Middle and Late Bronze Age Metal Tools from the Aegean, Eastern ...

the organization of metal production does not fall into such stark dichotomies, for there
must have been a spectrum for the scale and intensity of metallurgical work. 238 The
absence of metallurgical workshops at palatial sites, however, is unanticipated and may
suggest that metal smiths traveled from region to region, never establishing a permanent
foundry or workshop. If smiths were not restricted to one location, how difficult was it to
perform both hot- and cold-working operations in various locations? The notion of the
mobility of craftspersons, particularly as related to metal work, is raised when assessing
the LH metallic vessels that do not have mainland antecedents, but which are attested in
Crete and Anatolia during the MBA. 239 Many of the earliest metal vessels on the
mainland, particularly those from the Shaft Graves, bear a resemblance to Cretan
examples. 240 A Linear A sign on one of the metal vessels from Grave Circle A further
emphasizes the probability that the vessel was produced on Crete and imported to the
Argolid. 241 Several explanations may account for the similarity of metal vessels,
including the possibility of itinerant craftspersons (Cretans and/or mainlanders) moving
within the Aegean landscape. 242
Perhaps the early Mycenaeans acquired their bronze
objects primarily from Neopalatial workshops on Crete. Even if some metal vessels were
produced locally on the mainland, they were inspired from Crete, thereby verifying a
crafting connection between the two regions. The scenario of traveling metal smiths is a
hypothesis put forward for interpretations of other archaeological data as well.
238
Costin 1991, 5-11.
239
Matthäus 1980a, 338-339; Iakovidis 1982, 218.
240
Matthäus 1980a, 340-341; Matthäus 1980b, 39-42.
241
Palaima 2003.
242
Matthäus 1980b, 39, 4z; Iakovidis 1982, 219.
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