-Osovo occupying less of 10% of the total area of all perspective zones. The practical lack of prospecting activity in other areas provides statistical odds for finding more productive amber deposits here. On the other hand, the formation of successive deposits of resin dissipation in the Quaternary sediments points to the essential shattering of the resin’s secondary deposits and the necessity to make a good note of this factor at a potential assessment of Paleogene deposits.

The largest and best studied deposit of fossil resins is Gatcha-Osovo, located in the interfluve of the left-hand inflows of the river Muhavets – the rivers Osipovka and Trostjanitsa, approximately 12 km to the South-West from Kobrin. Its geological constitution is typical of the majority of some considerable resin clumps in the Quaternary sediments of Belarus. Analyzing the composition of the deposit components and the peculiarities of fossil resins distribution, it is possible to conclude that the main productive sediments are: sandy-gravel admixtures of the roof of the Dnepr glacial complex of the Pripyat horizon, lying down on Dnepr moraine and coated by Belarus-Lakeland limnetic-alluvial deposits, and Holocene deposits of various genesis.

Today the amber productivity of the individual horizons of Cenozoic deposits of Belarus is confirmed by a number of excavation sites and does not invoke any doubts. The available research allows us to expect that these deposits can actually be extracted. As results of the explorations, stratigraphic correlations and reasons for the formation of accumulations in Paleogene deposits have been detailed. It has been determined that the discovery of the buried amber placer accumulations was most probable in the deposits of top Kharkov, Stradub and Krupej horizons. The criteria for the location of amber-bearing placer accumulations in fluvial-glacial sediments over the Dnepr moraine and in younger Quaternary sandy deposits have been revealed. We need to emphasise the significance of prospective areas when acquiring fossil resin fields, taking into account their frequency, the location of the amber-bearing sediments, as well as the presence of amber in drill core samples.

Having recognised the expertise of the prospecting and evaluation operations in the Gatcha-Osovo area, it is necessary to emphasize that the assessed potential of the Quaternary deposits calls for certain restraint. It is necessary to assume that both in placer accumulation formations and in other types of deposits, certain processes may cancel all the other favourable formation factors (PETROV 2005). Water pulsation and the velocity of fluvial-glacial streams could have become such unfavourable circumstances. Instead of creating accumulation-prone sites, they may have caused the distribution and dispersion of amber over vast areas.

The finds of fossil resins are rather rare and peculiar, which influences largely the character of geological prerequisites for fossil resin prospecting and evaluation. Due to the fact that resin accumulation is determined by the joint action of tectonic, geomorphological, stratigraphic, litological and mineralogical factors, the basic criteria for deposits prospecting are considered analogous. It is well-known that several kinds of resins can be found in one area. Contemporary methods of investigation make it possible to identify amber (succinite), as well as other fossil resins, which are in no way inferior to amber both in quality and in price. Consequently, the most important prerequisites for the classification of fossil resin deposits must be not only the reconstruction of the conditions of formation of the rocks which contain them, performed on the basis of a complex of special geological investigations, but the actual mineralogical determination of fossil resins.


References 1. Burlak A.F. The stratigraphy scheme of Paleogene deposits of Belarus / А.F. Burlak,

K.I. Davydik, L.I. Murashko // Lithosphere. – 2005. – № 1 (22). – P. 124–134. 2. Manykin, S.S. Paleogen of Belarus / S.S. Manykin. – Minsk: Science and Technics, 1973.

– 135 p. 3. Burlak, A.F. New palynological data to stratigraphy and correlations Paleogene deposits

of the West of the USSR / А.F. Burlak // Flora and fauna Cenozoic of Belarus / Institute of geochemistry and geophysics AS BSSR; under the editorship of E.A. Levkov. – Minsk, 1992. – P. 103–109.

4. Murashko, L.I. Isotope age of glauconitic-quartz breeds Paleogene of Belarus / L.I. Murashko // Lithosphere. – 1994. – № 1. – P. 182–184.

5. Problems of amber-bearing of Belarus / L.F. Azhgirevich et all.; BELGEO; under the editorship of V.A. Moskvich. – Minsk, 2000. – 144 p.

6. Bogdasarov, M.A. Amber from Quaternary deposits of Belarus / M.A. Bogdasarov. – Brest: S. Lavrov's publishing house, 2001. – 124 p.

7. Petrov N.P. Amber-bearing of Cenozoic deposits of territory of Belarus // Geology, searches and development of mineral deposits of Belarus. – Minsk, 2005. – P. 25–32.


Descriptive types and syninclusions at the University of Gdańsk’s Museum of Amber Inclusions.

Elżbieta Sontag, Museum of Amber Inclusions, Faculty of Invertebrate Zoology, University of Gdańsk, Al. Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, [email protected]

In mid-1998, the Museum of Amber Inclusions was established at the University of

Gdańsk’s Faculty of Invertebrate Zoology. Over the decade of the laboratory’s work, thanks to the efforts of the amber community, collectors, scientists and sometimes even lay people, we have accumulated a scientific natural history collection with over 13,000 animal inclusions. However, the greatness of a natural history collection is not measured by the number of specimens alone. The important thing is what kinds of specimens they are and what the quality of the collection’s scientific description is. Even in the case of this type of collection, the most valuable specimens are not unique inclusions but so-called descriptive types, also referred to as typical specimens (holotypes1, paratypes2). A typical specimen is a model on the basis of which a scientist describes a species which is new to science. According to the principles of the International Codes of Nomenclature (ICN) such a specimen must be kept at a public institution, be appropriately labelled and easy to find in the collection. The easy access to descriptive types and their special protection against damage or loss make it possible to verify future research and hypotheses. The usefulness of the ICN principles is especially evident during the review of taxonomic groups with species described in previous centuries (especially in the case of inclusion research), where new research techniques make it possible to verify and supplement their diagnostic features.

The University of Gdańsk’s Museum of Amber Inclusions has 9 descriptive types. Five of them were donated by persons who were aware that these were species new to science, while four were selected from among the specimens in the collections donated to the Museum. As a token of gratitude to the donator, we commemorate their first or last name in the name of the species. The descriptive types in the collection have got a distinctive red label and are stored separately in an extra protective case. We are now working on redeveloping the Museum’s web-site (www.muzeum.gda.pl), with its new version to contain information about our holotypes. The collection of the Museum of Amber Inclusions has the following descriptive types:

Diptera Aedes serafini SZADZIEWSKI, 1998 Metahelea serafini SZADZIEWSKI, 1998 Dicranomyia kalandyki KRZEMIŃSKI, 2000 Mallochohelea martae SZADZEWSKI, 2005 Gedanoborus kerneggeri SZADZIEWSKI & GIŁKA, 2007

Neuroptera Hemisemidalis kulickae DOBOSZ & KRZEMIŃSKI, 2000

Coleoptera Colotes sambicus KUBISZ, 2001

Ephemeroptera Burshtynogena fereci GODUNKO & SONTAG, 2004

Hemiptera

1 holotype – a specimen which was selected from a series and served to describe a species 2 paratypes – other specimens from the descriptive series


Glisachaemus jonasdamzeni SZWEDO, 2007 The University’s inclusion collection is a natural history repository which not only

stores taxonomic research evidence material but is also a base for research on Tertiary biodiversity, palaeobioloy and palaeoecology.

