czwartek, 6 czerwca 2024

the amber precious as a gold (about the amber route for children)

   It was a long, long time ago, in times when on the our sea shore, gleamed in the sun, large pieces of amber. Many hundreds of miles from the Baltic near another sea - called the Adriatic, there was the wealthy city of Aquileia. The city had its own port, and ships entered the river, with valuable things from distant countries.

But the city was most famous for manufacture beautiful ornaments made from amber, which was so expensive, that it was called the gold of the north. These talented people who made the beautiful things it was the craftsmen. One day, one of them, was supposed to make a bracelet for a overseas princess, he noticed that he doesn't have enough amber. So he went for help to a friend, who was a merchant and sold amber in the market place.  But unfortunately, also in his stores and warehouses lacked of the amber. The merchant thought for a moment and promised the craftsman that he'll set off for the amber, as soon as possible. And You must know, that the road northwards was long, because the amber route is a route from the warm Italy, from above the Adriatic Sea, across Europe, to the Baltic Sea coast, to our Polish beaches.
 
 
   And this is where the story begins, about the exedition. Merchants, which we may also call the tradesmen, packed various goods up into bags, so that to exchange for amber, which was called in our area: a burning or sun stone. They also took with them a map from a Roman emperor, with the cities, where they be able to stop, eat something or spend the night.

 
Via Norica

   You are surely curious about about, what the merchants had in their bags?, so, certainly delicate fabrics, decorations, glass beads from Aquileia and beautiful tableware. 

Or maybe You'll ask yet, whether these magnificent tradesmen were not afraid of being robbed along the way?  I can answer: well, in the territory of the empire, along the main roads, which were traveling merchants and soldiers were marching, the safety was guarded by the Roman army, so the travellers went without fear.

 
http://www.wienmuseum.at/

   The travel for the gold of the north wasn't easy, because not all roads were excellence. For example, sometimes had to pass through a marshes or look for an easier way between a mountains. 

And just brave merchants reached the highest mountains on the route, called the Alps. But the way is so narrow and steep, that they must to get their full bags take off the carts and loaded on beasts of burden: horses, donkeys and mules.

https://www.nms.si/en/plan-your-visit/locations/ad-pirum

   After overcoming the mountains, awaits them another obstacle, this time a river. Because to go further northwords for the amber, they must to cross the border river called the Danube. And in ancient times, a river crossing was not that easy, as walk across a bridge. The travellers had to look for a place on the river, where is shallow or almost without water. So, You will admit that such an expedition for amber was really dangerous. But my dears, we can breathe, because they done it!, the merchants crossed the river so carefully, that they didn't get wet their precious goods.

https://www.mautern-donau.at

On the other side of the river, the travellers found themselves in unknown areas, where lived barbarians, as the Romans called them. And in the further travel difficulty were dense forests, where they could get lost, or sometimes to be afraid of a bear.

The merchants they coped again, they asked the inhabitants of the forest village for a guide, who knew how to walk through the forest, and he led them convenient routes. The villagers also took care of the travellers’ safety, to protect them from robbers. And the amber route led the different ways: one could travel land or by stream or river. But most often they were field and forest roads or ordinary paths, well-trodden by the people and the animals.

   Uff, tradesmen finally reached over our sea, to go in the markets places and exchange the items brought from Italy, giving in return for Baltic amber, valued in the empire as gold.
After obtaining the amber, it's time to rest in the settlement, called the Trading Post. A solid palisade surrounds the village like a defensive wall, which ensures safety the inhabitants, merchants and valuable trade goods.

Before setting out on the way back to the South, the merchants are checking else, whether their horses are doing well, if everything is alright. It turns out, however, that one of the horses lost its shoe and he needs to be taken to the blacksmith, who lives here. At the the blacksmith’s workshop they meet a local amber craftsman, called here an bursztyniarz, who lives next door. He takes the merchants to his hut and show them workshop, and items that come out his hand. 

This local amber craftsmen has extraordinary capacity. The merchants are so surprised and at the same time delighted with his beautiful amber jewellery, that they invite him to Italy, to the court of the Emperor himself and gladiatorial games. They even give him their map, so that he could travel with ease around the Roman state.


And our brave merchants, though without a map, but with bags full of amber, happily returned to Aquileia, replenishing their stores of amber.

 
As for the amber craftsman, we don't know whether he went to Italy, but  in Pruszcz Gdański and the surrounding area, there's a legend about an amber treasure that was hidden under an acacia tree, upon hearing about the approaching invaders...
 

