The south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea is known for its rich deposits of amber. The west coast of the Sambia Peninsula in particular should be mentioned, where the layers of blue clay still hold inexhaustible reserves of Baltic amber (so-called succinite). In prehistoric times, amber was washed out of these deposits and, borne by the marine current, was laid down along the sandy coasts further north. One such area is Latvia, along whose western coast, as well as along the shores of the Gulf of Riga, the beautiful sun-stone - amber - may be found. The first to find and appreciate amber were the people of the Stone Age about five thousand years ago. Amber is brittle and easily worked, it is beautiful in its reddish-golden range of colours and somewhat mysterious, so the ancient inhabitants used it for jewelry and amulets, and shaped it into small-scale art. Amber was used on an everyday basis and in important rituals, and held a special place in the beliefs of the ancient tribes. Single finds of amber, as well as settlement sites with an amber inventory from the Neolithic occur throughout the territory of Latvia: along the littoral belt and in the areas around inland lakes. In this regard, the Lake Lubans Basin stands out in particular. Evidently, from the coastal zone, amber in the form of unworked natural pieces and artifacts reached the major amberworking centre on the shore of Lake Lubans, and was thence exchanged further to the north, north-east and south, playing a role in inter-tribal contacts and contributing to the creation of a stable communications network in the Stone Age. Along the Latvian coast, one of the most interesting areas, little studied so far, is the western coast of the Gulf of Riga. --