Given research conducted on the many-thousand specimen collection, it would seem that the picture of the Eocene forest based on plant and animal inclusions is almost perfect. However, when we attempt to reconstruct this habitat, we must not forget that the group of fossil organisms, or taphocenosis, does not necessarily reflect the biocenosis of the time. The Tertiary biocenosis was distorted because of a number of factors, including the damage done to the inclusions during the long fossilisation process and the selectivity of the researched collections, which receive only specimens noticed by collectors. Even more important are the factors which came into play during the forming of Baltic amber, i.e. the selectivity of the resin trap, the vast area of Fennoscandia and the long period of Baltic amber’s formation, which could have taken as long as 11 million years (RITZKOWSKI 1999). Given such great vastness of both space and time, the insects typical of tropical and subtropical fauna could have been embedded in the resin far earlier than the boreal species without ever coexisting, even though today these animals constitute a single taphocenosis. Bearing the these factors in mind, inclusion researchers began to recognise the potential value of joint inclusions, which are the only evidence of the coexistence of different species and can provide valuable information on palaeoecology and palaeozoogeography (LOEW 1864, WHEELER 1915; SKALSKI 1985; KOTEJA 1986, 1989, 1996, 1998). In 1989, Jan Koteja introduced the terms syninclusions, for joint inclusions occurring in a single specimen.

Given the above suggestions, which indicate the need to keep whole nuggets in museum collections, amber specimens at the Museum of Amber Inclusions are only processed to the necessary minimum, while the inclusions are not cut out. Such a preparation method, as well as the possibility of obtaining unselected material, have led to as many as 50% of the over 5,000 nuggets containing syninclusions (Fig. 1). They contain over 10,000 animal inclusions, which accounts for 81.2% of the specimens in the entire collection.

Even though the nuggets are not cut, this does not hinder cataloguing. In order to facilitate access to individual specimens while retaining information about the coexisting inclusions, the catalogue is kept in two formats: in MS Word, where the ordinal number refers to the nugget’s inventory number, and in MS Excel, in which the collection is catalogued in taxonomic sequence while retaining the inventory number of the nugget in which they were found (Fig. 2). The labels are based on the MS Word catalogue, where all the inclusions are listed under the nugget’s number. This list is a database which can be used for any type of research or comparison. The nugget number is the basic indicator in the inventory, so if during detailed research on a given species other coexisting specimens get destroyed, this does not upset the Museum’s numbering. The information about the damaged inclusions remains on the label with the appropriate annotation: “former.” Special treatment is reserved only for nuggets with descriptive types, which cannot be cut.

Sometimes a discussion arises between the scientists who describe the species and the museum staff: does it make sense to keep nuggets which sometimes contain as much as several dozen inclusions in the museum? Perhaps it would be better to prepare small plates with one specimen each? Currently there is no doubt that creating groups by taxon is not necessary. With today’s computer technology it is no problem to find a specimen from a given taxon, even if it is contained in a nugget with 50 other inclusions.


67,6%

40,1%50,0%

32,4%

59,9%50,0%

unselected material material in MAI from collection all MAI collection

pieces with only onezooinclusion

pieces with syninclusions

Figure 1. Share of nuggets with syninclusions in the collection of the Museum of Amber Inclusions University of Gdańsk.

Figure 2. Inventory breakdown in MS Word and Excel format.


Bibliography 1. DOBOSZ R. KRZEMIŃSKI W. 2000. A new species of the Coniopterygidae (Neuroptera)

from Baltic amber. Pol. Pismo Entomol. 69, pp. 219-224. 2. GODUNKO R., SONTAG E. 2004. Burshtynogena fereci gen. and sp. nov. (Ephemeroptera:

Heptageniidae) from Eocene Baltic amber. Annales Zoologici. Warszawa, 54(3): 515-518 3. KOTEJA J. 1986. Inkluzje wspólne. Biuletyn sekcji owadów kopalnych 4: 4–5. 4. KOTEJA J. 1989. Syninclusions. Wrostek (Inclusion) 8: 7–8. 5. KOTEJA J. 1996. Syninclusions. Wrostek (Inclusion) 22: 10–13. 6. KOTEJA J. 1998. Essays on coccids (Homoptera): Sudden death in amber? Pol. Pismo

Entomol. 67: 185–218. 7. KRZEMIŃSKI W. 2000. A new species and other representatives of the genus Dicranomyia

(Diptera: Limoniidae) in the collection of the Museum of Amber Inclusions, University of Gdańsk. Pol. Pismo Entomol. 69, pp. 347-353.

8. KUBISZ D. 2001. Beetles in the collection of the Museum of Amber Inclusions, University of Gdańsk, with description of Colotes sambicus sp. n. (Coleoptera: Melyridae) Pol. Pismo Entomol. 70, pp. 259-266.

9. LOEW H. 1864. On the Diptera or two–winged insects of the amber fauna. Am. J. Sci. Arts, 37: 305–324.

10. RITZKOWSKI S. 1999. Das geologische alter der bernsteinführenden Sedimente in Sambia (Bezirk Kaliningrad), bei Bitterfeld (Sachsen–Anhalt) und bei Helmstedt (Se–Niedersachsen). In: Kosmowska–Ceranowicz B., Paner H. (red) Investigation into amber. Muzeum Archeologiczne, Gdańsk: 33–38.

11. SKALSKI A. 1985. Motyle (Lepidoptera) w bursztynie bałtyckim. Wiad. Entomologiczne Vol. VI. 3–4: 207–210.

12. SZADZIEWSKI R., 1998. A new species of the predaceous midge genus Metahelea from Baltic amber (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Pol. Pismo Entomol. 67: 245-253.

13. SZADZIEWSKI R., 1998. New mosquitoes from Baltic amber (Diptera: Culicidae). Pol.Pismo Entomol. 67: 233-244.

14. SZADZIEWSKI R., 2005 The first fossil species in the predaceous midge tribe Sphaeromiini (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Pol. Pismo Entomol. 74: 363-368.

15. SZADZIEWSKI R., GIŁKA W. 2007. Gedanoborus kerneggeri, gen. et sp. nov. (Diptera: Chaoboridae) from Eocene Baltic amber. Insect Systematics & Evolution 38: 193-200.

