between the aegean and baltic seas

AEGAEUM 27
Annales d’archéologie égéenne de l’Université de Liège et UT-PASP
BETWEEN THE AEGEAN
AND BALTIC SEAS
PREHISTORY ACROSS BORDERS
Proceedings of the International Conference
Bronze and Early Iron Age Interconnections and Contemporary Developments
between the Aegean and the Regions of the Balkan Peninsula,
Central and Northern Europe
University of Zagreb, 11-14 April 2005
Edited by Ioanna GALANAKI, Helena TOMAS, Yannis GALANAKIS and Robert LAFFINEUR
Université de Liège
Histoire de l’art et archéologie de la Grèce antique
University of Texas at Austin
Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory
2007
EVIDENCE OF AMBER IN BRONZE AGE SICILY: LOCAL SOURCES
AND THE BALKAN-MYCENAEAN CONNECTION*
Amber artefacts found in prehistoric Sicily have been the subject of several studies in
the last decade, the most systematic ones by C.W. Beck in 1993 and P. Szacki in 1999. These
offer a most significant contribution to the problem of the identification of Sicilian amber
or simetite, and to establishing the spectroscopic characteristics of the fossil resins, but little
attention has been given to the archaeological context of these artefacts.
There is a need for a comprehensive and systematic study of archaeological amber finds
in Sicily, whether reported in the literature or stored in Museums and in private collections.
Moreover, many artefacts in literature labelled as amber need to be correctly identified. Finally,
the identification of Sicilian amber implies an accurate inventory of natural occurrences and
related fossil resins deposited in Mineralogical Museums and classified as genuine simetite.
An attempt to illuminate the evidence of the amber artefacts in the Sicily of the 2nd
millennium BC imposes an interpretative process based on successive levels of investigation,
starting from the status of the research.
Historical evidence
Since the 17th century many local and foreign authors have paid a specific attention to
the popularity of simetite used in the Sicilian craft-workshops. In 1805 the local researcher
Francesco Ferrara, professor of Physics at the University of Catania, published the first systematic
study on the Sicilian amber, focusing on the sources and the long-time tradition of working
the material, especially in a workshop in Catania where amber ornaments were produced for
religious purposes. The evidence of deposits of fossil resins in the island and its probable
exploitation in ancient times moved some scholars to investigate the problem of the objects made
of amber in Bronze Age Sicily. According to the evidence recorded by the first archaeological
explorations in the island, the geologist Antonio Stoppani denied the exploitation of simetite
in Sicily before the Roman period. In the same years, the German chemist and distinguished
amber expert Otto Helm argued the fossil resins bought in a workshop in Catania could not be
authentic Sicilian amber, but were probably imported from the Baltic region.
However, the exhibition of the archaeological collection of Giuseppe Foderaro from
Catanzaro (Calabria, South Italy), held in Turin in 1884, re-opened the question of the
occurrences of simetite in contexts earlier than the Archaic period. In fact, among the material
*
This paper is a preliminary study of a multi-directional field research supported by the National Council of
Italian Researches, Istituto per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali, Catania (CNR-IBAM), under the scientific
supervision of the writer. I would like to express my gratitude to prof. C. Beck and O. Dickinson for reading
and commenting the text, and to Helena Tomas for inviting me to the Conference.
C.W. BECK and H.E. HARTNETT, “Sicilian Amber,” in C.W. BECK and J. BOUZEK (eds), Amber in
Archaeology. Proceedings of the Second International Conference of Amber in Archaeology, Libice 1990 (1993)
36‑47. The archaeological context is generally examined by A. MASSARI, B. RAPOSSO and B. SETTI, “La
diffusione dell’ambra nel Bronzo Antico in Italia,” in D. COCCHI GENICK, L’Antica età del Bronzo in Italia
(1996) 620‑621.
P. SZACKI, “Sicilian Amber,” in B. KOSMOWSKA-CERANOWICZ and H. PANER (eds), Investigations into
Amber (1999) 275-279.
See the anthology of studies in C.E. FIORE, Dell’ambra siciliana. Testi di antichi autori siciliani 1693-1805
(1996).
F. FERRARA, Sopra l’ambra siciliana (1805).
A. STOPPANI, L’ambra nella storia e nella geologia (1886) esp. 165-166.
O. HELM, “Über sicilianischen und rümanischen Bernstein,” Schriften der naturforschenden Gesellschafts in
Danzig 5 (1881) 293-296. A few years later, the same scholar proposed the mineral name simetite, derived
from the river Simeto, for the amber of Sicily : O. HELM and H. CONWENTZ, “Sull‘ambro di Sicilia,”
Malpighia 1 (1886) 49-56.
378
Massimo CULTRARO
labelled as amber and coming from Early Iron Age cemeteries in Calabria (South Italy), some
artefacts were claimed as imports from Sicily.
In spite of some strong criticism, the evidence of the Foderaro Collection at Turin invited
some scholars to investigate the question of the early exploitation of fossil resins or amber in
Sicily. Following the systematic explorations of the Bronze and Iron Age complexes in Sicily
by Paolo Orsi, the question of amber exploitation was supported by a remarkable quantity of
archaeological evidence. The finds at Plemmyrion and Castelluccio cemeteries (Pl. XCVIIIb),
both in the Syracuse district (see further), offered the first archaeological contexts to confirm
the association of amber artefacts with Bronze Age pottery.
Tricks of the market
As C.W. Beck has recently claimed, “it is a serious matter to impugn the honesty of ten
generation of Sicilian amber merchants and to deny the authenticity of a good many specimens
in the mineralogical departments of some of the world’s most renowned museums.” In fact, the
genuine or claimed provenience of the large amount of Sicilian amber manufactured artefacts
recorded either in Sicily or in other European public and private collections is brought into
question. The suspicion that Baltic amber was misleadingly sold as simetite in the 18th century
market was raised by Otto Helm,10 and the same local scholar F. Ferrara did not deny the
possibility that imported foreign amber was used in the folk craft-workshops at Catania.11
One of the possible sources of raw material was copal from North Africa, which was highly
appreciated by the Sicilian craftsmen of the 17th and 18th centuries for its ease of working and
its attractive colour; it became becoming a fashionable substitute for the much more expensive
amber.12
The above scenario finds support in the recent spectroscopic analyses which confirm the
fact that some supposed Sicilian simetite, recorded in the Natural History Museum in London,
can now be identified as Baltic amber or succinite.13 The same conclusion is suggested by study
of many specimens labelled as simetite collected in other important Mineralogical Museums of
Europe (Naturhistorisches Museum at Vienna and Musée d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris), where
the specimens were sold on the antiquarian market during the 18th century.14
Once these specimens misleadingly and dishonestly recorded as simetite are eliminated,
the rest of the samples certainly coming from Sicily can be certified as genuine Sicilian
amber.
