Amber workshops in Central Europe during the Early Iron Age. Technology, chemical analyses, and Amber Roads

Golec Mírová Z, Golec M, Kučera L, Chytráček M, Hagemann K, Mischka D, Dienstpier M, Martínek J, Zemek V, Přichystal M, Čižmářová H, Čižmář I, Popelka M, Lečbych M, Fojtík P, Parma D, Sovová K, Zeman J, Tomešová B, Dufek J, Novák R, Valentová J, Hiltscher T, Krausse D, Hansen L, Hoppe T, Wendling H, Koch-Waldner T, Trebsche P, Praprotnik T, Potrebica H, Perkić D, Dizdar M, Dmitrović K (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Book Volume: 191

Article Number: 106569

DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2026.106569

Abstract

The largest peak in the distribution of raw amber from the Baltic and the North Sea throughout European history can be identified in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. Raw amber was processed in the amber workshops the Early Iron Age (800–370 BC). This study reveals how these amber workshops can be reliably identified and what their distribution reveals about long-distance exchange systems in Europe. The amber was not only a strategic commodity, but also symbolically significant material, whose circulation reflects complex socio-economic networks connecting Northern, Central, and Southern Europe. The study is based on a dataset of 41 sites across seven European countries. An interdisciplinary methodology was used, linking archaeology, typology, experimental archaeology, traceology and stibology. In addition, the modern approach of chemically cross-sectional observational study (FTIR and Raman spectroscopy) analyzing nearly 2000 samples, was used for the study of the origin of amber. These analyses offer innovative division of Baltic amber into Western and Eastern Baltic Sea types and open new avenues of interpretation. Typological and experimental data clarify the production sequence and technological practices, while the integration of stibological and chemical evidence enables the reconstruction of long-distance amber exchange routes across Europe. The results lead to a revision of the long-standing model of European Amber Routes proposed by J. M. de Navarro. Therefore, we demonstrate that amber workshops were parts of the complex exchange networks shaped by elite-controlled systems. By studying the of the distribution, production and organization, this study provides a new methodological and interpretative framework for understanding prehistoric exchange, craft specialization, and social connectivity in Early Iron Age Europe.

Involved external institutions

Institute for Archaeological Heritage / Ústav archeologické památkové péče Brno Czech Republic (CZ) Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR) / Akademie věd České republiky (AVČR) Czech Republic (CZ) Palacky University Olomouc / Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci Czech Republic (CZ) Moravian Museum / Moravské zemské muzeum (MZM) Czech Republic (CZ) Salzburg Museum Austria (AT) Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck / University of Innsbruck Austria (AT) University of Zagreb / Sveučilište u Zagrebu Croatia (HR) Dubrovnik Museums / Dubrovački muzeji Croatia (HR) National Museum Čačak / Народни музеј Чачак Serbia (RS) Museum of the Brno Region / Muzeum Brněnska Czech Republic (CZ) Masaryk University Czech Republic (CZ) Central Bohemian Archaeological Heritage Institute / NPÚ, ÚOP středních Čech v Praze Czech Republic (CZ) Municipal Museum Čáslav / Městské muzeum a knihovna Čáslav Czech Republic (CZ) University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice / Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích Czech Republic (CZ) Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart (Baden-Württemberg) Germany (DE) Landesmuseum Württemberg / Württemberg State Museum Germany (DE) Archäologische Staatssammlung / Bavarian State Archaeological Collection Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Golec Mírová, Z., Golec, M., Kučera, L., Chytráček, M., Hagemann, K., Mischka, D.,... Dmitrović, K. (2026). Amber workshops in Central Europe during the Early Iron Age. Technology, chemical analyses, and Amber Roads. Journal of Archaeological Science, 191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2026.106569

MLA:

Golec Mírová, Zuzana, et al. "Amber workshops in Central Europe during the Early Iron Age. Technology, chemical analyses, and Amber Roads." Journal of Archaeological Science 191 (2026).

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