The path from the Varangians to the Greeks is a thousand-year-old mystery of history. Amber trade route

Another anniversary life together, the amber wedding, is celebrated 34 years after marriage. It was not by chance that the date received such a warm name.

Before becoming a noble stone, amber goes a long way, changing and transforming from a viscous resin.

Its transformation into value is like a relationship that has been modified throughout life to acquire nobility and strength.

Signs and traditions of an amber wedding

This anniversary is not a round date and is celebrated...

The path of a magician is difficult and sometimes dangerous. Endowed with many trials, deprivations of many physical “benefits”. And much can be said in explanation of these things, in defense of their necessity, and in their obligatory nature on the Path of the Magician. But all this is only a visible surface layer of what life and the path of development are filled with.

There are more important aspects this Path, such as Destination. So here, too, no words will be said in defense of the tests, but will be said about the meaning of being a magician. Why are they even “needed” and...

In Castaneda's first book, don Juan says that a person goes for knowledge in the same way as he goes to war: he is afraid, he is collected, vigilant and absolutely self-confident. Therefore, those who set out for knowledge can with good reason call them warriors.

Walking this path correctly means walking as a warrior should. In Tales of Power, a Yaqui magician states that the warrior's lifestyle "is the glue that holds all the pieces together" (IV-313) of his knowledge.

One of...

Spiritual progress is based on acceptance as a matter free will and choice, and therefore everyone perceives only the world that they themselves have chosen. There are no victims in the Universe, and all events unfold according to internal choice and decision. There is nothing in the universe that has to do with injustice. There is no lack of integrity. Everything is complete, complete and whole. Completeness is perfect and absolute, there is no incompleteness that needs to be filled. The world of the ego is like a house of mirrors.

The only one...

"Deprived of feeling self-importance, we become invulnerable."

I'm already given over to the force
what rules my destiny.

I'm not holding on to anything
so I have nothing to defend.

I have no thoughts
so I'll see.

I'm not afraid of anything
so I will remember myself.

Detached, with a light soul,
I'll pass by the Eagle,
to become free.

I. MAP OF TRAVEL TO ICTLAN

1. Stop the world
2. Erasing personal history
3. Loss of self-importance
4. Death is an advisor
5...

Everything consists of units, any number is a certain number of units. This is the most primary number, therefore it is far from accidental that in all systems of recording numbers, one was represented either by a dot or a stick. But a stick with a dot is not a form; until we understand the form of the unit, we will not comprehend its internal content.

Pythagoras solved the riddle of the transformation of one into a form; he realized that the monad (one) turns into the form of a decade (ten).

“Like the number (quality) 1 is abstract and...

As soon as a person becomes attached to something material, considers it the most relevant or very important for himself, that is exactly how difficult it becomes for him to achieve. The appearance of what is difficult to achieve suggests that we have ceased to value what we already have and are not using all available resources to the fullest.

The only reasonable way of development is the desire to increase our effectiveness and stability in the conditions already given to us, considering them worthy and deserved. Any...

When a child is born into a family, parents and relatives hope that life will work out for the newborn. There may be, and seemingly should be, obstacles and problems in his life, but he will still be successful in his plans.

At the same time, no one doubts the benevolence of intentions. When we start a new business or project, we also hope that it will be successful. And nothing will stop you from achieving your goals. But, unfortunately, not all goals are always achieved, and sometimes they are not achieved at all. And sometimes...

Amber has been known to mankind since ancient times. "Sun Stone"
found in ruins ancient policies and tombs of Egyptian pharaohs.

