Amber hunting on the beach

Baltic amber is not a stone but fossilised conifer resin. It formed in the Eocene, roughly 35–50 million years ago, in warm forests where Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea are today. A large river carried the resin into a delta near the Sambia Peninsula, in what is now the Kaliningrad region, where it was preserved in a greenish-grey layer that the old miners called “blue earth”. About 90% of the world’s amber reserves lie in that peninsula.

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After the Ice Age the waves began to erode the Sambia shores, and longshore currents carried amber north towards Juodkrantė, Šventoji and Liepāja. Big storms still stir up the amber-bearing layers of the seabed today, and about 600 kg of amber a year is gathered on the Lithuanian coast.

• Go after the storm, not during it. Amber catchers agree: the bigger and longer the storm, the better, and the best moment is when the sea first begins to calm, with waves still rolling in one after another.
• Early in the morning, before others have walked the tideline. Washed-up amber does not stay long: once the wind and current shift, it can be gone again within hours.
• Follow the seaweed. Look for dark rafts of seaweed and twigs in the surf, especially with gulls circling over them. When a raft drifts towards the shore, the catching begins.
• Sift fresh piles at the waterline. Professionals catch about 90% of their amber in the waves with a net, not on dry sand.
• Don’t expect big pieces. A typical find is the size of a pea or a thumbnail, and clear pieces are hard to spot among the debris.

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The indicator above counts only wind from the sea, from south-south-west round to north-north-west. The coast here faces west, so that is the wind that drives the waves onto the beach. It is a rule of thumb based on amber catchers’ experience and weather data, not a scientific forecast.

The Baltic seabed still holds the remains of Second World War incendiary munitions. The white phosphorus in them washes ashore and looks just like amber. Once dry it ignites at around 40–50 °C, so the warmth of a pocket is enough, and it burns at up to 1000 °C. In the summer of 2015, within a week and a half, five holidaymakers at Šventoji, a seven-year-old girl among them, burned their hands when an “amber” suddenly grew hot. Lifeguards say such cases increase after storms, and most happen between the Šventoji piers.

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• Wear gloves and never put anything in your mouth.
• Never put finds in your pocket. Carry them in a metal tin or another non-flammable container.
• Let finds dry thoroughly outdoors before you take them inside.
• If a “stone” starts to smoke or burn, cover it with sand or drop it into water. If skin is burned, plunge it into water at once (seawater will do), keep cooling it and call 112.

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The first three are the advice of Lithuania’s Ministry of Environment. And stay out of the water while a storm is blowing: even experienced amber catchers do not take guests into big, cold waves.

Yes. Anyone may collect what the sea washes up: the tradition has been free and open to all since the 19th century, and the Seaside Regional Park itself runs amber-catching excursions. Digging for amber in the dunes or the seabed is not allowed. Under Lithuania’s Subsoil Law amber counts as a mineral resource, and extracting it needs a permit.

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Karklė and Nemirseta are in the Seaside Regional Park, and the Curonian Spit has its own protected areas. Keep to marked paths there and do not trample the dunes.

With no storm about, the best place to see amber is the Palanga Amber Museum in Tiškevičiai Palace, in the Botanical Park, about 900 metres from the hotel through Birutė Park. Fifteen halls show around 4,500 pieces of amber, from insects caught in resin millions of years ago to the Sun Stone, which weighs about 3.5 kg.

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From 16 September to 14 May the museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10.00–18.00 and Sunday 10.00–17.00, and an hour or two longer in summer. It is closed on Mondays and public holidays, and the ticket office closes an hour before the museum. A ticket costs €6 off-season (concession €3), €8 and €4 in summer, and you can buy tickets online. For a walk through the park on the way, see our guide to Birutė Park and the Amber Museum.

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For a real “catch”, the Seaside Regional Park recommends amber-catching excursions with a local guide in Karklė. Ask the park’s visitor centre about prices and times.