Amber

Ticks are currently among the most prevalent blood-feeding ectoparasites, but their feeding habits and hosts in deep time have long remained speculative. Here, we report direct and indirect evidence in 99 million-year-old Cretaceous amber showing that hard ticks and ticks of the extinct new family Deinocrotonidae fed on blood from feathered dinosaurs, non-avialan or avialan excluding crown-group birds. A †Cornupalpatum burmanicum hard tick is entangled in a pennaceous feather. Two deinocrotonids described as †Deinocroton draculi gen. et sp. nov. have specialised setae from dermestid beetle larvae (hastisetae) attached to their bodies, likely indicating cohabitation in a feathered dinosaur nest. A third conspecific specimen is blood-engorged, its anatomical features suggesting that deinocrotonids fed rapidly to engorgement and had multiple gonotrophic cycles. These findings provide insight into early tick evolution and ecology, and shed light on poorly known arthropod-vertebrate inte...

Fossil mesostigmatid mites are extremely rare. Inclusions assignable to the tortoise mites (Mesostigmata, Uropodina) are described here for the first time from Eocene (ca. 44–49 Ma) Baltic amber. This is the oldest record of Uropodina and documents the first unequivocal amber examples potentially assignable to the extant genus Uroobovella Berlese, 1903 (Uropodoidea: Urodinychidae). Further mites in the same amber pieces are tentatively assigned to Microgynioidea (Microgyniina) and Ascidae (Gamasina), both potentially representing the oldest records of their respective superfamily and family groups. This new material also preserves behavioural ecology in the form of phoretic deutonymphs attached to their carriers via a characteristic anal pedicel. These deutonymphs in amber are intimately associated with longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), probably belonging to the extinct species Nothorhina granulicollis Zang, 1905. Modern uropodines have been recorded phoretic on species b...

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Не секрет, что история всяческих эмбарго, санкций и запретов на пармезан или эстонский шоколад берёт своё начало не сегодня и даже не от Наполеоновских войн, а просто давно. В те времена, когда балтийским янтарём были украшены сети, носилки и арена амфитеатра Флавиев в Риме, поскольку сам Нерон счёл этот камень подходящим атрибутом для Императора-Солнца, похоже, об этом ещё не задумывались. И действительно, по сообщению Тацита, эстии (предки пруссов), с удивлением и выгодно выменивали солнечный камень на всякую импортную дребедень, поступавшую из Империи и провинций: наборы для винопития, украшения, шёлковые ткани и прочие аксессуары далёкой красивой жизни. При этом, вероятно, уже тогда те, кто собирал и продавал янтарь, относились к разным этажам общества. Об этом может говорить письмо варварского императора Теодориха тем же эстиям, написанное спустя полторы сотни лет после разграбления Рима и начала новой Европы. В этом письме Теодорих просит эстиев  прислать ему не воска, куниц и патоки, а янтаря. Верхушка эстиев, контролировавшая сбор и торговлю янтарём, едва ли делилась своими нетрудовыми доходами с простыми соплеменниками. Но до официального запрета ещё далеко. В эпоху викингов, когда Балтика по сути становится северным «средиземноморьем», янтарь, наряду с рабами, солью, арабским серебром и прочими благами цивилизации, становится ходовым товаром. В обмен на янтарь прусская верхушка обзаводится не только статусными гаджетами, но и по тихоньку строит замки, дороги, вот-вот на месте торговых поселений появятся города, но они не появляются… Потому что всем и так хорошо. Точнее не всем, а тем, кого «греет» янтарь. Потому что Пруссия – сырьевая страна. Но, как известно, в той ситуации, когда ты вроде и богат и в меру нагл, но и печально знаменит, как агрессивный сосед, нападающий на соседнюю Польшу, сжигая по пути церкви и города и собирая дань, рано или поздно беда постучится тебе в дом сама. Тут то и начинается самое интересное.
После завоевания прусских земель, рыцари Тевтонского ордена, вместе с примкнувшей к ним прусской элитой из благородных родов, формально принявших христианство, но так и оставшихся язычниками на несколько сот лет, снова взялись за янтарь. Первой печально известной «янтарной резиденцией» стал замок Лохштедт, чьи руины уныло расположились между Балтийском и Пионерским. Подвалы Лохштедта стали главным хранилищем прусского янтаря и местом, где тонули шёпоты и крики бедолаг, наказанных за незаконную добычу янтаря. Орден стал монополистом. В замке Лохщтедт находился «янтарный суд», а берег вокруг покрылся частоколом из виселиц, на которых болтались несчастные, ловившие янтарь без спросу. Эстафету у Лохштедта в XVI в, когда Орденское государство формально перестало существовать, но элиты остались, принял замок Гермау (в п. Русское). Здесь также находились «янтарный суд» и хранилище, а на въезде в посёлок со стороны Янтарного до сих пор возвышается Виселичная гора. Долго ещё по пляжам слонялся дух орденского инспектора Ансельма, пугавший полуголых старателей криками: «О боже, янтарь стал свободен! Янтарь!»
Начиная с Ренессанса и до позднего Барокко интерес к янтарю возрастает, постепенно слабеют запреты, результатом чего стало создание многих произведений искусства из янтаря, венцом которых стал Янтарный кабинет, печально известный как янтарная комната, погубившая немало искателей приключений. В XIX веке началась промышленная добыча янтаря на побережье и им, казалось, никого нельзя было удивить. Однако после «санкций», охвативших Германию после поражения в Первой мировой, местные янтарщики оказались лишены привычных рынков сбыта. Но и тут выкрутились – обновили производственную линейку, стали копать быстрее и глубже, пригласили художников и учёных. Планов было громадье, но тысячелетний рейх закончился на 13м году существования, будто подросток, метивший в джедаи. Дальше был «Янтарный комбинат», эбонитовые палочки и россыпи безвкусных полуфабрикатов. Янтарная мафия, несанкционированные карьеры, голубая земля – из терминологии калградских 90х. Но янтарь был по-прежнему свободен. Вот и сегодня, всё больше наших соотечественников покупают гидрокостюмы и акваланги и лезут по ночам на дно, где в ультрафиолете фонарей балтийское золото светится, как фосфор. Потому что кризис, скажете. Нет. Потому что истина в янтаре.