Amber was first used in the Paleolithic era - about 450,000-12,000.
B.C. At the first stops primitive man in the Pyrenees region, and
pieces were also found on the territory of modern Austria, Romania and Moravia
unprocessed amber. When asked how the “sun stone” got to these places,
quite distant from the Baltic coast, historians give the following answer:
it is believed that the ancient hunters who went far to the north, pursuing
migrating animals, picked up pieces of stone as a curiosity. During the Mesolithic era
(12000-4000 BC) the most ancient voluminous works from amber to
Northern Europe, these were mainly anthropomorphic and zoomorphic objects
religious cult. Six thousand years ago, humanity entered an era
Neolithic. Historians believe that it was at this time that amber began to be processed into
region Baltic Sea. The most common products made from solar
stone" - cylindrical, round or oval beads. To the major finds
date back to clay pots with amber, which were used as
ritual objects. Moreover, there was quite a lot of amber - in one treasure
counted 13 thousand beads total mass 4 kilograms, in another - 4 thousand beads,
which weighed 8 kilograms. Amber beads in this era are also found in
burials, but in smaller quantities than in altars. Most
amber products of that time served as military amulets. Amber pieces
often found in Egyptian burials of the early dynasties, as well
in Mesopotamia. However, not all amber in those finds matches the composition
Baltic The Egyptians fumigated their tombs with amber-like local resins,
Also in Mesopotamia, figurines were found not only from the Baltic sun stone,
but also from local resins of the Middle East. Europe did not lag behind the east -
amber products found in England, but in Ancient Rome"solar
stone" was an undeniable symbol of luxury. The main center for import and
The city of Aquileia was the processing center of amber in the Roman Empire. Particularly popular with
citizens of Rome used rings decorated with figures of Venus or Cupid, and
a little later - women's heads with complex hairstyles. The Romans decorated with amber
shoes and clothes, bottles for incense and vessels for wine were made from it. And in
During the time of Emperor Nero, they even decorated the amphitheater with amber for holding
gladiator fights. An increase in interest in amber is typical for bronze
century: now it was set in necklaces, and, in addition, improved technology
made it possible to drill more accurate holes in the beads.

More or less organized trade in amber arose about 3 thousand years ago
back. The main trade routes were waterways. " Amber Paths"there was a lot, but
There are five main ones. The first - mixed water-land - began
at the mouth of the Elbe, caravans went to the Weser River (Germany), in the area of ​​modern
Paderborn the road turned west and went out to the Rhine. Via Duisburg
caravans along the Rhine followed to Basel, and from there by land - to the Rhone River, through which
ended up in the Mediterranean Sea. The second originated in the Gdansk Bay and went along the rivers
Vistula and Warte, through Poznan and Wroclaw. Then through the Sudetenland and Brno
the Morava River, and further along the Danube to Vienna, where the amber was loaded onto the land
transport and transported to the Adriatic coast. The third path went along the Vistula,
San and Dniester and ended at the Black Sea, thus amber came to
markets of Egypt, Greece and southern Italy. The fourth way is also mixed
water-land - went from the Baltic along the Neman and tributaries of the Dnieper, and ended at
Black Sea. This path was called “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Fifth way
laid at the end III - early IV century, passed along the Neva and through the Dnieper
connected the Baltic Sea with the Roman colonies and Byzantium.

At that time, the technology for extracting amber was primitive and boiled down to a simple
collecting gems on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Amber's density is equal to
water or even less, so during storms it was often thrown onto
shore. As a rule, the production was small, but even the new history
recorded several large “amber storms”. So, in 1862, together with
About 2 tons of amber were washed ashore by algae, and in 1914 - about 870 kilograms.

In calm weather, another ancient method was used - scooping amber from the bottom
sea, large nuggets were simply lifted from the bottom of the sea with a net.

In the 6th century, a new Avar state emerged - the Kaganate, based on
forced labor and transit trade. This state has attempted
seize the amber industry into their own hands and sent small
armed groups. Having captured the Masurian amber mines, they tried
close the trade in “sun stone” to themselves, their main counterparty in this
became Byzantium. Prussian culture, of course, tried to correct this situation.
At the turn of the 7th-8th centuries in the eastern part of the Vistula delta, at the mouth of the river
Nogat, a trading post arose with mixed population from Prussians and immigrants from
Gotland Island, called Truso. Truso managed to become famous in the Baltic
region with its trade connections - with the West by sea, with the South and East - by
the Vistula River. Prussian amber aroused great interest throughout Eurasia. Besides
local merchants participated in the transit trade of Eastern European products
masters Around 850 Truso was destroyed by the Vikings. But from the Baltic trade
the destruction of Truso did not bring the Prussians out. At the beginning of the 9th century, its new center became
settlement of Kaup in the southwestern part of the Curonian Spit. It became the center of amber
trade, and, according to historians of that time, its size reached
impressive scope., including Kaup had quite strong trade relations With
Russia. At the beginning of the 11th century, the heyday of Kaup came to an end, and also not without the participation of
Scandinavians - Danes who enslaved Samland, but their rule did not
lasted a long time. Apparently, the Danes' actions were not aimed at capturing
Sambia, and for the destruction of Kaup as shopping center, competitor of the young
Danish kingdom.