Chemical and spectroscopic evidence
Since the first chemical analysis by O. Helm, succinic acid has been identified as a key
element in the determination of the origin of amber from the Baltic region.15 The archaeologist
P. Orsi gave to the chemist F. Oster of Aachen two amber beads found in the Early Iron Age
10
11
12
13
14
15
About the Foderaro collection see: A.B. MEYER, “Dell’ambra prestorica lavorata in Sicilia,” Bullettino di
Paletnologia Italiana 13 (1887) 21-22.
P. STROBEL, “L’ambra padana,” Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 12 (1886) 45-46.
BECK and HARTNETT (supra n. 1) 36.
HELM (supra n. 6). In the same years O. Schneider focused on the increase of demand for amber in the
Sicilian market in the second half of the eighteenth century, and the circulation of amber from the Baltic or
other sources, that was sold as simetite: O. SCHNEIDER, “Zur Bernsteinfrage, insbesondere über sicilischen
Bernstein und das Lynkurion der Alten,” Naturwissenschaftliche Beiträge zur Geographie und Kulturgeschichte
(1883) 194-196.
FERRARA (supra n. 4) 91.
Ibid. 153. About copal as a substitute for amber, see BECK and HARTNETT (supra n. 1) 39-40.
BECK and HARTNETT (supra n. 1) 38-39.
Ibid. It is also very surprising that two of the eight specimens collected in the Department of Geology of the
University of Catania show the same spectral characteristics as Baltic amber; they were probably bought as
simetite in the late Eighteenth Century.
O. HELM, “Notizen über die chemische und physikalische Beschaffenheit des Bernsteins,” Archiv der
Pharmacie 11 (1877) 229-246. The main criteria for identification of Sicilian amber were the presence of a
high oxygen content and a low succimic acid content (0,4%).
EVIDENCE OF AMBER IN BRONZE AGE SICILY
379
cemetery at Tremenzano near Ragusa (Hyblaean district) in order to establish the origin of
the material.16 The chemical analyses confirmed the characteristics of Baltic amber, and in
the same years F. Oster analysed the amber beads found in the Middle Bronze Age cemetery
at Plemmyrion, concluding that these artefacts were produced from a fossil resin apparently
different from both simetite and Baltic amber.17
Since 1965 the infrared spectroscopic investigations by C.W. Beck and his collaborators
have led to a series of important conclusions in the identification of the origin of various kinds
of amber, as well as in the archaeological attribution of important finds.18 Infrared spectroscopy
is an instrumental and empirical method that has the advantage of requiring only a very small
sample, of no more than two milligrams.
A recent analysis of a large amount of supposed simetite specimens shows a specific
uniformity in terms of infrared spectra, and it has been taken to define the absorption
characteristics of genuine Sicilian amber. All spectra of Sicilian fossil resin have a maximum
absorption band in the range of 1230-1260cm¹, followed by a broader shoulder.19 This latter
pattern clearly constitutes a reversal of the Baltic succinite, in which the shoulder precedes the
maximum absorption.
These results are really significant for the identification of genuine Sicilian amber and
the differences in pronounced absorption peak, which leads to the recognition of different
kinds of fossil resins, like African copal and European (Baltic, Romanian) and Near Eastern
(Lebanese) amber.
Another question that arises is the location of fossil resins in Sicily. According to the
writings of local scholars of the 16th and 17th centuries, deposits of genuine simetite are
located along the valleys of the Simeto and Salso rivers20 (Pl. XCVIIIa). Moreover, geological
investigations in the 19th century confirmed the presence of fossil resin deposits along the
Simeto river (in the site of Giarretta, in the South-Western slopes of the Aetna volcano), and in
the Hyblaean region (Ragusa district), South-East Sicily.21 The geologist A. Stoppani reported
natural amber finds from the Himera river, Western Sicily, but this information cannot be
confirmed.22 In conclusion, the region around the Simeto valley and the Hyblaean area seem
to be the best candidate of the Sicilian amber origin.
Amber in archaeological context: old and new data
Once the infrared spectrum of Sicilian simetite and the criteria of identification have
been established, the next level of investigation is to define the archaeological context of the
amber artefacts found in the Sicilian Bronze Age and their implications in terms of long-range
trade connections between the local communities and Mycenaean explorers.
The oldest archaeological evidence of amber artefacts in Sicily is a pendant found in the
Calafarina Cave (Pachino), in the South-Eastern coast of the island23 (Pl. XCVIIIc.11). The
ovoid-shaped pendant was part of a necklace composed of small beads of a fossil resin that,
according P. Orsi, could be amber of yellow colour.24 The chronology of the context is also
very interesting: the amber pendant was related to the grave goods of simple inhumations
that can be dated to the Early Copper Age (Piano Notaro ware). Radiocarbon dates are few.
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
P. ORSI, “La necropoli sicula di Castelluccio (Siracusa),” Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 18 (1892) 19.
Ibid. 20; P. ORSI, “La necropoli sicula del Plemmirio,” Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 17 (1891) 123, pl. XI. 9.
C.W. BECK, E. WILBUR, S. MERET, D. KOSSOVE and K. KERMANI, “Infrared spectra of amber and the
identification of Baltic amber,” Archaeometry 8 (1965) 96-109; C.W. BECK, “Spectroscopic investigations of
amber,” Applied Spectroscopy Reviews 22/1 (1986) 57-110; ID., “The Chemistry of Amber,” Estudios del Museo
de Ciencias Naturales de Alava 14 (1999) 33-48; BECK and HARTNETT (supra n. 1).
BECK and HARTNETT (supra n. 1) 40, figs. 4-5. See also C.W. BECK, E.C. STOUT and K.M. WOVKULICH,
“The Chemistry of Sicilian Amber (Simetite),” in C.W. BECK, I.B. LOZE and J.M. TODD (eds), Amber in
Archaeology. Proceedings of the Fourth Conference on Amber in Archaeology, Talsi 2001 (2003) 17-33.
See references in FIORE (supra n. 3).
STOPPANI (supra n. 5) 160ss, 208; STROBEL (supra n. 8) 46.
STOPPANI (supra n. 5) 208.
P. ORSI, “La Grotta di Calafarina presso Pachino, abitazione e sepolcro,” Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 33
(1907) 21, fig. B.
Ibid. 14.