 I would like to ask for information regarding translation errors, thank You

niedziela, 3 lipca 2022

From Aquileia, for the amber - called "the gold of the north"

The roads of the Roman territory beginning at Aquileia, as well as their extensions i.e. routes from the middle part of Danube to Baltic coast, along which the amber and other goods were conveyed.

Freehand drawing and the text on the blog, based on the scientific publication: The main Amber Route at the time of the Roman Empire by Jerzy Wielowiejski

The roads joining the North-Eastern Italia (Italy) with the Upper and Middle Danube:

Aquileia - Santicum - Virunum - mountain Pass Pyhrn - Lentia - Lauriacum (the main road). This road built by Celts, and next rebuilt by Romans had, originally, mainly the commercial character. On the other hand, since the end of the 2nd century, in the transport with Lauriacum, the military and administrative needs prevailed.



 

The ancient road in the Austrian Alps.










Aquileia - Carnuntum (the amber road) through Emona, Celeia, Poetovio, Salla, Savaria and Scarbantia. Besides, there was the connection with Savaria through Arrabona to Brigetio, whereas, from Scarbantia there went two branches to Vindobona. In pre-Roman times, this route was of a local character passing round major natural obstacles. It served, first of all, to all needs of particular tribal connections. After conquering Pannonia and Noricum, the Romans quickly adjusted this road to long-distance needs and already in the time of August, straightened the stretch Aquileia - Emona having built a shorter, though steeper route through the mountain pass Piro. A remarkable drainage works were carried out, a lot of bridges were built, many road surfaces were improved.

Ad Pirum
 
The routes joining the Upper and Middle Danube with Baltic, that is transport routes northwards from limes:

Lentia - Lauriacum - Vistula mouth (the amber route), the route passed through (...) the Vyšebrod Pass towards Budziejovice Valley and then along Veltava (Vltava) to Czech Valley. From there the route went through three big concentrations of Roman imports findings over upper Laba (Elbe) across the Polish Gate near Kudowa to Kłodzko Valley and then northwords reaching Odra in Wroclaw (Wrocław) region. The evidence for the existence of amber trade was given by three big amber stores in Wroclaw - Partynice settlement from I century B.C. Further the tradesmen presumably went towards north-east and as far as Prosna river in Kalisz region.

The contemporary amber route in Czech Republic.

(...) It seems probable that Celts during the last century B.C. followed such waterways as Prosna - Warta - Struga - Gąsawka - Lake Pakoskie - Noteć, and then went to the low Vistula. Apart from this west waterway, there was used the east land route through central Kujawy, which passed the Vistula near Otłoczyn. From there, the travellers turned towards north-west and through the Chełmża region reached the Vistula crossing it between Chełmno and Świecie. Next river crossings were in the regions Grudziądz-Rządz-Osiek, Opalenie-Kwidzyn and Gniew at the mouth of Wierzyca river. (...) The tradesmen reached Gdańsk Bay both following the Vistula stream (in Kaszuby coastal area) and its branch Nogat.

 
Walichnowska Valley

Carnuntum - Baltic Coast (the main amber route), first the route went through Zohor or Stupava up Morava river acros the Quadi territory. Next it turned north-eastwards through Moravian Gates in the direction of a big concentration of settlement of Przeworsk culture in Głubczyce upland with the centre near Nowa Cerekiew in Opole province.

 

 

 The farther route northwards is difficult to be reconstructed because of the thick forest dividing the upper Odra from upper Prosna. It could have been the inter-tribal land which was probably by-passed by tradesmen from the west and along Prosna to Kalisz region, where several routes crossed.

 

 

 

 

 The main amber route presumably went in the north-east reaching Rumin near Konin where the crossing through Warta was convenient. After crossing it, the route went first westwards, through Kleczew and Paniewo in Konin province, and then northwards along the west side of Gopło lake reached a multi-functional settlement at Krusza Zamkowa in Bydgoszcz province near the crossing across Noteć. Then the route went north-eastwards and came to the crossing across the Vistula near Otłoczyn. The further route north-westwards to Chełmno and next to the Baltic along the Vistula was essentially similar to the Lentia - Lauriacum - Vistula mouth route, however the east side of the river was preferably used. From the Wielbark - Gościszewo region over Nogat, there was the connection through the settlement in Elbląg upland and aquane of Zalew Wiślany with the biggest amber layers on the Samla-land Peninsula (Sambian Peninsula).