A new page in the history of amber fishing in Prussia began with the capture of these
lands Teutonic Order. If before this the extraction and trade of amber was actually
was not owned by anyone and was not monopolized (despite the fact that a surge
amber trade led to the development of property inequality in
Prussian tribes), the knights of the Order immediately realized that they were dealing with a unique
wealth. The Order immediately monopolized the mining and trade of amber, sanctions for
violations of this law were very cruel. Thus, Vogt Anselm entered history
von Losenberg, who issued a decree that anyone caught doing something illegal
“back” of amber, they will hang it on the first tree they come across. Such cruelty
stayed in for a long time people's memory in the legend. Believed that the ghost background
Losenberg wanders along the coast and shouts: “In the name of God, amber is free!”

Another Prussian legend says that the cruelty of the Teutons angered
Prussian sea ​​god Outrimpo, and the sea stopped giving people “sunny
stone". In addition to severe sanctions for collecting and trading in amber, the order does not
allowed to create workshops for its processing, the first amber workshop
appeared in Königsberg only in 1641, that is, after the expulsion
Teutonic Order from this territory. But even then there were few concessions:
every shop foreman and apprentice swore an oath that he would relentlessly
comply with all the instructions of the Elector, will purchase amber only from the Elector
or its tenants and process only legally purchased amber. Except
In addition, it was forbidden to resell unprocessed amber.

The Teutonic Order traded amber independently. Trading house of the order
entered into contracts for the supply of various goods, but the most profitable was sales
amber. The trading house bought raw materials and crafts from amber from the marshal of the order and
resold them at a much higher price to other countries. Marshall, in turn,
dealt with the ruler of the Lochstedt fortress subordinate to him. "The Amber Viceroy"
as he was called, periodically delivered the sunstone to the castle. The greatest
profit came from the sale of rosaries (translated from German in the original
- “rose wreaths”, however, this is a mistake, Rosenkranz in German means
not a “pink wreath”, but a “rosary”), but they also traded
unprocessed gem. Most of it was exported in barrels to
Lubeck and Bruges and was sold to craft shops that made rosaries. On average for
year, Königsberg sales agents of the trading house delivered 30 barrels here
amber. They received for it about 2.5 times more than the house paid
to the marshal. By the way, an interesting fact. A significant blow to the amber trade
was inflicted by the Reformation - the rosary, very common among Catholics, was covered with the lion's
share of the “sunstone” mined in Prussia. Having earned money for amber and others
goods, sales agents bought canvas, cloth, wine, rice, southern
fruits, spices, paper, iron and took it to Prussia. Part of the proceeds went to
maintenance of fortresses.

The path “from Germans to Khazars” is hypothetical trade route or a complex of many separate paths that existed in the 9th-11th centuries and connected the lower reaches of the Volga ( Khazar Khaganate) with the major European powers of the time (for example... ... Wikipedia

Wiktionary has an article “amber” Amber is an adjective derived from the word amber Amber ... Wikipedia

The map shows the main trade routes of the Varangians: along the Volga (red) and the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” along the Dnieper (violet). Other trade routes VIII-XI centuries. shown orange. The path “from the Varangians to Greece ... Wikipedia

The map shows the main trade routes of the Varangians: along the Volga (red) and the Path from the Varangians to the Greeks along the Dnieper (violet). Other trade routes VIII-XI centuries. shown in orange. The route “From the Varangians to the Greeks” is a water (sea and river) route from Scandinavia through ... Wikipedia

River paths Ancient Rus': the Volga route is marked in red, the Dnieper route in purple. The Volga or Volga Baltic trade route is the earliest of three great river routes connecting Scandinavia with the Caliphate in early middle ages. Judging by the finds... Wikipedia