16. SZWEDO, J. (2007). Glisachaemus jonasdamzeni gen. et sp. nov. of Cixiidae from the Eocene Baltic amber (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha), Alavesia 1: 109-116

17. WHEELER W.M. 1915. The ants of the Baltic amber. Schr. Phys.–ökon. Ges. Königsberg, 55: 1–142.


The amber trading centre west of the mouth of the River Vistula during the time of Roman influence

Marcin Stąporek

The network of long-distance trade contacts, which developed in the final centuries of antiquity in “barbarian” Central Europe, is one of the most spectacular phenomena in the prehistory of this area. Much attention was devoted to researching this subject in the 20th century, which led to valuable monographic papers3. However, many aspects of this trade still remain insufficiently researched.

These issues include the location of the more important trading centres in the area of the Gulf of Gdańsk and the Vistula River Delta. The terminal section of the Amber Route, which went down the Vistula from the bend of the river near Fordon, turned to the north-east at the fork of the Rivers Vistula and Nogat in the direction of Sambia Peninsula. Two of the region’s three main trading centres were located along its course: one in the vicinity of Malbork and the other in the Elbląg Upland4. The third centre, which was discovered thanks to archaeological finds, was west of the mouth of the Vistula, most likely in present-day Pruszcz Gdański. The clearest evidence of its activity are southern imports: Celtic products from the 1st century BCE, Roman coins and products made by craftsmen working in the Empire’s provinces across the centuries.

In order to build a theoretical model which would explain the founding and operation of this centre, we will first focus on the natural conditions. The Pruszcz centre developed in a very fortunate location: at the borderline between the upland and the low-lying Vistula River Delta. The Delta area, which today is completely joined with the mainland, was in ancient times largely under water, making it a shallow lagoon cut off from the open waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk by the wall of the Vistula Sandbar. This lagoon became increasingly shallow as the rubble carried by the Vistula filled it in. However, as late as in the early Middle Ages there was still a large lake in the area between Gdańsk and Pruszcz. Using the retrospective method, we can deduce that in the times of Roman influence the area of present-day Pruszcz Gdański adjoined a large, although shallow body of water which had links to the River Vistula and through the Vistula Sandbar with the Gulf of Gdańsk. This area was accessible only to shallow draught boats, which at the time were the only known type of sea vessel in the Baltic.

The Gdańsk Upland, which is the easternmost part of the Kashubian Lakeland, terminates with a moderately sloped edge bordering the Vistula Delta. Flowing down from the Upland, the River Radunia built a huge alluvial fan at its base. The area was located high

Footnotes: 3 M. in. W. Łęga, Handel między państwem rzymskim a Pomorzem Nadwiślańskim [Trade Between Rome and Vistulan Pomerania], Przegląd Archeologiczny 10, 1954–1956 (Ed. 1958), pp. 5–87; J. Wielowiejski, Główny szlak bursztynowy w czasach Cesarstwa Rzymskiego [The Main Amber Route during the Times of the Roman Empire, Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków-Gdańsk 1980; J. Kolendo, Wyprawa po bursztyn bałtycki za Nerona [The Expedition for Baltic Amber During Nero’s Reign], Pomorania Antiqua, vol. 10, 1981, pp. 25–63; ibid., Napływ bursztynu z Północy na tereny Imperium Rzymskiego w I–VI w. n.e. [The Inflow of Amber from the North to the Territories of the Roman Empire in the 1st – 6th Centuries CE], Prace Muzeum Ziemi, vol. 41: Prace z zakresu badań nad bursztynem bałtyckim, 1990, pp. 91–100; R. Ciołek, Znaleziska monet rzymskich na tle osadnictwa Pomorza w okresie wpływów rzymskich i Wędrówek Ludów [Roman Coin Finds vs. Pomeranian Settlement During the Period of Roman Influence and the Migration of Peoples], Światowit NS 3, Fasc. B, 2001, pp. 11–15; ibid., Katalog znalezisk monet rzymskich na Pomorzu [Catalogue of Roman Coin Finds in Pomerania], Światowit Supplement, Series A: Antiquity, vol. VI, Warszawa 2001. 4 J. Okulicz-Kozaryn, Centrum kulturowe z pierwszych wieków naszej ery u ujścia Wisły [Cultural Centre From the First Centuries CE at the Mouth of the Vistula], Barbaricum, vol. 2, 1992, pp. 137–155.


enough for the homesteads that were built upon it not to be threatened by floods and was a perfect area for settlement. At the same time the Radunia Valley was a convenient route to the Upland, where mixed forests full of game and wood grew. The post-glacial formations which the Upland was made of were a source of clay, rock, lime and iron ore. The areas within the Vistula Delta in turn offered boggy meadows suitable for livestock grazing. All these areas were sources of farmland to various degree. The bodies of water in the Delta guaranteed an abundance of fish and molluscs.

The area at the mouth of the Radunia up to the lagoon lake has a long tradition of settlement. Prehistoric people readily settled in this area from at least the end of the Late Stone Age. In the Early Iron Age, the communities settled here began to establish trade contacts and enter the system of long-distance trade in materials and goods. This is proven by discoveries such as in Site 18 in Pruszcz Gdański. A facility deemed to be a specially-built amber storehouse was found there. In fact, it was a type of semi-dugout, inside which 3.65 kg of raw amber and over a dozen semi-finished products were found. Barbara Wiącek raised the thesis that this may be a remnant of the oldest amber workshop discovered in East Pomerania5. Evidence of the accumulation of raw amber was also found in other archaeological sites from the same period6. On the other hand, the maintaining of long-distance trading contacts in the Early Iron Age is proved by the discovery of objects of definite Mediterranean origin in the direct vicinity of Pruszcz and in the town itself, including especially glass beads and kauri shells (a shell of a snail of the genus Cyprea)7.

Settlement at the mouth of the Radunia developed especially intensively in antiquity’s final centuries. An entire series of archaeological sites was discovered here, some of which are “manufacturing” in nature, such as the remains of the primitive iron smelting facilities and lime kilns8; some of these sites are traces of settlements, while others are burial grounds (including four large burial grounds in Pruszcz Gdański9 and others in the neighbouring towns

