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Research
The Qatna lion: scientific confirmation
of Baltic amber in late Bronze Age Syria
Anna J. Mukherjee
1
, Elisa Roßberger
2†
, Matthew A. James
1
,
Peter Pf
¨
alzner
2
, Catherine L. Higgitt
3‡
, Raymond White
3
,
David A. Peggie
3
,DanyAzar
4,5
& Richard P. Evershed
1∗
Using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectro-
scopy, the authors show that amber was imported into Late Bronze Age Syria and used for making
the prestige artefacts found in a Royal tomb of c. 1340 BC. The objects included beads and a
unique vessel in the form of a lion, likely fashioned in Syria from raw amber imported from the
Baltic via the Aegean.
Keywords: Syria, Baltic, Qatna, Late Bronze Age, amber, lion
Introduction
The cultural importance of amber is evident from the many thousands of artefacts, especially
pieces of personal adornment in the form of beads and amulets, found at New and Old
World archaeological sites from late Palaeolithic times onwards (Grimaldi 1996: 145-8).
In Europe, Baltic amber was particularly highly prized appearing to have been transported
since the Neolithic, with trade routes emerging in the Bronze Age (Bouzek 1993). The
occurrence of amber in the Ancient Near East, however, is rare and often ambiguous, with the
earliest putative examples taking the form of singular beads dating to the first half
of the second millennium BC (Moorey 1994: 79-81). The best known Egyptian pieces are
the amber bead necklace and various other amber/resin jewellery items found in the tomb
of Tutankhamun (Hood 1993) although, in common with the majority of such finds, they
have not been chemically characterised, reflecting the challenging nature of the analysis of
precious fossil resin (Anderson & Winans 1991; Beck 1986; Beck et al. 1964; Langenheim
1969; Mills & White 1994). Carved amber figurines, for which a large piece of raw material
is needed, are extremely rare (cf. Beck 1979: 15).
1
Organic Geochemistry Unit, Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol,
Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
2
Altorientalisches Seminar, Schloß Hohent
¨
ubingen, 72070 T
¨
ubingen, Germany
3
Scientific Department, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN, UK
4
Faculty of Science II, Natural Sciences Department, Lebanese University, Fanar, PO Box 26110217, Fanar-Matn,
Lebanon
5
Mus
´
eum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Laboratoire d’Entomologie, 45 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
†
Current address: Institut f
¨
ur Vorderasiatische Arch
¨
aologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany
‡
Current address: Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B
3DG, UK
∗
Author for correspondence
Received: 2 March 2007; Accepted: 23 April 2007; Revised: 9 July 2007
antiquity 82 (2008): 49–59
49
The Qatna lion
Figure 1. Map showing the location of Qatna and other sites mentioned in the text and the Baltic region.
One of the major questions relating to such finds is the origin of the amber used in their
fashioning, which raises wider questions concerning interregional trade and gift exchange in
antiquity. A Baltic amber source is often assumed, but Lebanese amber (Nissenbaum 1975),
which is mainly Lower Cretaceous in age (c . 125 to 135 My), occurs mostly in Lebanon
(275 outcrops) but also in Syria (Bloudan area), Israel (Kiryat Shmona) and Jordan (Wadi
Zerqa).
The Royal Tomb at Qatna
Tell Mishrife is located 18km north-east of Homs, and is the site of the ancient city of
Qatna (Figure 1), which flourished for several centuries from around 1800 BC (Al-Maqdissi
et al. 2002), but was destroyed around 1340 BC by an invading Hittite army (Pf
¨
alzner
2004). Although partially excavated in the 1920s (Du Mesnil du Buisson 1935), a German,
Syrian and Italian venture was initiated in 1999 to further excavate the tell (Al-Maqdissi
et al. 2002). During excavations in 2002 (joint Syrian-German mission directed by Michel
Al-Maqdissi and Peter Pf
¨
alzner; Al-Maqdissi et al. 2002; 2003; Pf
¨
alzner 2004; 2006) an
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Anna J. Mukherjee et al.
unlooted tomb was discovered (Figure 2a). Situated beneath the Royal Palace, the tomb had
remained sealed since the destruction of the city, making c .1340 BC a terminus ante quem
for the tomb and artefacts within. The contents of the burial chambers were remarkably well
preserved, comprising almost 2000 finds including jewellery, bronzes, ivories, pottery and
stone vessels, basalt statues, sarcophagi, human and animal bones. The range of finds and
the architectural context indicate the tomb to have been in continuous use for 300-400 years
as a royal burial chamber. Based on the tomb’s inventory, ceremonies can be reconstructed
involving ‘kispum’; an ancient ritual where the dead were offered meals to maintain their
positive powers for the afterlife (Al-Maqdissi et al. 2003; Pf
¨
alzner 2006). Several objects
testify to the widespread exchange of raw materials, artistic ideas, techniques, and finished
products in the Late Bronze Near East and Eastern Mediterranean (cf. Feldman 2006).