380
Massimo CULTRARO
However, two samples from the Grotta Cavallo suggest that Piano Notaro ware was current in
the mid-4th millennium cal. BC.25 Although no chemical analyses were undertaken, there is no
reason to doubt that the amber pendant was locally made, probably a product of local fossil
resins located in the Hyblaean region.
Amber artefacts become common in Sicily in the Early Bronze Age (the so-called
Castelluccio Culture), that, according to the new radiocarbon chronologies, is dated to about
2200-1700 cal. BC.26 Seven amber beads were found in the Early Bronze Age (EBA) cemetery
at Castelluccio (Syracuse)27 (Pl. XCVIIIc.1-2). Four beads are reported from the burial goods
of Tomb 9, one of the largest and most architecturally developed rock-cut tombs. Three small
beads, one of them lentoid and one of squared form, were found in the main chamber, without
a specific attribution to any of the more than twenty inhumations identified.28 A single small
barrel amber bead was found among the grave goods of a young male located in the inner part
of the funerary chamber, but in the centre, along the axis of the entrance29 (Pl. XCVIIIc.1).
Other amber finds are reported from Tombs 22 and 23 in the same cemetery. Both
chamber tombs seem to be among the most important funerary complexes in the EBA cemetery
at Castelluccio: this interpretation finds support in the use of carved stone, located in the
entrance, and especially in the composition of the grave goods which include prestige bronze
objects.30 A small amber bead was reported from Tomb 22, and two large globular beads of
fossil resin (amber?) were found in Tomb 23 nearby.31
Further indications of Sicilian amber in the Castelluccio culture are provided by other EBA
cemeteries. A small globular amber bead was found at Monte Sallia (Hyblaean district) among
the grave goods of Tomb 5.32 In the cemetery at Cava Secchiera, in the foothills bordering the
lower Simeto valley, beads of fossil resins, firstly interpreted misleadingly as bone, are classified
as simetite.33
By contrast, while there is much evidence of amber artefacts in the Hyblaean region, the
Aetnean district – claimed as the source area of simetite fossil resin – has revealed few examples.
A small discoid bead of red amber from a shaft burial in Grotta Maccarrone (Adrano) could
easily be a locally made ornament34 (Pl. XCVIIIc.4). It is very likely that the amber bead is of
local fossil resin, but a trading link with the Mycenaean world is provided from a fragmentary
bronze shallow cup found in the same burial at Grotta Maccarrone.35 Close comparisons can
be drawn between the shallow cup and a variety of one-handled globular cups which are welldocumented in the LH I-II mainland Greece (Circle A at Mycenae, tholos tombs at Kokla and
Dendra) and in LM II Crete (Isopata and other Knossian cemeteries).36
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
For the radiocarbon dates, see R. LEIGHTON, Sicily Before History (1999) 93.
The Early Bronze Age chronology is discussed in Ibid. 113-114.
ORSI (supra n. 16) 1-34.
Ibid. 18, pl. III.18. The amber beads and the bronze/copper ones were extracted by simple water flotation
from the soil covering the burials.
Ibid. 18, pl. III.12.
Ibid. 27-32.
Ibid. 30 (from Tomb 22); 32, pl. V.17 (from Tomb 23).
P. ORSI, “Villaggio, officina litica e necropoli sicula del 1º Periodo Siculo a Monte Salia presso Canicarao
(Comiso, prov. di Siracusa),” Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 43 (1923) 3-26, esp. 17 (Tomb 5).
P. ORSI, “Di due sepolcreti siculi nel territorio di Siracusa,” Archivio Storico Siracusano 18 (1893) 308-325:
T. X (pl. II), T. XIV (pl. III). The interpretation of the items as amber beads was proposed in W. BREMER,
“Bernstein und Bernstein-Artefakte,” s.v. in Reallexikon der Vorgeschichte (1924) 440.
Unpublished materials stored in the Archaeological Museum at Adrano (Catania). Preliminary information
on the Maccarrone Cave: M. CULTRARO, “Il Castellucciano etneo nel quadro dei rapporti tra Sicilia,
penisola italiana ed Egeo nei secc. XVI e XV a.C.,” Sileno 15 (1989) 259-282. See further M. CULTRARO, I
Micenei (2006) 222, fig. 11.1.
Ibid. 272-276, pl. III.1; M. CULTRARO, “La Sicilia centro-orientale e la prima navigazione egeo-micenea
in Occidente: fenomeno di contatto o posizione di ‘confine’?,” in C. GIARDINO (ed.), Culture marinare nel
Mediterraneo centrale occidentale fra il XVII e il XV secolo a.C. (1999) 110-111, fig. 3.1.
H. MATTHÄUS, Die Bronzegefässe der Kretisch-Mykenischer Kultur (PBF II/1, 1980) 219-221, pls. 41, 70-74. An
Aegean origin for the bronze cup from Adrano is now suggested in V. LA ROSA, “Pour une réflexion sur le
problème de la première présence égéenne en Sicile,” in EMPORIA 571-582, esp. 578, pl. CCXXXII, 1-3.
EVIDENCE OF AMBER IN BRONZE AGE SICILY
381
The shallow cup from the Maccarrone Cave is a remarkable piece of evidence for the
“LM I-II Cretan connection” that was particularly active in the earliest phase of the long-range
contacts between the Aegean and Italy. Continuing progress in the study of the LH I-II pottery
found in the Aeolian Islands (Lipari and Filicudi), in contemporary sites in peninsular Italy
and on the island of Vivara (lower Tyrrhenian Sea), has outlined very clearly the existence
of a possible Minoan contribution to the early interconnections between the Aegean and the
Western Mediterranean.37 A further indication of these contacts is provided by a recent find
at Gallo di Briatico, a site along the Western coast of Calabria, facing the Aeolian islands. In a
burial inside a large jar of Handmade Burnished Ware (so-called Impasto in Italian terminology)
there were many exotic grave goods including a small flattened globular amber bead and,
very surprisingly, a carnelian sealstone that can be compared with the well known category of
Talismanic Seals, of certain Minoan origin.38
No spectroscopic analysis has been made of the amber find from Gallo di Briatico, but
the absence of this fossil resin in Calabria may suggest that Sicily was the source.
In summary, the evidence of the EBA Castelluccio cemeteries confirms that amber finds
were perceived as prestige objects, and their circulation seems to be closely related to the richest
individuals who had access to the funerary area. Moreover, it appears that at the local level many
multi-directional exchange relationships were developed in the EBA, and amber artefacts, as
well as other finely crafted items (ground stone axes, stone beads and ornaments), may have
been exchanged along with other prestigious materials between neighbouring communities. It
is no surprising that the distribution area of the amber artefacts largely overlaps the distribution
pattern of basaltic axes from Etnean or Hyblaean sources.39
The Middle Bronze Age: local simetite and Baltic amber
Turning to the following period, evidence from the Middle Bronze Age (MBA), which
according to the traditional chronology is roughly dated about 1450-1250 BC, suggests an
intensification of amber artefacts in the local network.40 Among the most remarkable artefacts
are the amber spacer beads from the cemetery at Plemmyrion near Syracuse: two flattened
oblong beads were found in Tomb 10 and a globular disc of fossil resin was reported in
Tomb 1141 (Pl. XCVIIIc.10).
