PROVENIENCE OF ALBANIAN BRONZE AGE AMBER FINDS (original) (raw)

Bronze Age amber in Western and Central Balkans

Arheološki vestnik, 2020

The paper touches upon the issue of amber inflow to Western and Central Balkans, and its circulation between individual regions situated in this zone, during the Bronze Age (more specifically around 1600–900 BC). By using several computational methods, currently available data related to this topic is re-analysed. Previously distinguished types of amber beads show chronological differentiation that allows separating them into two major assemblages assignable to the Middle and Late Bronze Age respectively, with some forms having a prolonged use, overlapping both periods. Many types are also characterized by specific patterns of distribution, potentially revealing local styles of amber processing. The types are further compared with amber artefacts from neighbouring zones of amber acquisition. Supplementing the considerations with selected artefacts co-occurring with amber sheds a light on internal dynamics of amber circulation, and points the potential exchange participants.

REDISCOVERING OLD FINDS? NOTES ON THE BRONZE AGE GRAVES WITH AMBER IN WESTERN SERBIA

ANALELE BANATULUI, S.N., ARHEOLOGIE - ISTORIE, XXVII, 2019, 2019

The study is the result of rechecking details of funerary practices in the Bronze Age of Western Serbia. Potential presence of amber in grave inventories provided an impetus to examine burial contexts and ways how exotic goods reached the innermost parts of the Balkan Peninsula. Arrival of the first amber artefacts at the territory of Serbia is connected with the Middle Bronze Age, which is later than the earliest finds of the Baltic amber in south Europe and the Mediterranean. e sites with amber artefacts are neither numerous nor with even spatial distribution. e region of Western Serbia stands out from the rest of the broader zone because of its early excavated and early dated amber finds. In all of the cases, the amber finds have funerary context. Focal point of the study is on the rediscovered amber find from the necropolis in Stapari and its context. Based on the data from the documentation and publications, it is not very likely that the necropolis in Stapari can be defined as a flat one. All regional characteristics of synchronous funerary practices must be taken into consideration along with the state of preservation of the site in the 20 th century. Consequently, the necropolis can be added to the large group of tumular necropolises, which comprised necropolis in Vranjani, which was analysed as well, due to a problematic amber find. Recent analyses confirmed the Baltic provenance of the amber from the West Morava basin, but contribution to at least partial reconstruction of regional routes which brought the material to this part of the Central Balkans has additional importance. e region settled by the bearers of the Belegiš culture, which was suspected to have served as a starting point for regional trade southwards, provided the first amber find with settlement context.

Non destructive analysis of archaeological amber from Iron Age Kerkenes in central Anatolia

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2025

The discovery of amber inlays from Kerkenes, an Iron Age settlement located in central Anatolia, represents one of the easternmost points in Anatolia where amber has been reliably retrieved from an archaeological excavation. Consequently, the provenance and transportation mechanisms involved in the procurement of these artefacts became a subject of inquiry. Utilising FTIR spectroscopy and stylistic analysis, the current study aims to answer those questions by investigating the provenance and physical conditions of the Kerkenes amber specimens. The results of spectroscopic analysis have indicated a Baltic origin for all analysed amber samples from Kerkenes. Moreover, the analysis has also hinted at the heat treatment and subsequent oxidisation of the samples. These findings, when considered alongside decades of archaeological investigations on amber in Europe, confirm that amber supply networks from the Baltic Sea to the Aegean and Black Sea regions exhibited a degree of resilience over time and/or underwent re-establishment during the period of Phrygian dominance in central Anatolia. Furthermore, a stylistic analysis of the amber and ivory inlays from the same context indicates a cultural association not only with Phrygian Gordion but also with the broader regional cultural horizons.

PREHISTORIC AMBER AND GLASS BEADS FROM KOSOVO

BALCANICA XXVII , 1997

Amber and glass beads from prehistoric sites in Kosovo have been published in this paper. In addition to a detailed analysis of the archaeological material, the majority of which is now being made public for the first time, the place of amber in the prehistory of Kosovo and the importance of trade in the Iron Age of the central Balkans have also been discussed

Baltic Amber in Hungarian Bronze Age. New Data and Current Stage of Research

Sprawozdania Archeologiczne, 2023

Amber was one of the key raw materials distributed in Bronze Age Europe. One of its varieties-succinite-was exchanged over a vast area stretching from its sources on the southern shores of the Baltic Sea to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The chemical identification of Baltic amber significantly expands our knowledge of the dynamics and nature of the relationships connecting different regions of Europe in the first half of the second millennium BC. One of the most significant cultural-geographical areas reached by this amber was the Carpathian Basin. This text presents a summary of the current state of knowledge about the context, chronology, and the extent of amber occurrence in the Hungarian Bronze Age. At the same time, it supplements the catalogue of finds with artefacts acquired in recent years, providing new information regarding radiocarbon dating and spectral analysis of selected amber artifacts.