1,700-Year-Old Amber Workshops Identified in Central Poland

MASOVIA, POLAND—Jewelry was produced in east-central Poland with amber likely imported from the Baltic Sea region, according to a Science in Poland report. As many as 10 workshops in five settlements have been identified through fragments of raw amber, semiworked pieces of amber, and finished decorative amber beads and pendants. These small workshops have been dated to the third and fourth centuries A.D., when this area of Poland was inhabited by the Przeworsk culture, which is known for producing iron. More than 20,000 amber fragments found at one workshop suggests that the pieces could have been produced for large-scale exchange. “In light of the research to date, Masovia appears to be the largest amber works center outside the borders of the Roman Empire,” said Adam Cieśliński of the University of Warsaw. To read about imitation amber beads found in Spain, go to "Artifact: Bronze Age Beads."