There is no doubt that the oblong beads with multiple parallel perforations can be
interpreted as spacer plates of a composite necklace.42 Similar artefacts have been found in
many very early Mycenaean graves in mainland Greece, such as Tomb Omicron in Circle B
at Mycenae, Tholos A at Kakovatos, and Tholos II at Peristeria.43 The lack of spectroscopic
analyses of the Plemmyrion beads does not help in the identification of the provenance of the
fossil resin; however, the unusual flattened oblong form and the perforation system appear to
be characteristic of amber bead production in central Europe.44 If this interpretation is right,
the Plemmyrion amber spacer beads could be foreign imports, which probably came to Sicily
in the context of the intensification of Mycenaean contacts in the Western Mediterranean. It
is of relevant importance in this perspective that LH faience or glass paste beads have been
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
L. VAGNETTI, “The Role of Crete in the Exchanges between the Aegean and the Central Mediterranean in
the Second Millennium BC,” in N. STAMPOLIDIS and V. KARAGEORGHIS, Sea Routes...Interconnections in
the Mediterranean 16th - 6th BC (2003) 53-61. See further Cultraro (supra n. 35) 221-224.
M. PACCIARELLI, Dal villaggio alla città. La svolta protourbana del 1000 a.C. nell’Italia tirrenica (2000) 185‑187,
fig. 109. See further VAGNETTI (supra n. 37) 54-55, fig. 1.
R. LEIGHTON, “Ground stone tools from Serra Orlando (Morgantina) and stone axes studied in Sicily and
Southern Italy,” PPS 55 (1989) 135-159.
The chronology of the MBA is discussed in LEIGHTON (supra n. 25) 147-149.
ORSI (supra n. 17, 1891) 121-124, pl. XI.9.
O. CORNAGGIA CASTIGLIONI and G. CALEGARI, “Due ‘amber spacer beads’ siciliane,” Rivista di Scienze
Preistoriche 33 (1978) 265-269.
References in A. HARDING and H. HUGHES-BROCK, “Amber in the Mycenaean World,” BSA 69 (1974)
155.
R. HACHMANN, “Bronzezeitliche Bernsteinschieber,” Bayerische Vorgeschichtsblatter 22 (1957) 1-36; N.K.
SANDARS, “Amber spacer-beads again,” Antiquity 33 (1959) 292-295.
382
Massimo CULTRARO
found in the MBA cemetery at Plemmyrion, and these prestigious items can be compared with
similar artefacts, not locally made, reported from Thapsos (Tomb D), where the association with
LH IIIA Mycenaean vases reinforces the hypothesis that they were imported from Mainland
Greece.45
Moreover, among the grave goods in Tomb D at Thapsos seven globular and lentoid
amber beads were found46 (Pl. XCVIIIc.9). In the absence of chemical or spectroscopical
investigations it is very difficult to establish the provenance of their raw material. However,
the fact that the amber beads constituted elements of a composite necklace, put together with
other exotic artefacts (gold pendant, glass paste and carnelian beads), may suggest that these
items are finished prestigious products, probably imported from Mycenaean Greece.
This reconstruction receives some measure of confirmation from the evidence of
Tomb 61 in the cemetery at Thapsos. Among the prestigious grave goods there are many
beads, probably belonging to a single necklace, among which is one globular amber bead
(Pl. XCVIIIc.5), whereas the others are of glass paste.47
Another important question that arises is the chronology of the spacer plates of the
Plemmyrion cemetery. The Thapsos pottery found in this cemetery suggests a dating in the
course of the MBA, but in the absence of LH III pottery there can be no closer synchronism.
However, within Southern Sicily, the emergence of Thapsos ware cannot be dated earlier than
the introduction of LH IIIA1 pottery, as the evidence from Thapsos culture sites in the Syracuse
district indicates.48 In mainland Greece the period of use of spacer plates is the earliest horizon
of the Mycenaean civilisation (LH I-IIA).49 Now, if we accept the relative chronology of the
Plemmyrion cemetery, the obvious conclusion is that the spacer plates from Tomb 11 could be
interpreted as heirlooms.
Many other examples of amber artefacts come from some cemeteries of Southern Sicily
during the Thapsos period. The cemetery at Valsavoia (Catania), set along the lower Simeto
river valley, has mainly tombs dated to EBA; however, some rock-cut chamber tombs show
evidence of reuse in the MBA (Thapsos culture). Among these, amber beads of simple form
(mainly barrel-shaped) are reported from Tomb 18 and 21, associated with pottery of Thapsos
style50 (Pl. XCVIIIc.3).
Amber beads are reported from the nearby cemetery at Cava Cana Barbara (Syracuse),
that can be dated to a transitional stage from late EBA to MBA. In two burials (Tombs III,
VI and IX) amber artefacts were found: the barrel shape can be compared with the above
mentioned amber beads from Valsavoia cemetery51 (Pl. XCVIIIc.8). This latter point is very
interesting. It suggests a preliminary typological classification of types used in EBA/MBA Sicily:
amber beads of irregular flattened globular and discoid form are well documented in the EBA,
while the barrel and the lentoid shapes are largely attested in Thapsos contexts. Moreover, it
can be suggested that barrel-shaped beads are an imitation of the biconical beads attested in
Mycenaean Greece. It is worth noting that barrel-shaped and flattened cylindrical beads are
reported from Torre Castelluccia (Taranto), in Southern Italy.52 In this case, the evidence of
LH IIIB pottery is a further indication in favour of the connection of amber artefacts with the
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
Glass paste beads from Plemmyrion: ORSI (supra n. 17, 1891) figs. 7 and 9. Necklace and other beads from
Tomb D at Thapsos: G. PUGLIESE CARRATELLI (ed.), I Greci in Occidente (1994) 664, XIV-XXII.
PUGLIESE CARRATELLI (supra n. 45) 664, XXI (inv. 69371-69372).
P. ORSI, “Thapsos,” Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei 6 (1895) 134, fig. 49.
For the analysis of the Mycenaean pottery found in association with Thapsos ware (with references), see G.
