Acquiring Amber

Origin

The simplest and oldest method of acquiring amber is... collecting it in on a beach. Huge deposits are located below the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Amber stones are thrown out by waves during storms. In the past, people used to pick out amber stones using special nets.

Another method was “rummaging”. People used to search the Baltic bottom from their boats with long sticks. Amber stones lay on the seabed, covered by sand and rocks. When uncovered, they floated in salty water (see: characteristics).

In Ukraine there are some mines, often just holes surrounded with wooden planks. There are also bigger quarries (working on the surface). They bring the biggest yield. Miners use mechanic pumps to force water into the ground. Then they use nets to catch floating amber stones.