Amber

Amber is fossilized tree resin of the copal and valued for its properties since Neolithic times. Antiquity has used amber for medicinal purposes and, as a gem, fashioned it into a variety of objects. Amber is found in five different classes including coal seams. Because it was once sticky, the inclusions of amber are at times plant debris or insects. Amber clear of debris is said to be more valuable than opaque.

Pliny the Elder says amber was first harvested from the Ocean by the Gutones, a Germanic people which lived near the Mentonomen Ocean. The known places in Europe where amber may have been found were Zealand, and Heligoland. Although Pliny also credits the production of amber by the sun, he touches on a fact that others regarded it as tree resin. He says the Egyptians used amber and Syrians sown it on the fringes of their clothes to attract leaves.

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Pliny the Elder was an Italian historian who died near Pompeii in 79AD. His books on natural history were used throughout the Middle Ages as a referrence and compliation of knowledge. As Western sceince emerged from the medieval period, mistakes were discovered in his compiling of information and these were based on errors in reading original authors. His Natural History has since been credited as the first encyclopedia.