Amber from Kachin, northern Burma, has been used in China for at least a millennium for carving decorative objects, but the only scientific collection of inclusion fossils, at the Natural History Museum, London (NHML), was made approximately 90 years ago. Age of the material was ambiguous, but probably Cretaceous. Numerous new records and taxa occur in this amber, based on newly excavated material in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) containing 3100 organisms. Without having all groups studied, significant new records and taxa thus far include the following (a † refers to extinct taxa): For Plants: An angiosperm flower (only the third in Cretaceous amber), spores and apparent sporangia of an unusual but common fungus, hepatophyte thalli and an archegoniophore of Marchantiaceae, and leafy shoots of Metasequoia (Coniferae). Metasequoia is possibly the source of the amber. For Animals: Mermithidae and other Nematoda; the oldest ixodid tick (a larval Amblyomma); bird feathers; and the only Mesozoic record of the Onychophora (‘‘velvet’’ worms), described as †Cretoperipatus burmiticus, n. gen., n. sp. (Peripatidae). Poinar’s classification of the Onychophora is substantially revised. Still largely unstudied, the fauna of mites (Acari) and spiders (Araneae) appears to be the most diverse ones known for the Mesozoic. For Insecta: Odonata indet. (wing fragment); Plecoptera indet.; new genera of Dermaptera, Embiidina, and Zoraptera (the latter two as the only definitive Mesozoic fossils of their orders). Within Hemiptera, there are primitive new genera in the Aradidae, Hydrometridae, Piesmatidae, Schizopteridae, and Cimicomorpha (Heteroptera), as well as in †Tajmyraphididae (Aphidoidea), and †Protopsyllidiidae. An adult snakefly (Raphidioptera: †Mesoraphidiidae) is the smallest species in the order, and new genera occur in the Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae, Berothidae, and Psychopsidae, as well as larvae of apparent Nevrorthidae. Coleoptera are largely unstudied, but are probably the most diverse assemblage known from the Cretaceous, particularly for Staphylinidae. An adult lymexylid, the most primitive species of Atractocerus, is the first Mesozoic record of the family. In Hymenoptera there are primitive ants (Formicidae: Ponerinae n. gen., and †Sphecomyrma n.sp [Sphecomyrminae]), the oldest record of the Pompilidae, and significant new records of †Serphitidae and †Stigmaphronidae, among others. Diptera are the most diverse and abundant, with the oldest definitive Blephariceridae and mosquito (Culicidae), as well as new genera in the Acroceridae, Bibionidae, Empidoidea; a new genus near the enigmatic genus Valeseguya, and an unusual new genus in the †Archizelmiridae. †Chimeromyia (Diptera: Eremoneura), known previously in ambers from the Lower Cretaceous, is also represented. The stratigraphic distribution of exclusively Mesozoic arthropods in Burmese amber is reviewed, which indicates a probable Turonian-Cenomanian age of this material (90–100 Ma). Paleofaunal differences between the NHML and AMNH collections are discussed, as is the distinct tropical nature of the original biota. Burmese amber probably harbors the most diverse biota in amber from the Cretaceous, and one of the most diverse Mesozoic microbiotas now known.