5 B. Wiącek, Z zagadnień produkcyjnych we wczesnej epoce żelaza na Pomorzu Wschodnim [Manufacturing Issues in the Early Iron Age in East Pomerania], in: Problemy kultury pomorskiej, ed. T. Malinowski, Koszalin 1979, pp. 209nn. 6 In the direct vicinity of Pruszcz Gdański these are the finds from Cieplewo, Juszkowo and Rotmanka: Z. Bukowski, Bursztyn a kontakty Pomorza Wschodniego we wczesnej epoce żelaza [Amber and the Contacts of East Pomerania in the Early Iron Age], in: Aktualne problemy kultury pomorskiej, eds. M. Fudziński, H. Paner, Gdańsk 2005, pp. 47–48. 7 L. J. Łuka, Uwagi o niektórych kontaktach Pomorza Wschodniego z basenem Morza Śródziemnego we wczesnej epoce żelaza [Notes on Certain Contacts Between East Pomerania and the Mediterranean Basin in the Early Iron Age], Archeologia Polski, vol. 8, 1963, pp. 274–288. 8 M. Pietrzak, Piece do wypalania wapna ze starszego okresu wpływów rzymskich w Pruszczu Gdańskim [Lime Kilns from the Early Period of Roman Influence in Pruszcz Gdański], Pomorania Antiqua, vol. 2, 1968, pp. 267–282; ibid., Sprawozdanie z badań ratowniczych na osadzie kultury wenedzkiej w Różynach, pow. Gdańsk [Report on Rescue Research on the Wendish Culture Settlement in Rożyny, Gdańsk County], Sprawozdania Archeologiczne, vol. 19, pp. 95–98.; A. Ostasz, Osada produkcyjna z okresu wpływów rzymskich w Pruszczu Gdańskim, stanowisko nr 42 [Manufacturing Settlement From the Period of Roman Influence in Pruszcz Gdański, Site No. 42], in: XIV Sesja Pomorzoznawcza, vol. 1. Od epoki kamienia do okresu rzymskiego, eds. M. Fudziński, H. Paner, Gdańsk 2005, pp. 471–485. 9 Only research on the burial ground in Site No. 10 was fully published: M. Pietrzak, Pruszcz Gdański, Fundstelle 10. Ein Gräberfeld der Oksywie- und Wielbark-Kultur in Ostpommern, Monumenta Archaeologica Barbarica IV, Kraków 1997; the others are known from smaller papers dispersed in various publications, including W. La Baume, Ausgrabungen bei Praust, Kreis Danziger Höhe (1925 und 1926). Vorläufiger Bericht, Blätter für deutsche Vorgeschichte 4, Danzig 1926, pp. 2–5; R. Schindler, Neue Gräberfunde aus Praust, Gothiskandza 1, 1939, pp. 43–46; M. Pietrzak, Cmentarzyska z Pruszcza Gdańskiego w młodszym okresie rzymskim [Burial Grounds in Pruszcz Gdański from the Later Roman Period], in: Kultura wielbarska w młodszym okresie rzymskim, vol. I, eds. J.Gurba, A. Kokowski, Lublin 1988, pp. 51–65; M. Tuszyńska, Cmentarzysko płaskie kultury oksywskiej i kultury wielbarskiej z młodszego okresu przedrzymskiego i okresu wpływów rzymskich w Pruszczu Gdańskim, woj. gdańskie, stanowisko 7 [The Flat Burial Ground of the Oksywie and Wielbark Cultures from the Later Pre-Roman Period and the Period of Roman Influence in Pruszcz Gdański, Gdańsk Province, Site No. 7], in: Najnowsze kierunki badań najdawniejszych dziejów Pomorza, ed. W.


of Żukczyn10, Różyny11, Ulkowy12 and Skowarcz). By analysing the number of burials from individual chronological stages, we can infer a considerable population growth dynamic. While there are few graves from the 2nd century BCE, their number quickly rises later on, to reach its peak in the period from the end of the 2nd to the beginning of the 4th century CE. It seems that at the time this area developed into one of the largest population centres in what is now Poland.

Access to the lagoon lake gave the inhabitants special benefits. Even though the development of water transport in the Baltic Sea basin was slow, it was at latest at the turn of the millennia that boats which made it possible to sail out to sea appeared. Apart from fishing, they could have well been used for transport13. Maritime transport routes began to develop. Sailors who sailed along the Baltic shore must have valued places like the shallow lagoon sheltered from the open sea by the sandbar wall, which provided them with a haven in case of forced stops in their voyages. Considering there was a convenient haven at the Radunia’s outlet to the lagoon, it is only natural that this place began to be frequented by seafaring boats.

The contact with the sailors began to impact the lives of the local populace. The inhabitants saw the benefits of having wood and tools necessary for boat repair: people who specialised in such repairs appeared, and then came those who even offered sailors the purchase of a new vessel, should the old one be unfit for further voyage. And if the haven and help seeking sailors also happened to be merchants, there must have certainly been an exchange of goods which helped give birth to market places and fostered an evolution towards an early port of trade.

The settlement here was located at the junction of land transport routes: one running along the base of the Upland, more or less along the present-day road from Gdańsk to Tczew, and another descending along the Radunia Valley from the Kashubian Lakeland. To this we may add internal waterways, e.g. leading to settlements on the eastern edge of the Delta. This would therefore indicate a significant intersection of routes which gave additional importance to the haven-cum-marketplace by giving e.g. long-distance merchants the opportunity to change their mode of transport from land to water and vice-versa. Filipowiak, Szczecin 1995, pp. 211–218; M. Pietrzak, F. Rożnowski, Niezwykłe pochówki z późnego okresu rzymskiego z Pruszcza Gdańskiego, stanowisko 5 [Unusual Burials from the Late Roman Period in Pruszcz Gdański, Site No. 5], in: Concordia. Studia ofiarowane Jerzemu Okuliczowi-Kozarynowi w sześćdziesiątą piątą rocznicę urodzin, ed. W. Nowakowski, Warszawa 1996, pp. 193–198; M. Pietrzak, Dalsze odkrycia na cmentarzysku z późnego okresu wpływów rzymskich i wędrówek ludów w Pruszczu Gdańskim, stan. 5, [Further Discoveries in the Burial Ground from the Late Period of Roman Influence and the Migration of Peoples in Pruszcz Gdański, Site No. 5], in: Acta Archaeologica Pomoranica, vol. I, eds. M. Dworaczyk, P. Krajewski, E. Wilgocki, Szczecin 1998, pp. 121–126; M. Tuszyńska, Neue Entdeckungen im Gräberfeld der Wielbark-Kultur aus der römischen Kaiserzeit und der frühen Völkerwanderungszeit in Pruszcz Gdański, Fundstelle 5, in: Die spätrömische Kaiserzeit und die frühe Völkerwanderungszeit in Mittel- und Osteuropa, eds. M. Mączyńska, T. Grabarczyk, Łódź 2000, pp. 132–141. 10 M. Pietrzak, Wyniki badań na cmentarzysku z młodszego okresu przedrzymskiego i wpływów rzymskich w Żukczynie, sta. 1, gm. Pruszcz Gdański [Results of Research on the Burial Ground from the Later Pre-Roman Period and the Period of Roman Influence in Żukczyn, Site No. 1, Pruszcz Gdański Municipality], Sprawozdania Gdańskiego Towarzystwa Naukowego, vol. 5, 1978, pp. 74–75. 11 M. Tuszyńska, M. Stąporek, Badania na cmentarzysku w Różynach, gm. Pszczółki w latach 2001-2002 [Research on the Burial Ground in Różyny, Pszczółki Municipality in 2001-2002], in: XIV Sesja Pomorzoznawcza, vol. 1. Od epoki kamienia do okresu rzymskiego, eds. M. Fudziński, H. Paner, Gdańsk 2005, pp. 353–361. 12 M. Tuszyńska, Ulkowy, cmentarzysko kultury wielbarskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim [Ulkowy, Wielbark Culture Burial Ground in Gdańsk Pomerania], Gdańsk 2005. 13 P. Smolarek, Zabytki szkutnictwa skandynawskiego [Artefacts of Scandinavian Boatbuilding], Prace Muzeum Morskiego w Gdańsku, vol. I, Gdańsk 1963, pp. 26n.; C. von Carnap-Bornheim, Morskie wyprawy barbarzyńców w 3 w. n.e. – Skandynawia, Morze Północne, Morze Czarne [Voyages of the Barbarians in the 3rd Century CE: Scandinavia, the North Sea, the Black Sea], in: 20 lat archeologii w Masłomęczu, II. Goście, eds. J. Ilkjaer, A. Kokowski, Lublin 1998, pp. 21–34.