Among the many finds were artefacts fashioned from a hard resin-like substance, including
an intricately carved hollow lion head vessel (Figure 2b and 2c), an associated circular ‘lid’
(Figure 2b and 2e) and around 90 beads in various shapes (Figure 2f) including 45 from a
triple-row gold-strung girdle (Figure 2d).
Analytical procedures
To investigate the nature of the material(s) used to fashion the objects and
determine their origin, reference resins were selected as the most likely candidates: i.e.
sandarac (polycommunic acid polymer), Congo copal (labdanoid polymer with enantio
configuration), retinite (moderate retene amber with low succinic acid content), Prussian
and Baltic ambers (from Pinites succinifera), Liquidambar orientalis (based on benzoic acid
esters/styrene), Myrrh (triterpenoid resin) and schraufite (Lebanese amber).
Infrared spectroscopy is widely used in the analysis of ambers, and is particularly useful
for the identification of Baltic amber (Anderson et al. 1992; Beck 1986; Beck et al. 1964;
Langenheim 1969; Mills et al. 1984), but the small size of the Qatna samples made standard
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements impossible. This problem was overcome
by the use of a microscopic technique (see Technical Appendix).
Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS) employing thermally
assisted chemolysis with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH; Anderson & Winans
1991) was also carried out on sub-samples of the artefacts and reference resins (see Technical
Appendix). Peaks were identified based on their mass spectral characteristics, comparison
with the NIST mass spectral library, GC retention indices and with reference to published
data.
Compositional analysis
The FTIR spectra of the Qatna artefacts were most closely comparable to those obtained
for reference Baltic and Prussian amber (Figure 3). The spectra are dominated by the amber
polymer: a communic acid/communol co-polymer cross-linked by partial succinylation,
and absorption maxima are seen at c . 1710-1740cm
−1
(ester and carboxylic acid carbonyl
stretch), c . 1160cm
−1
(unesterified hydroxyl) and at c. 3040, 1640 and 885cm
−1
(exocyclic
methylene). The characteristic shape of the Baltic amber (and certain North American
51
The Qatna lion
Figure 2. Photographs of the Qatna tomb and artefacts: (a) general view of the tomb, the location of the stone slab on which
the lion head vessel and lid were found is indicated by an arrow; (b) a close up of the stone slab showing the lion head
vessel and lid; (c) lion head vessel in situ shortly after discovery (MSH02G-i0759; size approx. 6.6cm long x 5.9cm wide
(Continued over)
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Anna J. Mukherjee et al.
Figure 3. FTIR spectra of Qatna artefacts and reference Baltic amber: (a) reference Baltic amber (BM60828; dashed line);
(b) lion head (solid black line); (c) bead (MSH04G q-i1448; solid grey line). The ‘Baltic shoulder’ is highlighted by the grey
bar.
ambers) absorption band (including the ‘Baltic shoulder’) was clearly visible in the region
1250-1110cm
−1
(Anderson et al. 1992; Beck 1986; Beck et al. 1964; Langenheim 1969;
Mills et al. 1984).
Py-GC/MS revealed an identical range of mono- and diterpenoid pyrolysis products for
the lion head, lid and beads, confirming they are composed of the same material (Figure 4).
Monoterpenoids, fenchol, borneol and other oxygenated terpenoids thought to form from
pinene during the ‘aging’ of amber (Mosini et al. 1980) elute first (i.e. components 7,
9, 10, 11, 13, 14 in Figure 4), together with the major pyrolysis product, succinic acid
(4). Eluting later are carbomethoxylated drimane fragments (components 30, 32), resulting
from pyrolytic cleavage of either the 9,11- or 11,12-bonds of communic acid type labdane
structures (Anderson & Winans 1991). The presence of these rule out a leguminosae source,
as such resins are composed of polymer based on the enantio-series which would give
isomeric fragments eluting at slightly longer retention times (as seen for Congo copal; data
not shown). The latter sections of the pyrograms reveal diterpenoid esters (i.e. 40, 41,
43-48); including structures based on pimaric, abietic and agathic acids. According to the
classification system of Anderson and co-workers (Anderson et al. 1992) the Qatna artefacts
are composed of a Class 1a resinite, which include Baltic amber (and related European
ambers), derived from resins based primarily on polymers of communic acid/communol.