Jumping bristletails (order Archaeognatha), the basalmost order of extant insects, include some of the earliest fossil records among hexapods, yet their overall geological occurrence remains sparse and has provided little insight into their evolution. The earliest representatives of crown-group bristletails are those in Lebanese amber (Cretaceous), hitherto known only from a single species. Here we significantly expand the known fossil record of Archaeognatha, and from the prolific Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) deposits of Lebanon. One new genus and species, Glaesimeinertellus intermedius gen. et sp. nov., and one new species, Macrop-sontus bachae sp. nov., are described and figured from Hammana amber, whereas one additional Macropsontus species , M. azari sp. nov., and one meinertellid morphotype are described and figured from Al-Rihan amber. The new taxa are compared with their modern and fossil relatives. Collectively , the new taxa render the Archaeognatha fauna from Lebanese amber the earliest with sufficient preservation to provide character data comparable to modern forms, highlighting the considerable morphological conservatism within the order.

Amber has been prized for its gem and mythical properties for centuries. Its primary source is the Baltic coast of Poland and Kaliningrad. The fauna and flora found in Baltic amber relate to the climatic changes in the late Eocene, when the amber was formed during a period of warmer temperatures. Amber was extracted by " fishing " on the coast, and is now won by modern opencast mining at Yantarny on the Samland Peninsular of Russia. Amber is used to make ornamental jewellery and other products, but it is difficult to distinguish genuine amber from various substitutes, particularly copal.

Baltic amber’s popularity and its role in various cultures, from the prehistoric to the contemporary, is a very broad and complex subject. Therefore in this text I present an overview of selected cultural links and ways of using amber in different times.
There were various attempts to explain the origin of the Baltic fossil resin in the beliefs of many cultures. However, if we look closely at the mythological traditions, we will find that those legends are similar to each other. In Greece the origin of amber was associated with the story of Phaeton, the son of Helios the sun god. The story is told for example in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. They were very popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, translated into many languages, including by art theoreticians (Carel van Mander). The fragment concerning the story of Phaeton and the origin of amber was not often visualised by artists (Goltzius, Santi di Tito, Hans van Aachen).
Humankind has been using Baltic amber since time immemorial. The magical function of amber artefacts very quicky began to be combined with an aesthetical role. Early Modern objects made of multicoloured amber were diplomatic gifts, aristocratic wedding presents and an object of desire of dedicated collectors. It became, as it were, a mirabilium or treasure coveted by collectors. Surrounded with a peculiar aura and care, with time it became a collector’s item and finally also an object of research.

В монографии на основе документов центральных и калининградских архивов рассказывается о 60-летней истории крупнейшего в мире предприятия по добыче и обработке янтаря – Калининградского янтарного комбината. Отдельные главы книги посвящены характеристике янтарного промысла в Восточной Пруссии до 1945 г., особенностям становления российской янтарной промышленности после войны, основным стадиям добычи, обогащения и переработки янтаря, совершенствованию технологии производства и развитию творчества, экономическим показателям деятельности предприятия за все время его существования

Islam telah melahirkan banyak ilmuwan. Islam berkontribusi besar dalam kemajuan zaman khususnya dalam ilmu pengetahuan farmasi/kedokteran. Lahirnya ilmuwan kedokteran islam membawa perubahan dunia dan mengubah pandangan dunia bahwa islam adalah benar-benar agama yang membawa kebenaran dan kemajuan. Dalam hal ini islam sangat dipandang khususnya dalam kajian ilmu medis/kedokteran. Dalam islam membahas bahwa penyakit ada yang kasat mata dan yang tidak terlihat oleh mata, yang terlihat oleh mata biasanya bisa disembuhkan oleh dokter atau tenaga medis, tetapi ada penyakit hati yang tak kasat mata yaitu seperti iri, dengki, hasud, dan sebagainya yang bisa mengahalangi seseorang dalam meraih kemuliaan diriya. Islam sudah lebih dulu membahas kajian ilmu medis/kedokteran dan memberikan solusi untuk proses penyembuhan penyakit baik yang kasat mata maupun yang tidak. Para ilmuwan seperti Ibnu Sina (Avicenna), Al-Razi, Al-Biruni, Al-Kindi, adalah tokoh yang ada dalam sejarah peradaban  dunia muslim ikut berkontribusi dan mempengaruhi perkembangan ilmu farmasi.

