The oldest trade in amber started from
Sicily. The Sicilian amber trade was directed to Greece, North Africa and Spain. Sicilian amber was also discovered in
Mycenae by the archaeologist
Heinrich Schliemann, and it appeared in sites in southern Spain and Portugal. Its distribution is similar to that of ivory, so it is possible that amber from Sicily reached the
Iberian Peninsula through contacts with North Africa. After a decline in the consumption and trade of amber at the beginning of the
Bronze Age, around 2000 BC, the influence of Baltic amber gradually took the place of Sicilian amber throughout the Iberian Peninsula from around 1000 BC. The new evidence comes from various archaeological and geological locations on the Iberian Peninsula. From at least the 16th century BC, amber was moved from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean area. The breast ornament of the Egyptian Pharaoh
Tutankhamen ( BC) contains large Baltic amber beads. Schliemann found Baltic amber beads at Mycenae, as shown by
spectroscopic investigation. The quantity of amber in the
Royal Hypogeum of Qatna, in Syria, is unparalleled among known second millennium BC sites in the
Levant and the
Ancient Near East. Amber was sent from the North Sea to the
Temple of Apollo at
Delphi as an offering. From the
Black Sea, trade could continue to Asia along the
Silk Road, another ancient trade route. In
Roman times, a main route ran south from the Baltic coast (modern
Lithuania), the entire north–south length of modern-day Poland (likely through the
Iron Age settlement of
Biskupin), through the land of the
Boii (modern
Czech Republic and
Slovakia) to the head of the
Adriatic Sea (
Aquileia by the modern
Gulf of Venice). Other commodities were exported to the Romans along with amber, such as
animal fur and skin, honey, and wax, in exchange for
Roman glass,
brass,
gold, and
non-ferrous metals such as
tin and
copper imported into the early Baltic region. As this road was a lucrative trade route connecting the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, Roman military fortifications were constructed along the route to protect merchants and traders from Germanic raids. The
Old Prussian towns of
Kaup and
Truso on the Baltic were the starting points of the route to the south. In
Scandinavia the amber road probably gave rise to the thriving
Nordic Bronze Age culture, bringing influences from the Mediterranean Sea to the northernmost countries of Europe. Whilst called the Amber Road, the prized gemstone was the smallest share of goods transported along the route. ==Known roads by country==