UNESCO World Heritage Site No. 1107 Rus. ... Wikipedia

This is the optimal current political geographical conditions route serving for trade economic ties between different regions. Volga Trade Route (Scandinavia Caliphate) Trade Route across the Sahara (regions North Africa)… …Wikipedia

Request "Northern sea ​​route» redirects here; see also other meanings... Wikipedia

Request " Silk Road» redirects here; see also other meanings. In the 1st century the Great Silk... Wikipedia

Books

• Truly male passion, Vyacheslav Karpenko. This book from the “Russian Way” series is not only about “a truly male passion” - about hunting - but also about the choice that sooner or later everyone will have to make in this life: whether to become a hunter?...
• Amber Coast, . We invite you on a journey along the Amber Coast of the Baltic. We will start it in the suburbs of Leningrad, then cross Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and finish the route in Kaliningrad. We hope that...

Do you know where amber comes from? But this story has long since exceeded 50 million years.

It all started in Paleogene period, when the thermometer scale began to rise sharply towards total heat. Warming and humidification of the climate has turned the planet into one filled with strange plants botanical garden. Climate change influenced the plants so that they began to pass resins through the bark. Oxidized by oxygen, the resin hardened and fell into the soil of the “amber forest.”

The inexorable movement of plates earth's crust has led to the fact that today the “fruits of the amber forests” are mined in 11 places on the planet. The largest reserves of sunstone are concentrated in Russia, in the Kaliningrad region: here, according to experts, about 90% of the world's total amber reserve is located.

Participants went on an expedition to the main amber places of our country Russian Amber - a creative association inspired by amber and other Russian natural resources.

What does the modern “amber” path consist of?

(Total 29 photos)

We go to the village of Yantarny in the Kaliningrad region, which until 1946 was called Palmniken. Here in 1871, the wealthy Mr. Becker founded the first industrial amber mining enterprise, opening two mines - Anna (1873) and Henrietta (1883). Both mines have long been closed, and today the main amber mining in the region takes place in the Primorsky quarry.

The Primorsky quarry was put into operation in 1976 on the basis of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine. This is the only enterprise in the world engaged in amber mining. The mine life under the project is 90 years, and average depth occurrence of the amber layer - 50 meters.

Most effective way amber mining - open, using the principle of hydromechanization.

The photo shows a walking excavator ESH-10 (or “eshka”, as prospectors lovingly call it). Using a ladle, amber-bearing blue clay is extracted. At one time, the bucket of an almost 700-ton machine scoops up about 20 tons of rock.

Particularly valuable large fractions are caught with nets from the eroded blue clay. The remaining liquid is sent through a pipeline to the processing plant located at the plant, where the amber is cleared of the host rock, sorted and transferred for further processing.

In July 2014, on the second large deposit plant - Palmnikensky - new equipment was launched that works on a similar principle. The main difference: the installation is assembled in one place, and not spread out across huge territory, thereby saving energy in the region.

The Anna mine operated until 1931. They say that it is here, in the depths of the mine, that the lost Amber room. However, this place is famous for another reason - far more sad. On January 31, 1945, 4 days after the liberation of Auschwitz, from 3 to 9 thousand Jewish prisoners from the Lodz and Vilnius ghettos and Hungary were shot here. Now a monument to the victims of the Holocaust has been erected on this site with funds from the Kaliningrad Jewish community.

Amber is first sorted by quality, color and volume. Depending on these parameters, the fate of the rock is decided: the mined stone is divided into ornamental, pressed and varnished.

Next on goes according to plan sawing and cutting.

The amber is then drilled and polished.

Amber can be melted in a furnace. Depending on the selected temperature, it turns out different color amber. After the amber acquires the desired color and texture, the process of finishing the amber begins the desired shape and appearance.

The last stage is the assembly of finished products.

The factory has a workshop where painstaking manual labor Amber jewelry is created with individual cutting.

From time immemorial, Amber has attracted talented artists, and we were able to visit one of them - the Emelyanov and Sons manufactory. Luxury items and exhibition pieces for major international furniture exhibitions are created here.