A historical trade route from northern to southern Europe that supplied the Mediterranean with the semiprecious material amber.
The amber trade appears to have been established early, with evidence suggesting a beginning 5,000 years ago. Amber is found in Egyptian and Minoan tombs dating back as far as 3000 B.C.E. Organic properties are contained in amber that identify its point of origin, so some amber can be positively identified as having come from northern Europe.
Amber is the fossilized resin (sap) of ancient conifer trees that forested the shores of the Baltic Sea between 40 and 60 million years ago. Although it is an organic substance, amber is treated as a gem and can be carved into different shapes and then inset into jewelry. While valuable, it has never commanded the exorbitant prices of true gemstones such as diamonds or emeralds. Amber occurs in concentrated amounts only in northern Europe along the Baltic Sea coastline. The remains of this ancient forest now lie beneath the present-day land and sea surface. Early amber exploitation involved nothing more than collecting clumps of amber that washed up on the beach (shaken loose from under the sea floor) or shallow digging.
The Jutland peninsula (present-day Denmark) was one center of amber collection, as was the western Baltic Sea area that comprises the countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Portions of modern-day Germany, Poland, and Sweden are also included in the Baltic amber-producing area. Those Nordic, Germanic, Celtic, and Slavic tribes that lived in this region incorporated amber into their art, culture, and religion. What was not used inside these societies was exported (usually in an unfinished state) as a trade item to the wealthier and more culturally advanced peoples south of Europe.
There have been several different amber routes over time. The initial route hugged the coast of the Baltic and North Seas until it reached Britain, where it was transported to the Mediterranean by ship. The two mainland amber routes had to deal with the forbidding barrier of the Alps between northern and southern Europe. The initial land amber route ran east, away from the Alps and along the Danube River to the Black Sea. The amber was then loaded onto ships and reached the peoples living along the Black Sea shores, including the ancient Greeks. A purely overland route from the Baltic through the Alps to the Adriatic Sea port of Aquileia developed during the Roman empire. Roman stability, safety, and roads made this route possible.
Amber Route, 500 B.C.E. Mined since the pre-Roman era on the Jutland Peninsula (now Denmark) and the eastern Baltic regions (now Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), amber was a prized material in the manufacturing of jewelry and ornamental objects. (Mark Stein Studios)
One of the earliest customers seems to have been the Minoans, who dispersed the organic gem along their trading routes in Egypt, Asia Minor, and the Levant. Occasionally, the amber found its way into the great East-West trade routes and appeared in unlikely places far from its north European home-land. Amber has been found among Mesopotamian artifacts dating to 900 B.C.E. The skilled craftsmen in these countries fashioned the amber from its shapeless natural state into personal adornments for the rich and elite classes in their societies.
The ancient Greeks were avid consumers of amber in jewelry and amulets. Amber is found in many Greek graves among other personal ornaments of the wealthy and powerful. In addition, many classical texts from the era ascribe magical properties or healing powers to amber. The Romans inherited much of the Greek civilization, including art, mythology, and the use of amber. The Romans initially acquired amber by simply stealing it from the Greeks. When this source of amber ran out, the Romans turned to trade.
The ultimate source of this beautiful substance had always been mysterious to south Europeans, and the Romans knew only that it originated in northern Europe. Seeking direct access to amber, as well as probably harboring ambition to capture its source, the Roman emperor Nero sent a military expedition north. The expedition successfully returned with amber, but reported that it lay too far to the north to come under imperial control. In addition, the warlike Celts controlled the northern lands, so the Romans would have to obtain amber through these expeditions.
The Romans were able to travel efficiently to the north, so to this end, they built the aptly named Amber Road around 14 C.E. This road led from the trading town of Aquileia to the banks of the Danube River. Though the road was named after the amber trade, it was also intended for general commerce and the extension of political control. Amber declined in use after the fall of Rome and the ensuing Dark Ages. After a small revival in the Middle Ages, it became popular again only after the seventeenth century, long after the amber routes had brought roads and knowledge to northern Europe.
The amber routes and the Amber Road brought not only trade between distant peoples, but also economic development and the diffusion of knowledge. The amber trade may have led to the beginning of the Bronze Age in northern Europe, as the earliest amber traders brought iron ore and metallurgic knowledge back with them around 1800 B.C.E. In a larger sense, the amber routes indicate the existence of North-South trade and, by inference, cultural exchange in Europe. The imperishable amber lost along the routes and stockpiled in tombs has remained, while the furs and other perishable goods from the North have vanished.
The amber routes established roads and development in many places, most notably in the Baltic and eastern Europe. Although many of the routes used by amber traders followed well-worn traditional paths, the quest for amber caused heavier and more constant use. Bridges, inns, and villages were founded along the route. These settlements often faded away but occasionally they survived and contributed to the economic and cultural development of the Baltic, eastern Europe, and northern Italy.
Charles Allan
See also: Black Sea; European Trade, Intracontinental; Roman Empire.
Spekke, Arnolds. The Ancient Amber Routes and the Geographical Discovery of the Eastern Baltic. Stockholm: M. Goppers, 1957.
Wilkes, J.J. “The Danubian and Balkan Provinces.” In The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 10, The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C.E. to A.D. 69, 2nd ed., ed. Alan K. Bowman, Edward Champlin, and Andrew Lintott. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.