What was it that made this particular centre the target of Celtic merchants looking for Baltic amber in the final centuries before Christ? Jerzy Wielowiejski attempted to explain this by citing the reputedly poorer access to other sections of the coast of the Gulf of Gdańsk, thwarted by the development of the Vistula River Delta14. However, this argument falls through when we consider that the “bridges” in the Dzierzgoń River Valley on the route to Sambia were most likely used and repaired during this period15. Therefore, we need to look for other reasons. These could have been: the reputation enjoyed by the local marketplace as a trading centre; an older tradition associating the settlements at the mouth of the Radunia with the amber trade (the above-mentioned amber workshop and raw amber storage cellar from the Early Iron Age discovered in Pruszcz Gdański in Site No. 18 would be evidence of this); the attractiveness of a large population centre as a potential sales market for merchants carrying valuable goods. Last but not least, it would be difficult to underestimate the benefits which a location on the intersection of transport routes and in an area of the crisscrossing of the influence of various cultural and ethnic groups provided to the development of the local trading centre. In the case of the centre at the mouth of the Radunia, the important contacts were across the Gulf of Gdańsk with the tribes in Sambia (who had the largest amber resources) and across the sea with Scandinavia and the Baltic islands.

All this indicates that it is in the area of Pruszcz Gdański that we should look for one of the trading centres referred to as commercia in the famous text by Pliny the Elder about the Roman equestrian sent to the Baltic coast during Nero’s reign16. When referring to barbarian lands, which had not yet developed towns, it would be difficult to interpret this term better than as a “trading place,” although recently the somewhat deceiving term “factory” or “trading post” has been endorsed in this context. In such centres, the strangers from the south would purchase amber and other goods which interested them, such as beeswax, perhaps furs and sealskin.

The local populace managed to benefit from its strategic location and the merchants’ interest in their lands. It surely came up with certain forms to organise the trade and created the necessary infrastructure, e.g. a market square and platforms or quays for the boats to moor. Perhaps certain dates were established (e.g. once or twice a year), when a kind of “fair” would take place; we cannot rule out that a certain truce was mandatory then whereby all intertribal conflicts would be put on hold for the duration of the trading. Also important was the accumulating of appropriate stocks of amber on the site; to this end, it was presumably necessary to organise regular deliveries from the most productive deposits in the Vistula Sandbar and Sambia Peninsula.

Looking for analogies to the operation of a commercium at the mouth of the Radunia, it is worthwhile citing the Danish excavations in Lundeborg on Fionia Island. In a location directly by the Great Belt, a settlement developed in the times of Roman influence to take advantage of its strategic location on the great trading routes.17 In the cultural layer, traces were discovered to indicate that a marketplace operated within the settlement. Diverse goods were exchanged there, including some products imported from the Roman provinces: beads, glass receptacles, luxury ceramics (terra sigillata), and certainly also bronze and silverware. The marketplace is linked to such finds as weights, silver denars and small pieces of gold, which served as currency. The trade attracted local craftsmen. The finds from the cultural level prove in fact that it was the craftsmen who played the dominant role in the settlement. They surely settled there because of the possibility to sell their wares. The crafts whose traces

14 J. Wielowiejski, Główny szlak bursztynowy...[The Main Amber Route], pp. 124n. 15 J. Sadowska-Topór, Starożytne drogi w dolinie rzeki Dzierzgoń w świetle badań archeologicznych [Ancient Roads in the Dzierzgoń River Valley in Light of Archaeological Research], Adalbertus, vol. 4, Warszawa 1999. 16 J. Kolendo, Wyprawa po bursztyn...[The Expedition for Amber], pp. 40nn. 17 P. O. Thomsen, Lundeborg – an Early Port of Trade in South-East Funen, in: The Archaeology of Gudme and Lundeborg, eds. P. O. Nielsen, K. Randsborg, H. Thrane, København 1994, pp. 23–29.


were found in Lundeborg included carpentry (with finds of tools such as axes, hews and drills), jewellery-making, iron metalwork, amber, bone and horn working (especially the comb-making). Boatbuilding was of high importance, as indicated by numerous rivets and woodworking tools. This was surely due to the frequent boat repairs performed there.

Also in the case of the trading centres by the Gulf of Gdańsk there might have been an influx of settlement of entrepreneuring individuals who were attracted by the profits to be made from trade. Jerzy Okulicz-Kozaryn is of the opinion that these people – merchants, sailors and craftsmen of various specialities – would come from ethnically diverse tribal territories, not only from the direct vicinity (Pomerania, Sambia), but from as far away as Scandinavia, the Danish Islands or the territories by the River Elbe.18

The trading centre in Pruszcz Gdański was the economic focal point of settlement on the edge of the Upland between Tczew and Gdańsk, perhaps even for all of East Pomerania. It is worth considering the internal development of this centre during the period of Roman influence. Initially, merchants would come here only for raw amber nuggets, gathered on the seashore or on the shoals. From the Baltic coast the raw amber would be transported through what is now Poland to the Roman provinces. The situation began to change at the end of the 2nd century. It was probably then that workshops specialising in amber working sprang up. Jerzy Okulicz is of the opinion that it was then that the distribution of Baltic amber passed from the hands of foreign middlemen to the merchants from the mouth of the Vistula. The sale of finished products and the lack of foreign agency brought much bigger profits than selling raw amber on the local market. Customers for amber products were sought after not only in the provinces of the Roman Empire, but also in Barbaricum. And so, for instance, distinctive and mass produced figure-of-eight amber beads are found in Pomerania, but also in Scandinavia, the Ukraine, by the banks of the River Rhine, by the middle Danube, in Gaul and in Britain.19

In the 3rd century, Italy lost its dominant economic and political position within the Roman Empire. Together with Italy, the importance of the old Amber Route also diminished. New trade routes appeared in its place. One took a sea route along the southern coasts of the Baltic, through the Danish Straits to the coasts of Gaul and Britain, the second, land-based route went south-eastward, up the River Bug and then through the Black Sea steppe to the Black Sea coast. This was where several old Greek trading colonies were located (incl. Olbia and Tanais), which were subject to the authority of the Roman emperors, and was a starting point for a further journey by sea to Constantinople: the Empire’s new capital.