Substantial incorporation of succinic acid, probably serving as a cross linking agent, is
characteristic (Mills et al. 1984). All Class 1 resinites also contain a small proportion of non
x 4.7cm high); (d) triple-row gold strung girdle with beads of amber, amethyst and gold; (e) lid for lion head vessel with rosette
motif (MSH02G-i0766; diameter approx. 4cm); (f) examples of bead types, front and profile views (MSH02G-i1448 and
MSH02G-i2329 analysed; diameters range from 0.8-2.8cm and lengths from 0.2-1.6cm). Not shown to scale. Photographs
taken by K. Wita. Copyright Qatna-Project of the Altorientalisches Seminar of T
¨
ubingen University.
53
The Qatna lion
Figure 4. For caption see facing page.
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Anna J. Mukherjee et al.
polymeric material (c. 20 per cent), including diterpenoid and labdanoid components of
the type described above occluded within their macromolecular structure (Anderson et al.
1992; Gough & Mills 1972).
With the exception of the Baltic and Prussian ambers, the MS and IR properties of
reference resins differed markedly from the Qatna artefacts. The reference resins lacked
characteristic markers of Baltic amber such as succinic acid, carbomethoxylated drimane
fragments of communic acid type labdane structures, and the ‘Baltic shoulder’ in the IR
spectra due to esters of succinic acid. Radiocarbon dating of a sub-sample of one of the
beads (MSH04G-i1448) yielded an age of 45 300
+
−
650 uncalibrated radiocarbon years
BP (OxA-V-2141-51), essentially infinite age (>40 000 years; Burleigh & Whalley 1983),
confirming that the bead was made from a fossil-sourced resin; Baltic amber is of Tertiary
(Eocene/Oligocene) age (c. 40 My; Burleigh & Whalley 1983).
While the pyrograms of the artefacts gave closely similar chemical ‘fingerprints’ (cf.
Figure 3a and b), the reference Baltic amber showed some variations (Figure 3c); lower
abundances of the diterpenoids and higher proportions of pyrolysis products eluting in
the region of 18 to 25 min were observed. Some differences between the reference amber
and Qatna artefacts are not unexpected due to natural variation in the source material and
oxidation of the artefacts. For example, the resin from the Qatna artefacts contained 7-
oxodehydroabietic acid (48), a well established oxidation product of abietic acid-containing
diterpenoid resins, absent from the reference amber (van den Berg et al. 2000). The combined
findings of FTIR, py-GC/MS and radiocarbon analysis confirm the Baltic origin of the
amber used to fashion these artefacts; thus providing one of the few examples of chemically
authenticated archaeological amber from the Near East.
Discussion
The quantity of amber in the Royal Tomb of Qatna is unparalleled for known second
millennium BC sites in the Levant and the Ancient Near East. In Syria, to date, amber
beads have only been discovered in small numbers in private graves at Alalakh (Woolley
1955: 203, 208), Mari (Jean-Marie 1999: 119, 120, 122, 144, 151, 153, 158, 162) and
at the royal palace of Ugarit where 14 beads were found together with ‘Mycenaean objects’
(Schaeffer 1939: 100; Caubet 1998: 106). Except for the latter, these have neither been
chemically analysed nor discussed in detail making their identification uncertain.
Figure 4. Partial total ion pyrograms of (a) lion head; (b) bead; (c) reference Baltic amber. Numbers indicate corresponding
peaks in each pyrogram. Identified compounds are indicated by structures: (1) α-pinene; (2) camphene; (3) trimethylbenzene;
(4) succinic acid dimethyl ester; (5) o-cymene; (6) methyl succinic acid dimethyl ester; (7) α-fenchyl methyl ether; (8) benzoic
acid methyl ester; (9) fenchol; (10) bornyl methyl ether; (11) camphor; (12) pentanedioic acid dimethyl ester; (13/14)
borneol/isoborneol; (15) 2-methyl-pentanedioic acid dimethyl ester; (25) trimethylnaphthalene; (28) trimethylnaphthalene;
(30) naphthalene-1(β)-carboxylic acid, 1,2,3,4,4α,7,8,8α-octahydro-1(α),4α(β),6-trimethyl, methyl ester; (31) cis-α-
copaene-8-ol; (32) coeluting peaks of naphthalene-1(β)-carboxylic acid, 1,2,3,4,4α,7,8,8α-octahydro-1(α),4α(β),5,6-
trimethyl, methyl ester and naphthalene-1(β)-carboxylic acid, 1,2,3,4,4α,7,8,8α-octahydro-1(α),4α(β),6-trimethyl-5-
methylene, methyl ester; (40)
8
isopimaric acid methyl ester; (41) methyl abietic acid; (43) sandaracopimaric acid/pimaric
acid methyl ester; (44) isopimaric acid methyl ester; (45) methyl dehydrodehydroabietic acid; (46) methyl dehydroabietic
acid; (47) dihydroagathic acid dimethyl ester; (48) 7-oxodehydroabietic acid methyl ester.