Amber is a natural origin material with a wide range of colours and structures, concealing the secret of the now bygone continent inside. At present, much like in olden days, amber is used to make mainly decorative items. As a material, it is also subjected to treatment or combined with other materials, metals or gemstones, depending on the need and customer requirements, to make jewellery, both in its one-of-a-kind and mass-produced variety, but that’s not all there is to it. It is also a material for sculptures, functional items, or even cosmetics and amber-based medicines.
The selection of works by members of the International Amber Association presented at the exhibition and in this Catalogue is an example of different ways to approach amber. It includes items both from artists who make their pieces themselves from the concept stage to the end result and from designers who create their amber visions on computer screens. To some, amber is the ultimate inspiration, which is why the setting is adapted to a specific natural piece. Others treat this material as one of the components of jewellery.

The Late Bronze Age amber working site of Campestrin di Grignano Polesine (north-eastern Italy) - The
settlement of Campestrin Grignano Polesine is located approximately 50 km from the North-western Adriatic coast and 10 km
East from Frattesina. Currently it is the most ancient site with evidences of Baltic Amber workshops in the Mediterranean area
(13th–12th c. BC).
Since 2012 a research on provenance, technology and typology of the amber of Campestrin has been carried out and here the
preliminary results are discussed. A huge amount of sub-centimeter splinters and a more reduced number of blocks of raw material,
semi-finished and finished products - including “Tiryns type” beads - have been found. 20 elements were analyzed by infrared
spectroscopy and they are composed by succinate. For which is concerning the technological and traceological analyses
the preliminary results of the reconstruction of the chaîne operatoire of the “Tiryns type” beads are here discussed. Thanks to
Campestrin is possible to state that the Tyrins beads were produced in Northern Italy during the Recent Bronze Age, at the same
time of the oldest attestations of this kind of beads in the Aegean and Levant Mediterranean

Questioning what types of beads would have been in use during the Iron Age in Britain and drawing deeply from the work of the late bead researcher Margaret Guido I’ve amassed a collocation of information which one can draw from not just for bead information concerning the Iron Age Celts in the Isles, but also for those interested in Celtic adornment and bead reproduction.  Please note, my citing is poor the majority of information and many of the pictures have come from Guido’s work ‘The Glass Beads of the Prehistoric and Roman Periods in Britain and Ireland’, (London:  The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1978).  I want to thank not just Guido for her amass of research, but also a wealth of museums and other sources for their invaluable photos, many of which I have to note are copyright protected.

The present book which has just made its way to you did so for a reason. It is because books, just like any other objects, have their own soul and their own history that have to be respected, and they will stay only with such persons who pay them respect. In fact, this book is an “object” about objects that have been re-discovered. It is about lost things, about buried treasures, personal and collective, beloved and kept, discarded and unwanted, old and new, about symbols and metaphors… it is about objects that did not mark only their own, but also my and our common past. In the course of their life cycles their “soul” has been purified and their past is thus very remote. Through a “rebirth” in our era they got a chance to have their past interpreted, which is a complex and never ending “mission”. However, with a reliable provocation and a perfect motivation, the research of their meanings, values and backgrounds within a broader, larger and more detailed cultural context, enables us to discover “worlds” of consciousness and knowledge about the period of their then present. This was the time of the so called Late Bronze Age, an exceptional period covering the last centuries of the 2nd and the transition to the 1st millennium BC. It displays a specific manifestation on the territory of the northern Adriatic, in particular on the Kvarner territory – the area of my “object”, of my past and of our common present. The Kvarner area is the “point of departure” of every single, selected object presented in this book. In a specific “form”, which managed to be preserved or to “survive” for more than 3.000 years these artifacts reached me/us in extremely reduced quantities and in states of preservation which often required much effort in trying to understand their initial, primary, secondary and metaphorical meaning. Since this is one of the most poorly researched areas of the eastern Adriatic coast, as well as on the territory of today’s Croatia, this book presents, analyzes and interprets an impressive number of finds. Although the majority of those objects was published and is well known in the scientific literature, the attitude to those finds was often not satisfactory. In fact, it was an attitude of superficiality and underestimation, depriving them of that certain respect. It is because of such an attitude, which has unfortunately been confirmed lately, and from the perspective of that ancient culture of living and behaving, that I have tried to include amongst known artifacts also such finds from old, forgotten publications, both from chance finds and private property, as well as recent discoveries. This is why only a smaller number of finds has been published for the first time. However, the cultural, stylistic and typological, interactive and significant context of their essence and “soul” within the vast network of knowledge and skills of that past has been significantly extended and explained. “Old” and “new” artifacts united into one single “object” will redirect their manipulation and thereby also the evaluation of their cultural past and heritage of one of the most interesting and most colorful areas of the whole Adriatic basin.
The book has several units. The introductory discussions about the spatial reach and the natural features of the Kvarner area, as well as an overview of the sites and history of research provide basic information and illustrate the situation that follows in the most important part of the book – i.e. the Typological classification, chronological determination and cultural interpretation – containing all the finds that have been collected, by applying the archaeological method, but which have been analyzed and interpreted within a broader spatial and cultural context. The interpretations set and accepted are put into a more relative perspective in the final chapter, they are discussed within a reconstructed context of social potential, of cultural and historical manifestations which have not been critically evaluated in this way so far.
Being aware of the fact that every inconsistency or mistake in the present work is exclusively and only my responsibility, I wish you, dear readers, a pleasant and/or useful reading of the past which surely has its own soul.

