A woman picks up a supposed piece of plastic on the beach and it turns out to be a much more valuable material from millions of years ago
A walk on a Baltic Sea beach has turned up a unique discovery dating back 35 million years, which is being analyzed by the Geological Museum in Kiel, Germany.
Matthias Alberti, of the Geological and Mineralogical Museum in Kiel, Germany, was amazed by a discovery made by a woman on a beach along the Baltic Sea. What initially appeared to be a piece of plastic turned out to be a unique piece of amber, estimated to be approximately 35 million years old.
How Alberti identified the material as amber
To tell whether something found on the beach is plastic or amber, the first thing to do is see if it floats—amber does. It also glows with a bluish-white or greenish hue under ultraviolet light and can be easily scratched with a fingernail.
A 35-million-year-old piece of amber is a valuable resource for studying ancient life. The discovery allows scientists to reconstruct prehistoric ecosystems and better understand the evolution of species. In addition to insects, amber can also contain plants and other organisms.
The woman who made the discovery
Britta Krause, the woman who found the stone on Lindhöft, a picturesque beach in Germany, has seen her discovery taken up by the scientific community. Researchers will now perform CT scans on the amber to look for possible inclusions, such as insects. In the meantime, Krause plans to keep walking the beach, searching for more hidden treasures.
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