55
The Qatna lion
It is at the beginning of the Mycenaean period (early sixteenth century BC) that Baltic
amber, almost exclusively in the form of beads, reached the central Mediterranean, occurring
in large numbers in the famous Shaft Graves of Mycenae and in a few other high-status
burials on the Peloponnes (Harding & Hughes-Brock 1974: 147-8; Harding 1984: 69-87).
It remains a matter of debate as to how they came to be in the Aegean and whether amber
reached ancient Greece as a raw material or finished product (Harding & Hughes-Brock
1974: 154; Hughes-Brock 1993: 219, 221). While restricted to high status burials in the
Mycenaean core area during this period, amber beads were distributed more widely in the
fifteenth-thirteenth centuries BC, although the numbers present in any one single burial
reduced dramatically (Harding & Hughes-Brock 1974: 149-52). In the fourteenth and
thirteenth centuries BC some amber beads reached the Eastern Mediterranean, notably
Cyprus, Egypt, Syria and Palestine (Harding & Hughes-Brock 1974; Hughes-Brock 1993;
Hood 1993; Todd 1985; 1993). The 41 amber beads found in the Uluburun shipwreck off
the Turkish coast, dating to the late fourteenth century BC, can either be interpreted within
a context of trade, of gift exchange between royal elites, or as the personal belongings of
high-ranking Mycenaeans onboard the vessel (Pulak 2005). A reputed amber bead necklace
consisting of around 60 short biconvex to lentoid beads and various other putative amber
objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun (Hood 1993), roughly contemporary with the
latest phase of use of the Royal Tomb at Qatna, may hint at the high prestige value that was
attributed to the material in Egypt at this time.
The lentoid and ‘flattened globular’ shapes of most of the amber beads from Qatna
resemble Aegean and European examples very closely, possibly – but not unequivocally –
indicating a common place of manufacture, perhaps outside the Mediterranean in Central
or Northern Europe (Harding & Hughes-Brock 1974: 154; Harding 1984: 68-87).
Importantly, however, some of the Qatna beads may well have been locally modified into a
cylindric-disc shape (cf. Figure 2f); a form that also occurs in gold and lapis lazuli in Qatna’s
Royal Tomb but is not common elsewhere. The cylindric-disc beads of amber, lapis lazuli
and gold match each other perfectly in size and shape and can most likely, considering their
close association on the floor of the tomb, be reconstructed as elements of one necklace.
Moreover, the fact that amber beads of appropriate size and shape were freely integrated into
jewellery arrangements, such as the large gold-strung girdle (Figure 2d), rather than worn
as necklaces consisting solely of amber beads as was common in the Aegean and Europe,
makes their local reworking likely.
The lion head vessel along with its lid is an extremely rare, if not unique, example of
figurative amber carving from the Ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean. Besides a
small number of supposed amber scarabs from the Eighteenth Dynasty (Hood 1993: 230)
and an amygdaloid engraved amber seal from Mycenae (Hughes-Brock 1993: 221), the only
examples of figurative amber artefacts are two allegedly Neo-Assyrian statuettes of unknown
provenance and highly disputed authenticity (Muscarella 2000: 177-8; Beck 1979) and a
small lion figurine from Akhziv (Todd 1985: 293), probably dating to the ninth century
BC.
Lions have long been part of Syrian, as well as Mesopotamian, Anatolian and Aegean
royal iconography, and luxury or cultic vessels in the form of animal heads have occurred in
the Eastern Mediterranean in the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Contemporary cuneiform
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Anna J. Mukherjee et al.
texts from Mari, Alalakh, Ugarit and Qatna, as well as Hittite inventories mention vessels
in the form of lion or bull heads made of silver and gold and destined for palatial and cultic
use (Deller 1985; Otten 1989; cf. Zuckerman forthcoming).
Actual Late Bronze Age examples of lion head vessels are on the other hand quite rare.
