Oise amber

In the late 1990s, an amber deposit was discovered by French entomologist Gaël de Ploëg [wikispecies] near Creil at Le Quesnoy, close to the Oise river in France.

[1] Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, it was then discovered that the amber contained a unique compound, quesnoin, which was similar to fresh resin from a modern tree found in the Amazon, Hymenaea oblongifolia, suggesting that the amber may have been produced by related trees.

[3][4] The amber originates from the Argiles d'lignite du Soissonnais, which forms part of the stratigraphy of the Paris Basin.

The strata form channels cutting into the underlying marine deposited Late Paleocene (Thanetian) aged greensand.

[1] The amber is of angiosperm origin, with the source tree dubbed Aulacoxylon sparnacense, which is thought to be a member of Fabaceae.