The lords of the Amber Road: amber storage, distribution and processing in the early Iron Age and the La Tène period

Abstract

Abstract In its early Iron Age heyday, amber items were in widespread use all along the Amber Road. The amount, type and deposition patterns of the amber accessories varied between the particular traditions, reaching lavish standards in some of the Hallstatt graves. As the disintegration of the Hallstatt communities north of the Sudetes disrupted the connection between the Baltic coast societies and the La Tène civilisation in the south, the early La Tène period saw a dramatic decline in the amber exchange and a significant decrease in the amount of amber deposited in archaeological contexts. While in the north the amber gradually fell into disfavour, the La Tène civilisation had never abandoned it. At the same time, its deposition contexts, distribution and symbolic load seem to have changed over time.