When analysing the finds in graves in the burial grounds of Pruszcz Gdański and its vicinity, it is easy to notice a gradual rise in the affluence of the local populace. From the second half of the 2nd century, in the 3rd and even partially in the 4th century, there was a considerable influx of imports from the Roman provinces: bronze vessels, enamel-decorated fastenings, glass vessels, coins and glass beads. Some of these objects may be identified as originating from the Empire’s western provinces (Rhineland, Gaul, Britain – these were most likely imported to the mouth of the Vistula by sea), others as goods originating in the towns by the Black Sea (which surely must have been brought via the south-east route). The boom was also reflected in local manufacture. Local goldsmithing enjoyed rapid development, caused by the demand from more and more affluent customers and also by the import of precious metals. The graves contained many fastenings, bracelets, pendants, S-shaped clasps and other ornaments richly decorated with silver and gold, made with advanced goldsmithing techniques, like filigree, granulation, and coating with gold and silver foil. Often found are necklaces with locally produced, excellent quality amber beads.

18 J. Okulicz-Kozaryn, Amber and the “Amber Coast” in Late Antiquity, in: Amber. Views, opinions, eds. B. Kosmowska-Ceranowicz, W. Gierłowski, Gdańsk-Warsaw 2006, p. 118. 19 Ibid., p. 119.


Later events and population migrations, especially the migrations of the German and Hun tribes caused the Pruszcz centre to lose its significance; however, as late as in the early 5th century it still played a certain role in long-distance contacts.20 The definite end to the development of this settlement took place at the end of the 5th century, after which the areas west of the mouth of the Vistula fell into a settlement crisis.

● ● ● There is an attempt to benefit from the ancient trading traditions of the settlement at the mouth of the Radunia: the project calling for the reconstruction of the trading settlement from the times of the Roman influence developed in recent years by the authorities of Pruszcz Gdański, under the promotional name of the “Roman Trading Post” or the “Amber Trading Post.” Replicas of huts from the final centuries of antiquity are to house workshops which would recreate the work of local craftsmen from the times of the Roman influence. Special emphasis is to be put on the local amber working traditions. The ties to the ancient Mediterranean civilisations are to be brought back through such events as the reconstruction of a caravan of merchants from Rome. The successful promotion of the project has already led to a noticeable rise in the region’s inhabitants’ interest in antiquity issues which, we hope, will lead in the future to in-depth studies on these important matters.

20 K. Godłowski, Okres wędrówek ludów na Pomorzu [The Migration of Peoples Period in Pomerania], Pomorania Antiqua, vol. 10, 1981, pp. 65–129.


Fluctuations in the supply of raw amber in 1981‐2006 Wiesław Gierłowski, e.mail: [email protected]

Introduction Over the last quarter century, amber extraction and collecting has shown major

fluctuations in terms of the number of tonnes of extracted material, with a general tendency for a drop in the output. By contrast, the number and the production capacity of amber jewellery shops rose, especially in Poland and Lithuania, whereas in Russia, there was a significant shift in the ownership structure of the manufacturers, where instead of a single state monopolist, some 300 private manufacturers arose. In the last five years, we have seen the setting up of large private factories in Taiwan and in continental China, which are already using up about ¼ of the jewellery-quality raw material. As a result, the situation on the market has turned upside-down: from an overabundance of low-priced raw amber, when stock grew in both extracting and manufacturing companies in 1981-1995, to supply shortages and a radical price hike after 2000. A significant part (as much as about 35%) of the small manufacturers established after the reinstatement of market economy in Poland and in the Russian Federation’s Kaliningrad Oblast’ went out of business because of the lack of raw material. In Poland the serial production of pure-amber products ground almost to a halt, to be replaced by silver jewellery scantily decorated with amber gemstones. A significant part of the output (15.5% in the 1980s; 23.1% in the 1990s; 29.5% from 2001 to 2006) was illicitly extracted and can be estimated only on the basis of the volume of purchases made by manufacturing companies.

Traditional method of raw amber collecting As has been the case for millennia, amber is still gathered on the Baltic beaches; today,

mainly on the Polish and Russian coast from the mouth of the River Vistula to Cape Taran on the north-western tip of Sambia. It is also found in many other places, for instance on the slag heaps of the brown coal mines in Bełchatów and Konin, in numerous gravel pits and in the big excavation projects accompanying the building of highways, especially in northern Poland. Sometimes amber can make a surprise appearance in various locations along the southern Baltic coast, but all told this source does not constitute any significant share in the supply to the manufacturing industry: it never exceeds 1% of the total available raw material. In my statistical tables, I have assumed a uniform volume of 3 tonnes per annum; and although in reality the fluctuations are considerable, they do not have any significant impact on the total supply situation.

Legal mines In the period we are discussing, the two strip mines in the township of Yantarny in

Sambia were the primary source of raw amber: • PRIMORSKAYA [Coastal Mine] (in fact it was located over 2 km from the seashore),

which is still open, although rather unproductive and expensive to operate (up to 60 m deep), and generates losses over most of the extraction periods;

• PLAZHEVAYA [Beach Mine] – formed by separating part of the inshore waters and beach with a dam: shallow, efficient and profitable, but flooded in 2001.

When these mines both operated, their output exceeded the demand on the part of the manufacturing industry.


The East German GOITSCHE Mine, yielded much lower outputs (337 tonnes in the 1980s), but met most of the demand of the VEB Ostseeschmuck Factory in Ribnitz-Damgarten, which was the national monopolist. Upon the collapse of the German Democratic Republic, the mine turned out to be unprofitable and was closed down. In 1993, state-owned strip mines were opened in the Ukraine, in Klesiv and Dubrovitsa, but their operation has yet to go past the experimental stage. Their annual output ranges from several hundred to 3,000 kg. Legal amber extraction in Poland took place chiefly in the 1970s when about 200 tonnes of excellent quality raw amber was obtained by rinsing it out from under the sediments in the Vistula River Delta.

The 1980s – a time of plenty The 1981-1990 decade was a record-breaking period in terms of raw amber supply.