 The ferry, near Rumin on the Warta.

The east branches of the amber route coming out from Brigetio-Celemantia (...) reached the upper Odra, and the route from Vindobona to the mouth of Odra.

Roman legionaries, Vindobona

The tradesmen, first of all, made use of the land transport. In the Roman roads, carts driven by mules, donkeys or horses were used and northwards from Danube by beasts of burden.

wtorek, 29 maja 2018

Factory (Trading Post) Pruszcz Gdański

An important trade hub at the mouth of the River Vistula and centred around Pruszcz Gdański existed from the 2nd century ad to the mid-5th century ad. It was here that various branches of the Amber Road converged, linking the north with the Roman Empire. The principal route of the Amber Road crossed the Danubian provinces reaching the southern shores of the Baltic. There was also a maritime route at this time which linked Pomerania with the western provinces of the empire, as well as a south-eastern route running from the Baltic to the northern shores of the Black Sea.
The Factory (Trading Post) was the economic and cultural hub of a settlement, constituting a meeting point on the trade route. Sites of this type were encircled by a palisade safeguarding the inhabitants, merchants and valuable trade goods. Trade settlements served a vide variety of functions in antiquity. They were places were trade transactions and social meetings took place and where knowledge and experience could be shared with those arriving from other parts of Europe.

The wealth of archaeological discoveries made since then and their contribution to our knowledge of the history of the Pomerania region inspired the creation of the reconstructed trading settlement known as the Pruszcz Gdański Trading Post (Faktoria w Pruszczu Gdańskim). Today, the Roman period trade settlement is a modern exhibition and education centre. Archaeologicał artefacts recovered from the urban territories of present-day Pruszcz Gdański are displayed in the Chieftain's Hut. The items in question come from the collections of the Archaeological Museum and the Amber Museum in Gdańsk. The exhibition is entitled The Magic of the Amber Road - Treasures of Pruszcz Gdański. Visitors can marvel at the skill of ancient amber-workers, as reflected in masterfully crafted jewellery and dress accessories. The exhibition also showcases items which were brought to Pruszcz from the far-flung provinces of the Roman Empire.

The Hut - an extremely interesting object.

It’s a place, where you’ll travel back in time almost 2000 years.

The Amber Craftsman's Hut is a reconstruction of his workshop. It  presents tools he used, and items that came out his hand. During archaeological excavations conducted in the area of Pruszcz Gdański, there were found a lot of beautiful amber jewellery, reflecting the extraordinary capacity of local amber craftsmen. Just at the entrance you can see his tools: turning lathe, knives, files, flint blades, stone board for smoothing, gimlet drilling, felt and leather of a deer for the final smoothing and others.
 
The Amber Craftsman's Hut

The Amber Craftsman's Hut

Inside, the building is divided into two rooms with the wall made of plaits.

Behind the wicker wall there is a reconstruction of a vertical loom.

The wicker wall. Moreover, there is a fireplace and dome stove, made of clay and branches, dug in the ground.

The Amber Craftsman's Hut and on the left there is a trolley.

The Blacksmith's Hut is a faithful reconstruction of a house from the Roman influence era. All the items of material, wood and wicker were made in the traditional techniques. Before entering the hut you can see the blacksmith’s workshop: a furnace with bellows and wooden barrels with water, used for hardening manufactured items. On a wooden tree stump there are basic tools of there the manufacturer: anvils, tongs, hammers, files, perforating punches, and others.

The Hut itself was made of oak wood and conifers. The substrate is wooden, made of planks of logs. In the hut there are typical household utilities: in the corner you can see a rectangular fireplace, a bed covered with fur and hand-woven, woolen textiles, table and seats, a trunk, performing the functions of a bench for sitting and locker for items as well.

The Blacksmith's Hut, it is worth noticing that - generally - ancient tools used by blacksmiths have survived in its original form until day.

The gate tower and the palisade.

The Amber-Worker's and Blacksmith's Huts are houses incorporating workshops which have been recreated based on archaeological evidence.

The farm

Outer material of a roof

Assisted by re-enactors, visitors to the Trading Post can try their hand at a number of ancient skills, including archery, pottery, amber-working and wood tar production, as well as sample smoked fish made in a prehistoric smokehouse.



Department of Historical Reconstruction
Center of Culture and Sport
Pruszcz Gdański