Sicilian amber in western Europe pre-dates arrival of Baltic amber by at least 2,000 years
August 29, 2018, University of Cambridge
Amber and other unusual materials such as jade, obsidian and rock crystal have attracted interest as raw materials for the manufacture of decorative items since Late Prehistory and, indeed, amber retains a high value in present-day jewellery.
'Baltic' amber from Scandinavia is often cited as a key material circulating in prehistoric Europe, but in a new study published today in PLOS ONE researchers have found that amber from Sicily was travelling around the Western Mediterranean as early as the 4th Millennium BC—at least 2,000 years before the arrival of any Baltic amber in Iberia.
Read more at:
https://phys.org/news/2018-08-sicilian-amber-western-europe-pre-dates.html#jCp
