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All the way from the Baltic: amber beads from an Iron Age grave at Hama, western Syria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2025

Martin N. Mortensen Open the ORCID record for Martin N. Mortensen [Opens in a new window] ,
Mette Marie Hald Open the ORCID record for Mette Marie Hald [Opens in a new window] ,
Jacob Frydendahl Open the ORCID record for Jacob Frydendahl [Opens in a new window] ,
Stephen Lumsden Open the ORCID record for Stephen Lumsden [Opens in a new window] ,
Pernille Bangsgaard Open the ORCID record for Pernille Bangsgaard [Opens in a new window] ,
Georges Mouamar Open the ORCID record for Georges Mouamar [Opens in a new window] ,
Marco Bonechi Open the ORCID record for Marco Bonechi [Opens in a new window]  and
Silvia Alaura Open the ORCID record for Silvia Alaura [Opens in a new window]
Martin N. Mortensen
Affiliation:
National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Mette Marie Hald*
Affiliation:
National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jacob Frydendahl
Affiliation:
National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark Institute for Conservation, The Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark
Stephen Lumsden
Affiliation:
National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Pernille Bangsgaard
Affiliation:
Globe Institute, Copenhagen University, Denmark
Georges Mouamar
Affiliation:
National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 5133 Archéorient, Lyon, France
Marco Bonechi
Affiliation:
Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale (ISPC), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
Silvia Alaura
Affiliation:
Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale (ISPC), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ [email protected]
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Abstract

Widening and diversifying trade networks are often cited among the boom and bust of Bronze and Iron Age worlds. The great distances that goods could travel during these periods are exemplified here as the authors describe the spectroscopic identification of Baltic amber beads in an Iron Age cremation grave at Hama in Syria. Yet these beads are not unique in the Near Eastern record; as the authors show, comparable finds and references to amber or amber hues in contemporaneous texts illustrate the high social and economic value of resinous substances—a value based on perceptions of their distant origin.

Keywords

Near EastIron AgeFT-IRGC-MSlong-distance exchangeAmber Road
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , First View , pp. 1 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

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