This situation was facilitated by the loosening of the straitjacket of doctrinaire limitations in running businesses in the countries of the so-called realistic socialism, namely in the Soviet Union, Poland and the GDR, which were the only countries in the world which had the capability of obtaining Baltic amber. The figures for this period are presented in Table 1:

Amber extraction and collecting in 1981-1990 (tonnes)

Legal extraction Illegal extraction and theft Year

KAF GDR POL Total Russia Ukraine Poland Collected Total

1981 715 35 15 765 85 2 55 3 910 1982 723 39 5 767 100 3 25 3 897 1983 638 49 3 690 100 4 25 3 822 1984 656 35 2 692 100 5 25 3 825 1985 595 36 15 646 100 7 25 3 781 1986 698 30 15 643 100 9 25 3 780 1987 581 30 15 626 100 12 25 3 766 1988 732 35 15 782 120 15 25 3 945 1989 820 36 15 871 140 17 25 3 1056 1990 809 12 -- 821 150 20 20 3 1014

Decade 6967 337 100 7404 1095 94 275 30 8898 Abbreviations: KAF = Kaliningrad Amber Factory in Yantarny, GDR = German Democratic Republic (East Germany)

The supply volume was determined by the output of the two mines in Yantarny in Sambia. Over this period, their storehouses would take in from 581 to 820 tonnes of amber each year, even though the practice of output theft grew as a result of the loosening of police control and the incapability of the employees’ making a living off the too-low wages paid by the mining enterprise. This output was much higher than the average output under German governance, when output theft was rare and severely punished. According to K. Andree21, over a period of intense

21 ANDREE K. Der Bernstein und seine Bedeutung in Natur-und Geisteswissenschaft, Kunst und Handwerk, Technik, Industrie und Handel Königsberg 1937


amber mining in 1887-1935, when amber was extracted with a variety of methods, a total of 16,168 tonnes, or about 269 tonnes per year, was obtained. The 1980s were also a time of enormous progress in the Soviet economy in comparison to the previous decades:

Years Average number of tonnes per year

1951-60 249 1961-70 398 1971-80 644 1981-90 697

Apart from the official mining, illegal extraction grew, reaching its peak at the turn of the 1980s and 90s. Large stretches of “poor-man’s-shafts” (with the best known ones in the vicinity of Kaliningrad Airport) and cliff excavations (e.g. in Filino) appeared. The material was sold via the mass private traffic to Poland following the abolition of visas at the time of the rapidly growing amber processing industry in the Gdańsk region. About 1988, significant volumes of raw amber from Volyhn, a source heretofore unknown in economic practice, began to appear on the Polish market. In the 1980s, six Pomeranian amber processing enterprises 22 continued amber rinsing extraction for their own needs with small teams of several people. This was more profitable than import given the then-inflated foreign currency exchange rate, while the volume of 100 tonnes over the entire decade was of considerable importance given the continued low processing capacity.

The 1990s – a time of change The collapse of the Soviet Union and the radical transformation of the economic

system in its republics and vassal states impacted the use of their natural amber resources in different ways, depending on the degree of market facilitation in their economies The Germans closed their only mine, while in Poland legal amber rinsing was abandoned for 7 years. In 1997-1999, only a single amber-rinsing license was used and the results of this work was never realistically estimated. In both cases this resulted from unprofitability due to the low prices caused by mass smuggling from Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast’. The Ukraine opened new mines and established a state monopoly on amber extraction, processing and trade together with a ban on illicitly extracted material. The only stable factor here turned out to be the Russian propensity for taking advantage of conveniently located natural resources and the theft of the best part of the state mines’ output. There was a similar (although much less significant in terms of overall volume) rise in illegal amber rinsing on the Volyhn-Polesie frontier. The output of the mines of the Kaliningrad Amber Factory showed startling jumps over this period. In 1993, the output fell from 585 tonnes to 392 year-on-year, only to jump to 760 tonnes the next year. Following a decade record of 800 tonnes in 1996, we got a sudden drop to 318 tonnes in 1997. These fluctuations were not caused by natural conditions. They were the result of failed attempts to get out of an ongoing deficit caused by poor management and theft; by ostensible

22 Polsrebro-Jantar Sopot, Art.-Region Sopot, Foto-Pam Sopot and the Bursztyny, Spójnia and Arpo co-operatives in Gdańsk


privatisation, with politicians in fact retaining full power over the company. The Factory changed its legal form several times:

1. state-owned enterprise, 2. limited liability company, 3. joint-stock company 4. state receivership 5. again state-owned enterprise with daughter company.

The successive changes adversely affected the output due to never-ending dismissals of executive groups and the dilution of responsibility. The fluctuations in the output of the two main mines in Yantarny are illustrated in the table below:



KAF Ukrb. Poland Total Russia Ukraine Poland Collected Total

1991 784 - - 784 150 20 15 3 972 1992 585 - - 585 150 25 15 3 778 1993 392 1 - 393 120 30 10 3 556 1994 760 2 - 762 150 30 10 3 955 1995 744 1 - 745 150 35 10 3 943 1996 800 2 - 802 150 35 10 3 1000 1997 318 3 1 322 100 35 9 3 469 1998 442 2 1 445 100 35 9 3 592 1999 350 1 1 352 100 35 9 3 499 2000 442 1 1 444 100 35 9 3 591

Decade 5617 13 4 5634 1270 315 106 30 7355

Abbreviations: Ukrb. = Ukrburshtyn State Enterprise in Rivne All told, however, as long as the PLAZHEVAYA mine remained open, the scale of the output over the entire decade was considerable, with an average of 562 tonnes per year, i.e. 19.4% less than in the record-breaking 1980s. With the reservation, however, that the Factory discontinued any investment, which impacted the results it could achieve in the future.

Beginning of the 21st century – a time of shortage The new century began with the flooding of the exhausted PLAZHOVAYA Mine in

Yantarny, which led to the drop of annual output in the years 2001-2006 to an average of 211 tonnes. How this developed over time and how it compared to the output of the (by this time sole) mine in the Ukraine and to illegal extraction is illustrated in the table below: The worst result was recorded in 2006, the final year of the period described here: only 132 tonnes in PRIMORSKAYA Mine. This is exactly 16.5% of what was extracted in Yantarny 10 years previously! Illegal extraction in Sambia dropped to a similar degree (following the enforcement of the law during Putin’s presidency), as of course did theft from the already poor output of the de-facto state-owned, albeit formally joint-stock company mine. Such a low, or even scant, output is much less than the demand of Russia’s own domestic manufacturing capacity. Even so, the lion’s share of the material is exported, in spite of the demands of domestic manufacturers and the Russian public opinion. This stems from the


possibility of obtaining export prices which are 2-3 times higher than those which Russian manufacturers are able to pay, given the current prices for finished products on the internal Russian market.



KKB Ukrb. Poland Total Russia Ukraine PolandCollected Total

2001 276 2 - 278 70 40 18 3 409 2002 208 4 - 212 40 40 12 3 307 2003 188 2 - 190 35 40 10 3 278 2004 262 3 - 265 25 40 12 3 345 2005 202 2 - 204 20 40 10 3 277 2006 132 3 - 135 18 40 8 3 204 Total 1268 16 0 1284 208 240 70 18 1820 The exception to this rule is the Amber Studio in Tsarskoye Selo, which carries out commissions for extremely expensive objects of decorative art in modern era styles, and which is the main purchaser of the most precious material. The export of raw amber from the Russian Federation is restricted by the federal government, which meticulously looks into every transaction, complete with the identifying of the customer, the range of goods and their individual prices, as well as the lead time. The lead time can be defined with precision or extend to over a year. The management of the Kaliningrad Amber Factory JSC (KAF JSC) managed to negotiate such long lead times for transactions with three affiliated foreign trading companies:

• Pajurio Gintaras in Klaipeda (Lithuania) • Wikwol in Gdańsk (Poland) • Tairus Corporation in Taipei (Taiwan).

