Analysis of beads from Iron Age Hama, Syria finds they were produced using Baltic amber sourced over 3000km away, highlighting the city’s importance in ancient long-distance exchange networks and indicating a desire for ‘exotic’ goods in Mesopotamia.
The ancient city of Hama was the longest continuously occupied settlement in western Syria, with evidence for a human presence from the Late Neolithic to the Ottoman period (c. 6500 BC–AD 1400s).
The site was excavated between 1931 and 1938, uncovering several Iron Age features such as cremation graves containing grave goods, including an assemblage of 51 beads.
17 of the fragmented beads resembled amber, which is not commonly found in Syria. The majority of amber during this period was sourced from the Baltic coast, and a route known as the ‘Amber Road’ facilitated its trade between the Baltic and the Mediterranean.
“Baltic amber beads were traded in enormous quantities in the past and have been found across Central Europe, in Italy, Greece and the Iberian Peninsula, and further on in Anatolia, the Levant and Mesopotamia”, states co-author of the research, Dr Mette Marie Hald from the National Museum of Denmark. “However, no examples of Baltic amber had been identified at Hama.”
Despite the beads’ potential significance, they were never examined in detail, instead being stored in the National Museum of Denmark.
To trace the origins of the amber, a team of researchers from the museum and several other European institutions analysed the beads using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
These two techniques measure the infrared light absorption and chemical mass of an object to identify its molecular makeup. The researchers compared the results to a reference sample of Baltic amber, enabling them to determine whether the amber was Baltic in origin.
The spectra of the beads match the reference sample almost perfectly, proving that the amber used to make the beads came from the Baltic. Whilst it was already known that Baltic amber was traded as far as Syria during this period, this is the first evidence for its presence at Hama.
Cuneiform texts indicate that Baltic amber was valued in the region for its supposed therapeutic benefits, decorative qualities, and connection to Mesopotamian deities, giving it ritual significance.
This was likely enhanced by the exoticism it was afforded due to its distant origin.
“Hama had already been developing extensive trading networks within and beyond the region for more than 5000 years”, says Dr Hald. “Amber, as a good that covered one of the longest distances to reach the city, would have been a highly valued material.”
Ultimately, these findings demonstrate how utilising not only new discoveries, but also artefacts already in museum collections can be incredibly valuable in advancing our archaeological knowledge.
“The current political climate still prevents fieldwork in Syria, making the Hama collection an invaluable resource for archaeological research”, Dr Hald concludes. “We believe that the present study underlines the importance of revisiting museum collections for continued study.”