ALBERTI, “Contributo alla seriazione delle necropoli siracusane,” in V. LA ROSA (ed.), Le presenze micenee
nel territorio siracusano (2004) 99-150.
HARDIG and HUGHES-BROCK (supra n. 43) 156-157; A. HARDING, The Mycenaeans and Europe (1984) 81-82.
The use of some amber artefacts as heirlooms or relics in North Europe is investigated by A. WOODWARD,
“Beads and Beakers: heirlooms and relics in the British Early Bronze Age,” Antiquity 76 (2002) 1040-1047.
P. ORSI, “La necropoli di Valsavoia,” in Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 28 (1902) 114 (Tomb. 18), 116 and
pl. II.36 (Tomb. 36).
P. ORSI, “Sepolcreto di Cava Cana Barbara (Siracusa),” Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 28 (1902) 184-190,
186 (T. III); 187 and pl. VI.5 (Tomb VI); 188 and pl. VI.11 (Tomb IX).
C. DRAGO, “Torre Castelluccia,” Fasti Archeologici 4 (1949) 2372, fig. 6; HARDIG and HUGHES-BROCK
(supra n. 43) 168, 168, fig. 6, 26-30.
EVIDENCE OF AMBER IN BRONZE AGE SICILY
383
Mycenaean trade network. The parallels between the amber beads from Torre Castelluccia and
the Sicilian ones are very close and their origin from Eastern Sicily is not improbable.
If this above is accepted, we can conclude that the intensification of the Mycenaean
contacts with the Western Mediterranean and the circulation of more sophisticated foreign
artefacts evidently stimulated indigenous production and the imitation of exotic items. The
adoption of more articulated shapes, such as the lentoid type and the biconical type with
carinated edge, implies a different and more careful and regular production that reveals close
affinities with Mycenaean stone jewellery.
Finally, amber that was probably imported from Sicily was traded in the Aeolian Islands
during the Milazzese culture (MBA period), which can be compared with the Thapsos horizon
in Sicily. The composite necklace found in Hut F at La Portella (Salina), includes glass paste
beads and a small amber one.53
The Late Bronze and Iron Age I: exploitation of local sources
Amber artefacts are poorly represented in the Late Bronze Age or so-called Pantalica
North culture in Sicily, that can, according to Bernabò Brea, be roughly dated between 1250
and 1000 BC.54 Some of the richest tombs in the Northern cemetery at Pantalica display a
large variety of luxury items, such as gold headbands, bronze mirrors and silver finger-rings, of
indubitable Aegean or Cypriot origin.55 A similar picture emerges from the analysis of other
large cemeteries of the Pantalica North culture, such Montagna di Caltagirone and Dessueri
(Gela), where high social status are indicated by the presence of gold and silver ornaments:
in these cases the gold and silver finger-rings with oval bezel, sometimes incised with fish and
geometric motifs, show generic parallels in the Eastern Mediterranean, and they appear to be
associated with glass paste beads referring to composite necklaces.56
The scanty evidence of amber ornaments in the Late Bronze Age Pantalica North culture
cannot be accidental, and may be interpreted either in terms of changes in the production
and consumption of luxury goods or in terms of the transformation of local manufacture. It
is likely that the collapse of the Mycenaean palace economy at the end of the 13th century BC
produced significant alterations in international long-distance trade, moving the indigenous
communities of Sicily to exploit local resources in order to replace previously imported raw
materials and finished luxury goods. A painted jug of Mycenaean type from Pantalica tomb
133N may be a product of the “Italo-Mycenaean” ware of South Italy, and it can be interpreted
as an indicator of late Mycenaean contacts with Sicily.57 Moreover, the probable increase in the
production of glass paste or faience artefacts in the Pantalica North culture demonstrates the
emergence of a local industry that was stimulated and improved by continuous contacts with
the Mycenaean world since the Thapsos phase.
Probably slightly later in date (Ausonian II Period) is the cemetery of Piazza Monfalcone
on Lipari, where a large amount of amber beads was found in Tomb 31. The young individual,
maybe a female, was buried with a superb necklace of nineteen amber beads of Tiryns type,
and a cross belt, a sort of bandolier, made of large amber discs was located upon the chest.58
Although they have not been analysed by infrared spectroscopy, the amber beads from
Lipari show close affinities in shape and in the quality of the raw material with the Tiryns Type
beads which frequently occur in the Western Peloponnese (Achaea, Elis) and in the Ionian
Islands (Kephallonia) during LH IIIC.59 In this respect, whatever their production centre (the
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
L. BERNABÒ BREA and M. CAVALIER, Meligunìs Lipàra III (1968) 167, pl. XXXV.
L. BERNABÒ BREA, Pantalica (1990) 29-31.
M. CULTRARO, “La cultura di Pantalica Nord in Sicilia nei suoi rapporti con il mondo egeo,” in N.
NEGRONI CATACCHIO (ed.), Preistoria e Protostoria in Etruria (1998) 301-312: silver ring (T. 37N); bronze
mirrors (Tombs 37N, 23 N.O.B, 3N, 140N, 173 S.O); gold diadem and gold globular beads (T. 37N).
On the gold finger-rings in the Pantalica North cemeteries, see P. MILITELLO, “Due anelli d’oro dalle
pendici sud-ovest di Monte Campanella,” Quaderni dell’Istituto di Archeologia dell’Università di Messina 6 (1991)
17-21.
L. VAGNETTI, “Un vaso miceneo da Pantalica,” SMEA 5 (1968) 132-135.
L. BERNABÒ BREA and M. CAVALIER, Meligunìs Lipàra I (1960) 118-119, pl. XLIII.1.
HARDING (supra n. 49) 85-86.
384
Massimo CULTRARO
Po valley in North Italy or Western Dalmatia), the Tiryns Type beads were certainly made
from Baltic amber and they can be interpreted as a remarkable indicator of contacts between
postpalatial Greece and the Adriatic area.60 It is therefore reasonable to assume that the amber
beads from Lipari came from a production centre located in the Adriatic, probably Frattesina
in the Po valley, and the presence in the Aeolian islands (especially on the Acropolis at Lipari)
of some LH IIIC late sherds provides a further support of the late Mycenaean contacts within
the Western Mediterranean.