Neither the rather crudely made gold-sheet lion head found in Shaft Grave IV at Mycenae
(Karo 1930: pl. CXVIII) nor the marble rython in the shape of a lioness from the palace at
Knossos (Karo 1959: Figure 29) resemble the Qatna piece very closely. A lion head faience
cup recently excavated in the destruction layer of the Late Bronze Age ‘Ceremonial Palace/
Royal Sanctuary’ of Hazor measures about 11cm and offers one of the best parallels in
form and potentially function even though its features are much less detailed in execution
(Zuckerman forthcoming). Three lion head clay goblets attested at Ugarit (Yon 1997: 158-9;
Schaeffer 1938: pl. XIX) show only limited stylistic resemblance to the Qatna piece; however,
attention should be drawn to a lion-headed bronze axe-head from the same site (Schaeffer
1937: pl. XIX) which is remarkably comparable to the Qatna lion in terms of its overall facial
proportions and the rendering of nose, whiskers and eyes. Depictions of lion head vessels on
Egyptian wall-paintings in the Eighteenth-Dynasty tombs of Useramun, Mencheperasonb
and Rechmire in Thebes are strikingly similar to the Qatna piece in terms of typology and
style. These vessels are shown among objects characteristic of Syrian and Aegean origin and
are painted in yellow indicating that they were made from gold (Wachsmann 1987: 58-9;
Kantor 1947: pl. IX). Another similar vessel can be seen in a relief from Karnak depicting
booty dedicated to Amun by Thutmosis III after his Syrian campaigns; it is placed among
the most valuable offerings in one of the uppermost rows of the relief (Wachsmann 1987:
59, pl. LIII: 22). Although these depictions connect lion head vessels with both Syria and
the Aegean, the style of the amber lion from Qatna suggests Syrian craftsmanship.
Conclusion
Hence, we conclude that the Qatna lion head vessel was manufactured from Baltic amber
which was imported as a large unworked piece and subsequently carved, probably in a Syrian
workshop, with Aegeans likely acting as intermediaries for the importation from Europe to
the Near East. The raw material may have reached Qatna from the Aegean either through
trade or as a result of gift exchange between ruling elites. Since large quantities of amber are
restricted to very high status or even royal contexts at this time the latter, more exclusive way
of acquisition, seems a more plausible interpretation. The unusual and attractive physical fea-
tures of the material, the assumed awareness of its very distant provenance and the extremely
long-distance exchange to attain it must have considerably added to its prestige value.
Technical Appendix
FTIR spectra were acquired using a Nicolet 710 Series FTIR spectrometer with NicPlan infrared microscope,
fitted with a MCT Type A detector (cooled with liquid nitrogen), giving a working range of 4000-650cm
−1
.
Measurements were made in transmission mode, using a Spectra-Tech Reflachromat Cassegrain ×15 objectives
and a tube factor of 10×. Typically 128 or 256 scans were made and the interferogram averaged. Scan velocity
for the detector was 40cm s
−1
, with a resolution of 4cm
−1
and Happ-Genzel apodisation. Both spectrometer
and microscope were purged with air, which had been cleaned of particulates and hydrocarbons and was carbon
57
The Qatna lion
dioxide and water-free, at between 1-2 l min
−1
. The sample was placed between the windows of a Spectra-Tech
micro compression diamond cell.
Forpy-GC/MSanalysissamples(c . 150µg) were placed in quartz tubes and then pyrolysed at 610
◦
C in a flow
of helium for 10 s in a platinum coil using a CDS 1000 pyroprobe (Chemical Data System, Oxford, PA, USA)
interfaced to a Perkin Elmer Turbomass Gold equipped with a fused silica capillary column (Chrompack; CP-Sil
5CB; 50m × 0.32mm i.d.; 0.12µm film thickness). The pyrolysate was introduced to the GC column via a
split/splitless injector with a 20:1 split. The transfer line to the MS was held at 280
◦
C and the source temperature
maintained at 180
◦
C and ionisation potential was set at 70eV. The temperature programme comprised a 4 min
isothermal period at 50
◦
C followed by an increase to 300
◦
Cat5
◦
C min
−1
. The temperature was then held at
300
◦
C for 15 min.
Acknowledgements
We thank Drs I.D. Bull and R. Berstan for technical assistance; the UK Natural Environment Research Council
for funding the mass spectrometry facilities; the Wellcome Trust and the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council for providing a Bioarchaeology Fellowship for A.J.M. and a PhD studentship for M.A.J.,
respectively; the German Research Foundation for funding of the German component of the excavations at Tell
Mishrife, ancient Qatna. Particular thanks are due to B. Jamous (Director General of Antiquities and Museums
of Syria) and M. Al-Maqdissi (Director of Excavations in the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums
of Syria and co-director with P.F. of the Syrian-German Archaeological Mission at Tell Mishrife/Qatna) and
Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit for radiocarbon dating.
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