This study presents all known German amber finds from the Palaeolithic up to the Late Bronze Age. It is based on a catalogue of 985 features with 13,520 amber objects, collected in a relational databank and analysed by the author.  Through the reappraisal of not only the Bronze Age finds, but also the find material from the pre-metal age, a longstanding desideratum is eliminated. The find material, published up until now only in a few chronologically- and regionally-divergent individual studies, is thereby put forward in a unified presentation, leading to a consolidation and differentiation of the picture of prehistoric amber use in Germany.  At the same time, reflections on source criticism, the evidence situation, and on combinations of offerings are included in this diachronic consideration of amber finds.

This article demonstrates that early medieval exchange networks can be studied through the research of Merovingian beads. Hundred-thousands of beads have been deposited in inhumation graves of the period 400-750 AD across Europe. They have the potential to offer a goldmine of new insights into early medieval exchange, which has hardly been exploited. This potential is demonstrated by focussing on amber beads, which make up almost 10 percent of the total Merovingian bead assemblage.

Na širokem območju Italije od Etrurije do Basilicate so bile odkrite mnoge knežje grobnice iz časa od konca 8. stoletja pr. Kr. do prve polovice 6. stoletja pr. Kr. oz. t.i. časa orientalizirajočega sloga. Med njimi včasih prav ženske grobnice s svojim velikim bogastvom najbolje pričajo o prestižu, ki je tudi pokazatelj statusa in socialnih stikov na širšem območju. Kot knežji element oz. izstopajoči nakit lahko vsekakor obravnavamo jantarno ogrlico, ki izraža močno tradicijo iz konca bronaste dobe. Enako pomensko vrednost imajo tudi razkošna oblačila, ki so narejena iz volne, konoplje in lanu, na njih pa so stkani in izvezeni okrasni motivi. Pogosto so bile na tkanino pritrjene številne jagode ali gumbi iz jantarja, kosti ali steklene paste, majhni okrasni okovi in bronasti obročki. V članku je narejen poskus rekonstrukcije vidikov in značilnosti teh oblačil, ki so nedvomno kakor alter ego spremljala "vladarico" na vseh javnih praznovanjih od njenega rojstva do pokopa.

Baltic amber reached the Mycenaean and Levantine kings by means of a prestige circuit of royal gift-exchanges extending across the Mediterranean area. Amber was valued for its magical properties, which were believed to guarantee victory, fertility, and fortune. It was used for its healing and therapeutic powers, and served as an ingredient in incense, unguents, and perfumes. Jewelry made of ambler could signal allegiance to another person, provide guidance, serve a talismanic function, or ward away danger. A more complex analysis of ancient texts and archaeological finds in the framework of a cross-cultural perspective may reveal the significance of possessing (wearing), giving (gift-giving), and offering (funerary and votive amulets) raw or worked amber in the Late Bronze Age Levant.

