MORPHOLOGY

Observing natural amber pieces we can understand the way resins had been dripping and gliding. Some amber has regular shape of a drop, others hardened into icicles, much of resins moved by a trunk on the ground and hardened into lumps or gathered under a bark or just in a trunk.

There are two morphologic species of amber. One is interior lens formed from initial resins in various parts of bark and wood, the other one is superficial icicles, drops or trunk amber formed by outpouring of resins along the surface. 80% of amber is superficial amber. Most of inclusions are in this one. Good-looking morphologic species of amber are rare. Only fragments of them broken and rubbed are usually found. Knowing their own features it is easy to define the species.

In a trunk resins are in particular channel system perfectly isolated from other vessels of wood; pressed tightly (to 20 atm); that is why after breaking channels they outpour easily.

What is amber?
Formation
Morphology
Inclusions
Colours
From soil and water
Treatment
Real or not?
Qualities
Amber routes
Archeological finds
Amber in
medicine
Relatives throughout the World
Museum in museum

SCHEME

Wooden lenses (2%) are transparent because their resins were pressed tightly and isolated from exterior impact.

Under-bark lenses (7%) used to form when resins flowed under a bark, which had torn off a wood. Under-bark cavity formed their contours. The imprints of cambium fibrous tissue are always found on the surface of under-bark lenses.

Bark amber (3%) formed in a thick amberwood bark when its laminas moved aside. Bark amber lenses have a very specific irregular shape with cut brims, which were formed by the contours of bark laminas that moved apart. The imprints in both sides are characteristic to them: emerged-in one side, sunken in the same shape-in another side.

Amber icicles (12%) are divided into micro-and macro-icicles. Micro-icicles are "amber in amber"-first outpoured dozes of resins preserved in macro-icicles-rudiments of massive icicles. Macro-icicles used to form when resins flowed uniformly from a wounded piece of a tree. Macro-icicles are main receptacle of vegetable and cattle remains; more than 95% of all inclusions are found in them. Majority of icicles has clear striking signs, which means they have been hanging on thin branches (2-8cm in diameter).

Amber drops (5%) are the overdose of resins that broke away from the streams, which used to flow through icicles and trunk. They could be different size; their conservation is dissimilar and their structure is usually deformed. Drops flattened by falling are most frequently found (about 30 %). Regular shape drops are very rare - they could be formed when resins flowed from slits of wood or when they fell into the water.

Trunk amber is morphologic amber specie, which is the most plentiful and various (58%). Resins outpoured on the surface of a trunk made big accumulations that had flowed down slowly. Under the heat of the sun they have been melting and hardening for many times. Volatile components had been volatilized because of heat, however not all gas could have been volatilized from marshy resins mass. Different colour streams where mixed when resins were flowing through a trunk, that is why superficial amber obtained texture of various colour. The biggest pieces of amber that have been found was of trunk amber (weighing several kilograms).

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