The Significance of Deposits of Natural Amber in Estonia in the Context of Early Metal Age Society
Volume 17 (2012): People at the Crossroads of Space and Time (Footmarks of Societies in Ancient Europe) I, pp. 46–59
Pub. online: 20 November 2012
Type: Article
Open Access
Received
2 February 2012
2 February 2012
Revised
28 April 2012
28 April 2012
Accepted
28 September 2012
28 September 2012
Published
20 November 2012
20 November 2012
Abstract
The article describes a newly found deposit of natural amber in Estonia. The deposit was discovered in the village of Vintri on the Sõrve peninsula, on the island of Saaremaa. It is the first time when the site has been fixed and documented; the find site has been fixed and documented. All earlier literature on the natural sciences and archaeology claims that natural amber is not found in Estonia, or is only found occasionally as marginal stray finds. The article describes the newly discovered deposit of natural amber, and also refers to other possible find sites that are known, mainly based on oral information. The Vintri deposit is dated according to two different methods, and the article explains both results. The article gives an overview of archaeological amber finds in Saaremaa at the time, and discusses their possible origin and use.