Amber

Amber is a fossil resin exuded from now-extinct evergreen trees.

The best amber is transparent and yellow to yellow-brown in color. It has an agreeable pine odor when rubbed with a cloth or burned. It is used in the arts and in the manufacture of jewelry, cigarette holders, and pipe stems. Amber has been called "the golden gem of the ages."

It was a very important part of Polish history. Amber was treasured as a gem for making art objects, jewelry, and amulets for warding off evil spirits. At one time amber was so precious that it was available only to nobility. The very best amber came from the Baltic coast, near Gdansk, where it could be found in abundance. By 200 BC amber trade with Rome was well established. Supplies were moved along an "amber road" that originated in the amber region, followed up the Vistual river to the Moravian Gap [where former German Silesia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia met], through the Carpathian Mountains where it exited Polish territory and headed south to Rome. The demand for amber by the Romans became so great that Roman Emperor Nero (54-68 AD], not satisfied with dealing with the traders, sent an emissary in search of the actual source. He returned with about 13,000 pounds of amber as a gift to Nero from the German king then ruling the amber area.