Preserved in Amber
January 30, 2014
Photographer: Mila Zinkova
Summary Author: Mila Zinkova
Somewhere twenty or twenty-five million years ago, a small flower became trapped in a tree's resin. Over the millennia, the resin hardened and became what is known as amber, preserving the flower inside. At some point, mineral-rich water entered the amber through tiny fractures and crystals of pyrite started to grow around the flower. This process is referred to as double fossilization. Now imagine the same process with a spider web (bottom photo). Note the two spiders on this photo – the one at the lower right just below the web has also undergone pyritization.
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