These companies, registered in three countries, are owned by Russian citizens. In the last announcement published by the KAF JSC on their web-site, the raw amber quota stemming from the license for these three customers is 955 tonnes, while the value of the deliveries is EUR 33,708,680 (average price per kilogram: EUR 35.30). This means a practically complete freedom of export of even an entire several years’ worth of output. By weight, the licenses for these companies cover 99% of the export. Other licensed customers include two firms from Hong-Kong (480 kg, prices: 1,432 EUR/kg and 563 EUR/kg), one from Riga (264 kg at 1,309 EUR/kg) and one from Japan (27 kg at 1,466 EUR/kg). Moreover, a Turkish company bought 94 tonnes of waste at 1,538 EUR/tonne.

Conclusions The neglect of investment in the prospecting and extraction of raw amber, especially

in Poland, poor management in the existing Russian and Ukrainian mines and administrative and formal limitations led to the manufacturing industry, which boomed in Poland, Russia and Lithuania in the 1990s, becoming dependent on a small group of monopolists, in fact a single dominant entity, which achieves the more profits the worse it operates. The appearance of efficient processing businesses in China can make the current situation deteriorate even further. That said, since mid-2007 KAF JSC has been announcing its principal motto: THE FACTORY IS WAKING FROM ITS COMA on its web-site and announced that it exceeded


300 tonnes of extracted material in 2007, but this is a volume which is far from the growing needs of the manufacturing industry. How long will we have to choose between the monopolist and the smuggler remains to be seen only after real extracting competition comes into place.

● ● ●

In Poland, preparations are underway to operate a number of plots within the Gdańsk

city limits and a further few in other municipalities in the Vistula River Delta. Let us hope that even a relatively low output from this source will help to significantly raise the share of natural amber varieties in the decoration of jewellery.


The concept of a triptych with amber element at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Mariusz Drapikowski

Introduction Upon Polish initiative, with the consent of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in the

Middle East, a design for an alter reredos in the form of a triptych and a monstrance is being developed for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. After World War II, Polish soldiers from General Anders’ army rebuilt the 3rd and 4th Stations of the Cross in the area belonging to the Armenian Church. When the 3rd Station was completed (1947), there was no state of Israel yet, only British Palestine. When the 4th Station was finished (1957), this land belonged to Jordan and access to the Way of the Cross was hindered for pilgrims. Today, Jerusalem is the administrative capital of Israel and there are no major impediments for any of the three monotheist religions there. In April 2007 in Jerusalem, I presented a design for a monstrance, and a priest from the Armenian Catholic Church, Raphael MINASSIAN, suggested I should design an altar reredos. Therefore, this January I presented another design, this time for a triptych, which met with full approval (the blessing of the altar reredos is to take place during the pilgrimage of Pope Benedict XVI to the Holy Land).

Ideological principles The leitmotif behind the altar reredos designed for the 4th Station of the Cross in

Jerusalem is the Revelation of St John. Apocalyptic literature developed in the Jewish community as a result of its struggles for independence, the defeats they suffered and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. The idea of the perfection of the Messianic Jerusalem was taken up by Christians, who attributed it to the latter days. For Christians, Jerusalem became a symbol of a Church open to all nations: a New Paradise. The Revelation of St John describes the destruction of the world and the coming of a “New World” — The New Jerusalem, before its end takes place together with the Last Judgement. The foundations of the New Jerusalem were erected on the plan of a square. In the ancient world the square was a symbol of perfection. By adopting this geometrical figure, the author of the Revelation indicated first of all the perfection and perpetuity of the Heavenly City with twelve gates – in keeping with the number of generations of the Chosen People, and the Apostles. The form of the work The already completed stone gate symbolises the passage between the two worlds, from the profanum to the sacrum. When opened, the gate becomes a triptych. When closed it shows us the Promise, through references to the content and symbolism of the Revelation of St John. The design of the central part of the closed triptych displays a cross against the outline of the Sepulchre, as a key which opens the gates of Jerusalem for us. Next to it, also in the form of a delicate low relief, is the figure of Holy Father John Paul II celebrating the Eucharist as the promise of eternal life. The squares surrounding this scene depict the colonnade in the Holy Sepulchre divided into 12 – the number referring to the twelve Apostles or the 12 generations of Israel, and 8 – the number symbolising the day of the judgement, transfiguration and rebirth. Above the outline of the Sepulchre we will see the appearance of Christ, the Resurrector of the dead and Judge over the world, and in the four corners of the gate we will


find the symbols of the Evangelists. The gate will also depict the symbols of the Four Riders of the Apocalypse.

Symbols The symbolic significance of the scene of the Last Judgement is illustrated by the

words of St John the Evangelist “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” The triptych I have designed uses contemporary language with reference to Romanesque style and early Gothic. Light is a very important element in the Jerusalem of St John’s apocalyptic vision: “The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” The fist monstrance was the Mother of God and it was designed as a Byzantine Hedogetria, which points to Christ as the road to salvation. The Mother of God is present in the monstrance design. Its form is reminiscent of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the Mother of the Polish Nation. Together with the Son, they are both clothed in the warm light of amber glow. Once the monstrance is put into the triptych, it will fill the space around it with light and multiplied reflections from the gold backdrop. The wings of the open triptych will have “The Two Witnesses” from the Revelation who “are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks” who show the calling and duty of all Christians in all of their ample diversity, who sacrifice their own lives, but receive a share in God’s glory.

The message of the work Jerusalem is considered a Holy City by three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is a place where frequent conflicts break out, often to end in bloodshed. Even today Jerusalem is neither completely peaceful nor without conflict. The Heavenly Jerusalem Triptych is to persuade its viewers to think, reflect and pray for peace. It aims to make the pilgrim sensitive to the peace message of Pope John Paul II and the dignity of the human being which he so often emphasised, regardless of faith, social status or worldview. At the same time, the triptych’s location at the 4th Station of the Way of the Cross is a continuation of the wishes once expressed by Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński, to maintain the Station’s Polish character. To commemorate the fact that these two stations are called Polish both because they were rebuilt by Polish soldiers and émigrés after World War II through many a sacrifice, but also because they contain Polish symbols and symbols dear to the Polish people.


Photo 1. Closed triptych.

Photo 2. Open triptych.


Photo 3. Monstrance with amber.

15th seminar organic inclusions, amber and other fossil ...lib.brsu.by/sites/default/files/organic...

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