Rovno amber
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Rovno Amber is a widely used in the literature designation for around Rivne (Rovno) in the Ukraine occurring Bernstein . Further sites of amber of the same genesis can be found in south-east Poland and in the border area between Belarus and Ukraine. This amber deposit was first mentioned in scientific literature in the middle of the 18th century.
Deposit
The amber-bearing sediments on the northwestern border of the Ukrainian Shield north and east of Rivne ( Russian Ровно Rowno ) mainly belong to the Mezhygorje Formation ( Lower Oligocene ) and the Obukhov Formation ( Obereocene ). Both formations formed in marine shallow water zones, the coastline of which at that time ran in the Ukrainian shield. The amber probably got into these shallow water zones via the course of the Ukrainian shield. Some authors are of the opinion that the amber could have been relocated by ocean currents within the marine area stretching between northwestern Europe and the Urals in the Upper / Lower Oligocene.
For this reason and because the physical and chemical characteristics of Rovno amber are largely identical to those of Baltic amber from the Baltic Sea area, as well as the equality of age, Rovno amber is sometimes referred to in the literature as a deposit of Baltic amber. Rovno amber is almost exclusively succinite (as is the case with Baltic amber from the Baltic Sea region). In addition, the amber variations Gedano-Succinite and Gedanite occur occasionally .
Botanical origin of the fossil resin
The high correspondence of the physical and chemical properties between Baltic amber and Rovno amber suggests that the amber (succinite) of both deposits comes from the same botanical source. Which tree species (or species) it is is controversially discussed (see amber # amber (succinite) )
advancement
Since the end of the 19th century, amber has been collected in the vicinity of the village of Klessiv (mentioned as "Klesov" or "Klesow" in the cited literature). The collecting activity was initially limited to reading finds that could be made after the snowmelt, after heavy rainfall or when building roads, canals and a railway line. Since the 1970s, amber has been collected more systematically by the local population. The buyers were dealers from Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania. Since 1993 amber has been mined by the state company Burshtyn Ukrainy . Since then, the delivery rate has been around two tons per year on average, subject to major fluctuations. The Ministry of the Environment of Ukraine, however, assumes illegal extraction of up to 300 tons per year and a market value of illegally extracted amber of several hundred million euros. The amber content of the sediment mined near Klessiw is around 20 grams per cubic meter (in comparison, the blue earth mined in Jantarny in Samland contains between 500 and 6000 grams of amber per cubic meter).
Inclusions
Rovno amber is less rich in organic inclusions than Baltic amber (succinite) from the Baltic Sea region. A comparative analysis of the communities is therefore difficult and because of the striking difference in the amount of material available. Nevertheless, the available findings on the organic inclusions of the amber in these deposits indicate a high degree of similarity between fauna and flora. Some significant differences between the communities, such as the sparsely occurring aquatic arthropods in the Rovno amber and the significantly greater diversity of the inhabitants of the leaf litter zone ("Sciara Zone"), indicate a warmer and drier climate in the Eocene / Oligocene Amber forest of the area of origin of the Rovno amber. Incidentally, these differences rather support the theory of the formation of amber in the area of the Ukrainian Shield and speak against a relocation from the area of today's Baltic Sea.
Artifacts
Various archaeological sites in the north of Ukraine yielded numerous amber artefacts from the Paleolithic and the Neolithic . In addition to artful amulets, figurines and jewelry, numerous semi-finished products and raw amber were found. At the Dobranichevka site, a 12,000-year-old female statuette was found; at the Mezhirich site , more than 300 pieces of amber, most of which are semi-finished products, were discovered in dwellings built from mammoth bones and mammoth tusks (so-called mammoth bone houses); Raw amber was also among these pieces. The Mezhirich site is believed to be around 13,300 to 10,500 BC. Dated. It is certain that the amber used comes from the Rivne area.
literature
- Evgeny E. Perkovsky, Vladimir Yu. Zosimovich & Anatoliy P. Vlaskin: Rovno Amber. In: Biodiversity of fossils in amber from the major world deposits. Ed .: D. Penney. Manchester (UK) 2010. ISBN 978-0-9558636-4-6 .
- EE Perkovsky, AP Rasnitsyn, AP Vlaskin & MV Taraschuk: A comparative analysis of the Baltic and Rovno amber arthropod faunas: representative samples. In: African Invertebrates. Vol. 48 (1), Pietermaritzburg 2007. pp. 229-245. online (open access)
- IS Vassilishin & VI Pantschenko: Amber in Ukraine. In: Amber - Tears of the Gods. Bochum 1996, ISBN 3-921533-57-0 . Pp. 333-340.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Illegal amber mining in Ukraine: Many people earn money. Neue Zürcher Zeitung from June 6, 2016.
- ↑ Bodo Hering: Ukraine: Illegal amber mining leaves lunar landscapes. Berlin-Journal from June 4, 2016.