Listed below are abstracts from select projects from the Amber Lab. Page under construction …
Amber Projects
Evaluation of Bronze age ambers from South Italy.
During the late Bronze Age, the “Amber Road” was in reference to a trade route in Europe that extended from the Baltic region to South Italy. In this study, thirty-one amber samples from a necropolis in South Italy were studied by FTIR spectroscopy to determine the source of the ambers. By comparing to authentic reference amber spectra, the samples from South Italy were established to be organic materials and Baltic in origin This confirms that South Italy was involved in the European amber trade route.ARL #190, 2014.
Green Amber from Ethiopia, *Rebeca Muresan’19
Green ambers from Mr. Wang Mingyu were evaluated for authenticity to determine if they originated from mines in Ethiopia. Ambers that have been heat treated are also known to exhibit a green color, and are available on the market. The sample from Mr. Mingyu was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and GCMS. The analysis indicate this sample is at least as old or older than Baltic amber. The organic components that were extracted using an organic solvent showed that it is a diterpene fossil with mostly sesquiterpenes. The FTIR spectrum of this sample also closely resembled a spectrum reported in the literature for a presumably authentic Ethiopian green amber. The current analysis suggests that the green amber sent by Mr. Mingyu is an authentic green amber. ARL#195, 2016.
Samples of Green Ambers from Mr. Wang Mingyu’s collection.
Resin Projects
* student contributor