Cultures which are known to have actively traded in amber included Unetice, Otomani, Wessex, Globular Amphora, and, of course, Roman. In 2000, custom officials from Kaliningrad donated 2.5 tons of newly mined amber for the restoration of the Amber Room, which is what is illustrated in the photograph on this page.
For thousands of years, amber that has been pulled up from the ocean floor by strong tides and fierce storms has been deposited along this shorline. The “Amber Coast” near Elblag is shown below. Amber working became a means of living for the majority of the inhabitants of the region. Thus, amber gathering and working took its place alongside bee-keeping, hunting, and fishing, and became a common occupation. Amber was always present in their culture. When Pomerania was seized by the Teutonic Order in the 14th century, amber became exceptionally sought after. Trading in raw amber earrings generated a sizeable income.

Trees and resin may be transported and deposited in quiet water sediments that formed the bottom of a lagoon or delta at the margin of a sea. Wood and resin are buried under the sediment and while the resin becomes amber, the wood becomes lignite.

The geological reason for the concentration of amber rings in this region has been described by a number of authorities N.O. Holst, the Swedish State Geologist referred to an ancient river called the ‘Alnarps’ which he wanted to call the ‘Amber River’.