"Approximately 4ooo amber items from the Bohemian Únětice
Culture are known from a total of 1o7 sites: 87 burial grounds
(3o4 graves), seven deposits, seven settlements and six undetermined
sites. The amber comes from approximately 15–2o %
of all classic Únětice Culture graves (36oo pieces = 9o %). Existing
analyses have confirmed the Baltic origin of the amber.
We date nearly all of the finds to the classical Únětice Culture
(ca. 2o5o/2ooo–18oo/175o B. C.). Bohemia is far richer in
amber than all of the surrounding regions and was the main
target area for trade with amber in the broader central European
region. If it is already possible to speak of an »amber
trail« at this time, it would have run from the Polish Baltic
coast to Bohemia. Amber was then distributed from Bohemia
to further regions (Moravia, the Danube Valley, central
Germany).
The massive influx of amber into Bohemia suddenly stops
around the middle of the 18th century B. C. with the end of the
classical phase of the Únětice Culture; the Maďarovce-
Věteřov cultural complex then formed to the immediate
southeast.
Bohemia then lost its privileged status and
became a peripheral territory. The centre of development
shifted to the area of Maďarovce-Věteřov, a fact supported by
amber finds which disappear from Bohemia and appear in
greater amounts in precisely this area (see Jelšovce). As such,
the change in the distribution of amber finds over time documents
not only the collapse of the existing system of the
amber trade in the decades around 175o B. C., but also the
collapse of the system of supra-regional contacts on which
the blossoming of the advanced civilization of the classical
Únětice Culture had been based. Nevertheless, our current
state of knowledge does not permit us to connect this process
with the volcanic eruption on Thera, which occurred up to
several generations later (1613 ± 13 B. C.)."

About 4000 amber artefacts from the Bohemian Aunjetitz culture are known from a total of 112 sites, mainly burial
grounds (90 sites/312 graves). Nearly all of the finds can be dated to the classical Aunjetitz culture (ca. 2000–1750 B.C.).
The amber comes from 15–20 % of all graves of this period. Analyses have confirmed the Baltic origin of the amber.
Bohemia is far richer in amber than all of the surrounding regions and was the main target area for trade with amber
in central Europe. If we can speak at all about an “Amber Road” for this period, it leads from the Polish Baltic coast to
Bohemia. Amber was then redistributed from Bohemia to further regions (Moravia, the Danube Valley, central Germany).

Bursztyn i karneol: dwie różne kariery w epoce brązu strefy egejskiej Properties Amber is fossil resin. "Fresh" amber is shiny and usually translucent with some impurities, however, opaque variations are also known. 1 The colour includes nuances of yellow, orange, red, and brown. It is much lighter and softer (only 2-2.5 on the Mohs scale), and therefore much more fragile than other gemstones. Additionally, amber has some absolutely unusual properties: it can be burnt and produces a strong aroma while burning, it can be electrically charged, and, when charged, attracts other objects. Finally, and most importantly, there are sometimes animals or plants frozen inside. 1 I would like to thank J. Czebreszuk and M. Jaeger for the invitation to contribute to this volume, as well as various participants of the EAA session in Pilsen 2013 for stimulating discussions. I also also want to express my gratitude to J. M. Kenoyer and G. Ludvik for encouraging my interest in Aegean gemstones. Furthermore, my thanks go to Carolyn Aslan for correcting the English. Carnelian is a variation of chalcedony and has one clear feature: its red colour. This colour makes the definition of this stone, as well as its archaeological identification, relatively easy in contrast to banded variations like agate, onyx, or sardonyx. The only confusion is connected with sard. Theoretically speaking, carnelian is orange or light red and translucent, whereas sard is dark red and can be almost opaque. However, it is not possible to verify the identification of the stone without an autopsy. I will therefore address both variations as carnelian. Carnelian is, in comparison with amber, heavy, cold, and hard (ca. 7 on the Mohs scale). As mentioned above, it may be translucent and orange (fig. 2), or dark red, almost brown and opaque (fig. 3 or fig. 6). It can also have bands of various nuances of red, as well as spots and other impurities.

The study takes up some issues relating to the location of the workshops that produced the valuable figured ambers that
marked the aristocratic burials of southern Italy from the eighth to fifth century BC. The contribution of findings and
recent studies enabled us to assign some groups of artifacts to the activity of different workshops and even to identify
outstanding artistic personalities, highlighting the undeniable stylistic connections between them.

Investigations in a catacomb revealed an early mass grave, in which the bodies were bound tightly with plaster and textile in a type of mummification. Over 100 individuals, mostly young adults and including women, were stacked in rows apparently following a communal fatal incident, perhaps an epidemic. The presence of traces of gold, silver and probably amber with many of the bodies, and their burial in an imperial property suggests a group of some status being interred in the early years of the catacomb, at the end of the second century AD or beginning of the third.

Keywords: Rome, catacombs, late Antique, plague