About amber

1. What was the genesis of amber?

 Sciadopitys verticillata, were involved in the genesis of Baltic amber.

Conifers of the family Sciadopityaceae, are closely allied to the sole extant representatives.

Sciadopitys verticillata is commonly known as Japanese Umbrella pine, or as コウヤマキ (koya-maki) in the Japanese language.

The English name ‘Umbrella pine’ refers to the whorls of leaves resembling the spokes of an umbrella; the Latin Sciadopitys is a translation of this.

2. How old is amber?

Amber (Lat. Succinum) is fossil pine resin of the Eocene Period (I. E. 45 or 40 million years old), changed by microorganisms, oxidation, polymerization and other processes. 

It formed in the forests of coniferous and broad- leaf bearing trees, which grew in Fennoscandia. 

Sun Stone – one of the largest amber pieces in Europe exhibited in the Museum of Amber (Palanga, Lithuania). Sun stone's size is more or less like human head or 210x190x150 mm.

Sun Stone

3. Pieces of amber come ashore after a storm on the Baltic Sea. But why?

Jūratė and Kastytis is one of the most famous and popular Lithuanian legends and tales. For the first time it was recorded in 1842. The plot greatly varies between the different versions. However, the basic facts remain the same.

Goddess Jūratė (from the noun jūra meaning the sea) lived under the Baltic sea in a beautiful amber castle. Imagine that :)) She ruled the sea and all of the sea-life. A young fisherman named Kastytis was disturbing the peace as he was catching a lot of fish. Jūratė decided to punish him and restore the peace, but she fell in love with the handsome young fisherman. Perkūnas, the thunder-god, found out that the immortal goddess had fallen in love with a mortal man. He became furious and struck the amber castle. It exploded into millions of pieces. And this is why we find pieces of amber after a storm on the Baltic Sea :)