In contrast, the use of amber artefacts became popular in the Final Bronze Age (età del
Bronzo Finale in Italian terminology) and in Iron Age I (900-750 BC). In two tombs (SC 6 and
SC 29) at Pantalica, datable to the Pantalica II or Cassibile Phase (traditionally dated about
1000-850 BC), small globular amber beads were found.61 In other Early Iron Age cemeteries of
the Syracuse area, dated to the early Greek colonial period, amber ornaments are well known,
for instance at Villasmundo62 and Monte Finocchito (Noto).63 Moreover, similar amber beads
are reported from the large cemetery of about 340 tombs at Madonna del Piano/Mulino della
Badia, where the ornaments of fossil resin can be mostly related to female individuals or young
members of the elite.64
Moving to mid-Western Sicily, globular amber beads are reported from the cemetery at
S. Angelo Muxaro (Agrigento), that includes chamber tombs datable from the Late Bronze Age
to the Iron Age.65 Similar evidence was found in the Early Iron Age I cemetery and settlement
at Polizzello (Mussomeli, Caltanissetta),66 while the amber artefacts from the chamber tombs
at Realmese (Enna)67 and those from the cemetery at Butera (Gela)68 can be dated to the early
colonial period.
On the Western side of Sicily the best known evidence comes the cemetery at Monte
Finestrelle (Gibellina, Trapani), dated to the Iron Age I period. The grave goods include a large
amount of globular amber beads, but the most impressive artefact is a necklace consisting of
fifty-eight cylindrical and globular beads of red lustrous amber.69
At present no evidence has been produced by chemical or spectroscopical investigations
of the amber artefacts found in contexts of the Late Bronze and Iron Age I period. Isolated data
come from some spectra reported from finds in the Iron Age cemetery at Tremenzano, where
the amber beads analysed by the German chemist F. Oster in the 19th century revealed close
affinities with Baltic amber.70 It is difficult to argue that the large amount of amber artefacts
in the Sicilian Late Bronze/Iron Age may derive from the Baltic area. However, the evidence
from the Aeolian islands confirms that in the 13th century BC amber artefacts made from Baltic
or other fossil resins from the Northern Adriatic travelled widely in the lower Tyrrhenian Sea.
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
On the question of the Tiryns Type beads in Italy, see M. CULTRARO, “I vaghi di ambra del tipo Tirinto
nella protostoria italiana: nuovi dati dall’area egeo-balcanica,” in Materie prime e scambi nella preistoria italiana.
Atti della XXXIX Riunione Scientifica dell’II.PP, Florence November 2004 (2006) 1533-1553.
P. ORSI, “Pantalica e Monte Dessueri,” Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei 21 (1912) 309, pl. VII.43 (Tomb SC 6);
311 (Tomb SC 29).
G. VOZA, “La necropoli della valle del Marcellino presso Villasmundo,” Cronache di Archeologia 17 (1978)
104-110, espec. 106.
M. FRASCA, “La necropoli di Monte Finocchito,” Cronache di Archeologia 20 (1981) 61 (type 28).
P. ORSI, “Necropoli al Mulino della Badia presso Grammichele,” Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 31 (1905)
106 (burial 11); L. BERNABÒ BREA, E. MILITELLO and S. LA PIANA, “Mineo (Catania). La necropoli
detta del Molino della Badia: nuove tombe in contrada Madonna del Piano,” Notizie Scavi 23 (1969) 244.
G. RIZZA and D. PALERMO (eds), La Necropoli di Sant’Angelo Muxaro (2004) 178.
D. PALERMO, “Polizzello,” Cronache di Archeologia 20 (1981) 141; E. DE MIRO, “Gli indigeni della Sicilia
centro-meridionale,” Kokalos 34-35 (1988-89) 30. A new globular amber bead is reported from Building A in
the level with painted pottery of the Cassibile Phase. I am grateful to dr. D. Tanasi for this information.
R.M. ALBANESE, “Calascibetta (Enna). La necropoli di Cozzo S. Giuseppe in Contrada Realmese,” Notizie
Scavi 36 (1982) 620-621.
D. ADAMESTEANU, “Butera. Le necropoli di Piano della Fiera, Consi e Fontana Calda,” Monumenti Antichi
dei Lincei 44 (1958) Burials 90, 102, 157.
S. TUSA (ed.), Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana (1997), 234, V.186-187. On the EIA cemetery see:
G. FALSONE and G. MANNINO, “Le Finestrelle di Gibellina e di Poggioreale. Due necropoli rupestri dalla
Valle del Belice,” in Atti della Seconda Giornata di Studi sull’area elima (1997), 613-641.
See supra n. 16.
EVIDENCE OF AMBER IN BRONZE AGE SICILY
385
Simetite outside Sicily
The above mentioned catalogues become more useful when this picture is compared with
that of simetite finds reported from Sicily. In 1971 C.W. Beck analysed two beads of an amberlike fossil resin found in Tomb 3 of the Eneolithic cemetery at Laterza, Apulia (South-East Italy),
dated to the mid-3rd millennium cal. BC.71 Infrared spectroscopic analyses have confirmed that
these amber finds are not of Baltic succinite and the spectra show many similarities to specimens
of Sicilian amber. This claim of Sicilian provenance has recently found strong support in new
spectroscopic investigations carried out by C.W. Beck and his collaborators.72
In terms of long-range contacts, the occurrence of simetite finds in South Italy is not
an isolated case; it has close support in other artefacts found in the same Tomb 3 of the late
Eneolithic cemetery at Laterza. The most significant indication along these lines is provided
by two copper alloy long-blade daggers with crescent-shaped hilt, which can be compared with
a similar copper artefact found in level IV in the Chiusazza Cave (Syracuse), dated to the lateEneolithic phase named as Piano Quartara-Malpasso culture.73 The copper daggers from Sicily
and Laterza show close typological and technical parallels, and therefore give a further indication
of long-distance and multi-directional exchange relationships developed and intensified in the
course of the late Copper Age. Moreover, the recent exploration of some sites on the Tropea
promontory (Western Calabria) have revealed a late-Eneolithic level with a pottery assemblage
that can be compared to that of the Sicilian/Aeolian Piano Quartara-Malpasso culture.74 The
origin of this dagger type, however, remains unidentifiable and, in my opinion, the Chiusazza
Cave sample may be classified as an imported item coming from a workshop located in South
or central Italy.
We can also include an unworked amber lump, probably imported from Sicily, that was
found in the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum at Malta, in the same picture of long-distance maritime
relationships.75 There is no spectroscopic analysis, but the strong relationship between Sicily
and the Maltese Islands in the early 3rd millennium BC provides a further support for the
hypothesis of a Sicilian provenance.
