Town (Amber Trader)

The regard in which amber was held is attested to by its associations with the sun god in his role as Elector or ‘the Awakener’. Later, the discovery of insects preserved in amber enabled Roman naturalists to correctly identify it as ancient, fossilised tree sap. However, this did little to dispel the commonly held belief that amber actually was solidified Lynx urine. It’s golden lustre meant amber was highly valued within the Greco-Roman world, where it was used to make jewellery, medicines and false hair. However, it meant much less to the barbarians who controlled the finest Balkan mines; they simply burnt amber as fuel for warmth.