A large piece of amber used for years as a doorstop has just been valued at around $1 million (Rs 8.4 crore), according to EL PAIS. The 3.5-kilogramme stone was dug up by an elderly woman from a stream bed near Colti, Romania, and then used in her house to hold open doors.
It was later discovered that the stone was one of the largest pieces of amber, which is the resin of a tree fossilised for millions of years. This type, known as rumanit because of its reddish hue, is mined around Colti.
After she died in 1991, the house had been passed on to a relative who felt that the doorstop could be more valuable than originally thought. It was then sold to the Romanian state, and experts from the Museum of History in Krakow confirmed the amber to be between 38 and 70 million years old.
The information has been confirmed to EL PAIS by Daniel Costache, director of the Provincial Museum of Buzau, where the object is currently being kept.
"Its discovery represents a great significance both at a scientific level and at a museum level," explains Costache, who believes that its value is incalculable. The expert claims that it is one of the largest pieces in the world and the largest of its kind.
Members of the owner's family reported that the old lady was the victim of a break-in in which only a few pieces of gold jewellery of little value were stolen, while the amber nugget was completely ignored. "In their frantic search for valuables, they overlooked the real treasure that was there before their eyes," they said.
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