As far as the Early Bronze Age is concerned, no evidence has been produced by infrared
spectroscopic investigations of the amber beads found in the pithos burial at Gallo di Briatico
(Western coast of Calabria), mentioned above.76 However, the close links of the local pottery
assemblage with the unpainted Grey Ware, named after the sites of Rodi, Tindari and Vallelunga
mainly distributed in Northern Sicily, reinforce the hypothesis that the amber beads of Gallo di
Briatico could be imported artefacts from Sicily.77
At Mamoa V de Chã de Arcas (Loivos do Monte, Baião, Douro littoral), North Portugal,
a Bronze Age monumental megalithic tomb with a polygonal chamber has been recently
identified. The final reports of the exploration are not yet available, but among the finds
published in the preliminary report one amber fragment is mentioned.78 Spectroscopic analysis
shows that the bead is not of Baltic amber; its spectrum corresponds closely to that of Sicilian
amber items. The amber bead from Portugal is very puzzling and it needs to be analysed by
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
About the spectroscopic analysis: C.W. BECK, “Amber from the Chalcolithic cemetery of Laterza,” Origini 5
(1971) 301-305. See further: F. BIANCOFIORE, “La necropoli eneolitica di Laterza,” Origini 1 (1967) 195‑299,
esp. 212, fig. 20, n. 1, 5-6, 8-9, 12-13.
BECK and HARTNETT (supra n. 1) 41-42, fig. 6.
BIANCOFIORE (supra n. 71) 218-220, fig. 27.1. For the dagger from the Chiusazza Cave: S. TINÈ, “Gli scavi
nella Grotta della Chiusazza,” Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 74 (1965) 202, fig. 13.
G. GRANDINETTI et al., “Gli insediamenti di Gallo e Colarizzi (promontorio di Tropea): primi dati di un
nuovo aspetto ceramico dell’età del Rame,” in Preistoria e Protostoria della Calabria. Atti della XXXVII Riunione
Scientifica (2004) 275-294.
J.D. EVANS, The Prehistoric Antiquites of the Maltese Islands. A Survey (1971) 60.
See supra n. 38.
M. PACCIARELLI and M.R. VARRICCHIO, “Fasi e facies del Bronzo medio e recente nella Calabria
meridionale tirrenica,” in Preistoria e Protostoria della Calabria. Atti della XXXVII Riunione Scientifica dell’II.PP
(2004) 359-378.
R. VILAÇA, C. BECK and E.C. STOUT, “Provenience Analysis of Prehistoric Amber Artefacts in Portugal,”
Madrider Mitteilungen 43 (2002) 62-63, fig. 1.1.
386
Massimo CULTRARO
new infrared spectroscopy, because the possibility cannot be definitely excluded that the find
may be of local origin. In fact, the mention of deposits of fossil resin in some areas of Portugal
is of considerable interest, but none of them have been analysed.79
Many years ago C. Beck included two small objects found in the Grave Circle situated
about 150 m South of the Mycenaean palace at Pylos among the probable Sicilian amber
artefacts found outside Sicily.80 This tomb, named as Tholos V, consists of a circular stone
enclosure wall that is strikingly similar to Grave Circles A and B at Mycenae and to a stone
built grave at Samikon (Elis).81 The funerary area contained a number of burials in shallow
pits, and the chronology of the Circle Grave covers the long period from MH III/LH I until
LH IIIA1. The amber artefacts claimed as coming from Sicilian sources were found in Pit 2,
where a rich collection of glass paste and stone beads was probably part of a single composite
necklace.82 The objects are partly damaged, but they can certainly be interpreted as beads of
barrel shape, while two pieces, apparently not beads, might possibly be parts of a single object
(spacer bead?).83
In 1966 Beck recognised the similarities between the spectra of the Pylian amber and
those of some categories of simetite, but he was unable to make a conclusive identification of
the provenance.84 Some years later increasingly sophisticated spectroscopic analysis techniques
have given more and firmer indications to support the theory of the probable provenance of
the Peloponnesian amber artefacts from Sicily.85 Moreover, it is worth noting that an infrared
spectroscopic analysis of 101 beads from Tholos D at Pylos, from Graves 1 and 2 at Peristeria,
and from Routsi Grave 1 indicates the following distribution: eighty-nine are definitely of Baltic
origin and three probably of North European origin; six spectra are unidentifiable and three
seem to be of non-Baltic fossil resins (probably from Sicily).86
Thus it is certain that some amber ornaments from LH I-II Messenia are of non-Baltic
origin, but an unquestionable attribution to simetite will be confirmed only when the whole
picture of the spectral patterns of Sicilian amber deposits is known.
Some preliminary conclusions
The above evidence provides a fruitful basis for hypotheses about the patterns of
exploitation, circulation and consumption of amber artefacts in the Bronze Age Sicily. However,
it is true that it is too soon to draw a definitive picture, especially as it remains to be established
by chemical analysis whether all the finds listed are really made of Sicilian or of Baltic amber.
Despite the scarcity of data, some tentative generalisations can be made.
Amber was known throughout Sicily, with a specific concentration in the Eastern side
of the island, where the main deposits of fossil resins (Aetna region and Hyblaean region) are
located (Pl. XCVIIIb).
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
Ibid. 63. Deposits of amber have been recorded either in Catalonia or in the Cantabric area: see HARDING
(supra n. 49) 59, fig. 12.
C.W. BECK, “Analysis and provenience of Minoan and Mycenaean amber, I,” Greek, Roman and Byzantine
Studies 7 (1966) 191-211, esp. 208.
On the Grave Circle at Pylos, erroneously still named Vayenas Tholos V (i.e. LEIGHTON [supra n. 25] 186),
see C.W. BLEGEN, M. RAWSON, W.D. TAYLOUR and W.P. DONOVAN, The Palace of Nestor at Pylos in
Western Messenia III (1973) 134-176.
BLEGEN et al. (supra n. 81) 162, figs. 227.5, 231.7 and 232.6. The objects, stored in Chora Museum, are
inventoried as CM 2043 and CM 2055a. There is a problem concerning the identification of three beads
classified as CM 2043, firstly included under the same number but in the final publication inventoried as
separate objects. The artefacts are three amber beads of different shape, one of globular type and two of
irregular oblong form (barrel shape?). It is, therefore, very difficult to identify, among the amber classified
as CM 2043, the beads analysed by Beck. However, there is no reason to doubt that the amber beads group
was part of a single necklace.
BLEGEN et al. (supra n. 78) 162, identified as “talismans.”
BECK (supra n. 80).
BECK and HARTNETT (supra n. 1) 42, fig. 7.
C.W. BECK and L. BECK, “Analysis and provenience of Minoan and Mycenaean amber, V. Pylos and
Messenia,” Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 36 (1995) 119-135.
EVIDENCE OF AMBER IN BRONZE AGE SICILY
387
The amber assemblage includes various types of beads and pendants (the latter less
common), but a work of classification is needed. The wide distribution from the Eneolithic
Age until the Late Bronze Age shows that the amber artefacts were known by different local
communities and cultures, and their frequency depends on different social, political, economic
and ritual levels of developments.
