Amber plays a role in Latvian history and has always been an essential part of the Latvian cultural identity. In ancient times the amber found along Latvia’s Baltic Sea coast was considered ‘good as gold’ and was sought by Vikings as well as traders as far away as Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire. This led to the development of the Amber Road between Latvia and the Black Sea. Latvians, on the other hand, often refer to their Baltic Sea as The Amber Sea (Dzintarjūra) and have adopted amber as one of their most treasured cultural symbols.