3 4 t h I G C 2 0 1 5 – Vi l n i u s, L i t h u a n i a
Th u r s d a y 2 7 t h Au g u s t 2 0 1 5
Amber in the Southeast Baltic Sea region: Geological aspect
Albertas Bitinas
Open Access Center for Marine Research, Klaipeda University; [email protected]
Keywords Amber, Semba Peninsula, Lithuania, Curonian Lagoon, exploitation
Information about the amber origin, geological setting of amber-bearing deposits and some peculiarities of
exploitation in the Southeast Baltic Sea region (the territory of the recent Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian
Federation and maritime areas along the Baltic Sea Lithuanian coast) are presented in this brief overview.
The origin of amber, also known as natural organic mineral succinite, is related to the Paleogene period which
lasted from 65 to 23.5 million years (MA) before present (BP). During the middle part of this period – at the end of
Eocene (53-33.7 MA BP) – when the climate in North Europe was humid, the territory of Southern and Central
Sweden was covered with pine forests (Grigelis, 2001). The pine trees (Pinus succinifera) produced a big amount of
resin that later, after fossilization, became amber (Katinas, 1971, 1983). During the Late Eocene, due to the activity of
rivers, the amber was dislocated from Scandinavia to the territory of the present-day Semba Peninsula. The amber
was accumulated in the deposits of the river delta that existed there about 37-33.7 MA BP. The amber-bearing
deposits in the Semba Peninsula were defined as Prussian Formation, or, in other words, as “Blue Earth” (Grigelis,
2001). These deposits are presented by a layer of brownish-green sandy silt with amber pieces, up to 10-meters
thick (Figure 1). The top of amber-bearing deposits of the Prussian Formation in situ is lying about 7 meters below
the present sea level and is covered with 35-40 meters-thick deposits of other formations, including Quaternary
glacial deposits. During the Holocene, when the Baltic Sea level raised (Litorina Sea stage) and reached the amberrich deposit layers in the Semba Peninsula, a particular amount of amber was washed out due to coastal abrasion.
The amber was transported by sea currents and accumulated in the sandy deposits below the recent Curonian Spit
and the Curonian Lagoon bottom, as well as in the coastal and lagoon sediments along the entire eastern Baltic Sea.
Some pieces of amber were transported to the recent Saaremaa Island, Estonia.
Figure 1. Amber in the “Blue Earth”, Kaliningrad Oblast, Yantarnoye quarry (photo A. Damušytė).
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3 4 t h I G C 2 0 1 5 – Vi l n i u s, L i t h u a n i a
Th u r s d a y 2 7 t h Au g u s t 2 0 1 5
Despite that amber was known and used for human needs in the Baltic Sea region from the Paleolithic period, the
industrial exploitation of this mineral started only in the XIXth century in the Curonian Lagoon near Juodkrantė
settlement. About 2250 tons of amber were extracted from 1890 to 1899 (about 60-80 tons per year) by Prussian
“Stantient & Becker Company” (Ar Lietuva gintaro šalis?, 1995). Moreover, some amounts of amber had been
excavated from the peat bogs (former marine bays and lagoons) to the north of Palanga, near Priekulė, dragging
the harbor in the Klaipėda Strait, and digging the King Wilhelm’s Channel (Klaipėda Channel). Later, when the
amber-bearing deposits were discovered at the Semba Peninsula, industrial exploitation of amber was removed to
the latter location. At the end of the XIXth century amber was exploited in mines, whereas since 1912 until recently it
was excavated from the open quarries near the Yantarnoye (former Palvininkai, Palmicken) settlement (Figure 2).
The concentration of amber in the “Blue Earth” reaches from 2.2-2.5 kg in the cubic meter. It has been determined
that the amber-bearing deposits in the western part of Semba Peninsula are distributed in an area of about 700 sq.
kilometers. The estimated total amount of extractable amber consists of several hundred thousands of tons – i.e.
more that 90% of the world resources (Grigelis, 2001).
Figure 2. Recent exploitation of amber in the Yantarnoye quarry, Kaliningrad Oblast (photo A. Damušytė).
A few decades ago, the amber resources were prospected in the bottom sediments of the northern Lithuanian part
of the Curonian Lagoon. A few prognostic areas were discovered; afterwards, one deposit of amber was
investigated in detail. The total amount of extractible amber was estimated as a few hundred tons (Ar Lietuva
gintaro šalis?, 1995). The possibilities of industrial exploitation of amber in the Curonian Lagoon water area and its
influence on the environment, as well as cost effectiveness of such activities, are still under discussion.
References
Ar Lietuva gintaro šalis? 1995. LGT informacinis leidinys, 11 pp. [Is the Lithuania country of amber?].
Grigelis, A., 2001. Outline on geology of amber-bearing deposits in the Sambian Peninsula. In A. Butrimas, Ed., Baltic
amber in natural sciences, archaeology and applied arts. Lithuania, pp. 35-40.
Katinas, V., 1981. Amber and amber-bearing deposits of the Southern Baltic area. Mintis, Vilnius, 156 pp. (In Russian).
Katinas, V., 1983. Baltijos gintaras. Mokslas, Vilnius, 110 pp. [Baltic amber].
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