The most significant evidence is the appearance of simetite objects in the earliest phase
of the Eneolithic period and then the subsequent export of luxury finished items to other parts
of South Italy, probably also to the Maltese Islands and Portugal. The circulation of finished
products in simetite outside the island may also have been facilitated by a long tradition of
contacts and probably by the ability of local communities to maintain inter-island and overland
trading relationships.87
From the Late Eneolithic period and through the Early Bronze Age (Castelluccio culture)
amber was perceived as a prestigious product, and analysis of its archaeological contexts within
southern Sicily confirms the close and special relationship between amber ornaments and
highly selected members of local communities. In fact, in EBA funerary contexts amber is
associated with other prestige or exotic items, such as copper weapons, bronze artefacts and
semiprecious stones.
This picture of an apparently balanced situation shows substantial signs of changes when
Mycenaean explorers approached Sicily in the transitional stage from the Castelluccio culture
(EBA) to the Thapsos phase (MBA). The introduction of Baltic amber or raw material from
different sources allowed access to more sophisticated foreign craft goods on the one hand,
and stimulated local production and the emulation of exotic items on the other.88
Transactions with foreign sea-traders probably occurred mainly at the level of important
coastal emporia, such as Thapsos and Cannatello. The concentration of amber beads in
Tomb D at Thapsos, in association with LH IIIA-B imported pottery, reinforces amber’s
special importance in Middle Bronze Age relations with mainland Greece and the Eastern
Mediterranean.89 From such major centres amber and other prestige items would have moved
through local distribution systems to inland sites (Plemmyrion, Cava Cana Barbara, Valsavoia).
In the latter the distribution of amber ornaments shows the same pattern as the major centres,
highlighting its close association with local leaders. Moreover, in this context it is worth noting
that the distribution patterns of manufactured items of amber exactly coincide with those of
glass paste ornaments.90
The present picture suggests that the use and circulation of amber in MBA Sicily essentially
involved Baltic amber only. The spacer plates found in the MBA Plemmyrion cemetery are
probably of Baltic or North European amber, and the sophisticated beads from Tomb D and
61 at Thapsos (Pl. XCVIIIc.5, 9) can hardly be interpreted as products of local craftsmanship,
because they are elements of a single necklace made of gold and carnelian of indubitable
Aegean origin.
The progressive increase in Baltic amber artefacts found in Sicily from the MBA reinforces
the importance of maritime long-distance exchange, although it does not necessarily prove the
existence of direct contacts between Sicily and the Baltic region. The amber could have been
derived from secondary deposits like those in Southern England or the North Sea. In this case
we can imagine an indirect route, moving across Southern France and probably involving
Sardinia, which played a significant role in the exchange network during the Late Bronze
Age.91
87
88
89
90
91
A. BIETTI SESTIERI, “The ‘Mycenaean connection’ and its impact on the central Mediterranean societies,”
Dialoghi di Archeologia 8 (1988) 23-51.
The possible Aegean influence on some aspects of the cultural assemblage of the Thapsos phase, mainly in
pottery production, has recently been analysed by A.L. D’AGATA, “Interactions between Aegean Groups
and Local Communities in Sicily in the Bronze Age. The Evidence from Pottery,” SMEA 42 (2000) 61-83.
See supra n. 45.
On the connection between amber beads and glass paste ornaments: G. NIGHTINGALE, “Mycenaean glass
beads Jewellery and design“, in Annales du 14e Congrès de l’Association Int. pour l’Histoire du Verre (2000) 6-10.
C. du GARDIN, “La parure d’ambre à l’âge du Bronze en France,” Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française
83 (1986) 546-580, espec. 567-569; HARDING (supra n. 49) 79f.
388
Massimo CULTRARO
Conversely, if we accept a linear “North-South” trade route, focusing on the deposits of
Eastern central Europe (in the Carpathians and lower Danube),92 the pattern of amber trade
implies a different network with tentacular tendencies, involving mainly the North Adriatic
Sea.93 In both cases, the question is how to define the pattern of use and circulation of foreign
amber found in Sicilian communities. The possible circulation of unworked amber in Sicily is a
topic that needs attention in future studies. There is no proof that amber beads reached Sicily
in finished form, but there is no indication of local activity in the main emporia of the LBA at
Thapsos or Cannatello (South-Western coast).
The progressive decrease in amber use during the Late Bronze Age (local Pantalica North
phase) can be interpreted as a sign of changes in the international setting after the crisis of
Mycenaean palaces, when the distribution patterns of Baltic amber trade collapsed.
The growing quantity of simetite in early Iron Age funerary contexts indicates that this
fossil resin became very popular at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, when a considerable
interest in amber ornaments revived among the Sicilian communities.
92
93
Massimo CULTRARO
J. BOUZEK, “The Shifts of the Amber Route,” in BECK and BOUZEK (supra n. 1) 141-146.
N. Negroni-Catacchio, “Produzione e commercio dei vaghi d’ambra tipo Tirinto e tipo Allumiere alla
luce delle recenti scoperte,” in Protostoria e Storia del ‘Venetorum Angulus’ Atti del XX Convegno di Studi Etruschi
ed Italici, Portogruaro - Quarto D’Altino - Este - Adria, 16 - 19 ottobre 1996 (1999) 241-265.
EVIDENCE OF AMBER IN BRONZE AGE SICILY
389
List of illustrations
Pl. XCVIIIa
Pl. XCVIIIb
Pl. XCVIIIc
Deposits of fossil resins and amber in Sicily (after SZACKI, supra n. 2).
Main sites mentioned in the text: 1. Adrano; 2. Catania; 3. Thapsos; 4. Syracuse; 5.
Plemmyrion; 6. Valsavoia; 7. Cana Barbara; 8. Cava Secchiera; 9. Molino Badia/
Madonna del Piano; 10. Pantalica; 11. Chiusazza Cave; 12. Castelluccio; 13. Calafarina
Cave; 14. Monte Sallia; 15. Tremenzano; 16. Realmese; 17. Sant’ Angelo Muxaro; 19.
Monte Finestrelle (drawing by the author).
Amber ornaments from Bronze Age Sicily: Castelluccio (1-2); Valsavoia (3); Adrano (4);
Thapsos T. 61 (5); Laterza, Apulia (6-7); Cana Barbàra (8); Thapsos T. D (9); Plemmyrion
(10); Calafarina Cave (11) (1-11 drawing by the author; 10 after CORNAGGIA
CASTIGLIONI and CALEGARI [supra n. 42] fig. 1).

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