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

The presence of metallurgical tools aboard the Cape Gelidonya shipwreck at the
end of the LBA plays a key role in Bass’ analysis of the wrecked vessel. 243 He argues that
the Gelidonya tools, especially the swage block and hammer/anvil, are indicative of a
smith on board (Fig. 3.14f). Other metallurgical objects on the ship (e.g. casting
fragments, scrap-like broken implements and copper ingots) point to this conclusion. A
spatula from the Gelidonya wreck may have functioned similarly to an object from Pyla
(Cyprus), which I identify as a crucible scraper. 244 The presence of a smith on a late 13 th
century vessel was interpreted within the historical setting of a putative Mediterranean-
wide metal shortage. Bass thus assumed that an independent smith or tinker exploited the
metal shortage for his own gain by offering metallurgical services at each port of call. 245
The limited amount of metal allocated to smiths in the Pylian Linear B tablets and the
numerous LBA hoards with scrap metal and broken objects contributed to the notion of a
metal shortage. Knapp et al., however, argued that the excessive number of named smiths
in the tablets and the hoards with extensive metal scraps actually denote a prosperous and
expanding metal industry. 246
The interpretation of a traveling smith on the Gelidonya
ship due to a Mediterranean-wide metal shortage perhaps requires revision. Moreover, a
pair of tongs, clearly indicative of metalwork, was found on the 14 th century Uluburun
vessel, well before any postulated metallurgical shortage. Tongs were either a commodity
for exchange or perhaps a component of an itinerant metal smith’s tool kit. Additional
243
Bass 1967, 163-165. Bass’ interpretation is also asserted by Knapp, Muhly, and Muhly 1988, 239: “The
parallels between the tools and implements of the Gelidonya wreck deposit and those of the Cypriote
hoards therefore only reinforce interpretation of the Gelidonya wreck as a foundry ship.” Also see Sherratt
2000, 87.
244
For the object from Pyla: Karageorghis and Demas 1984, 33 excavation number 8, plate XXVII, XLV.
Also see Fig. 5.33 of this study.
245
Bass 1967, 163-164.
246
Knapp, Muhly, and Muhly 1988, 257. For a discussion of the circulation of scrap metal at the end of the
LBA, see Sherratt 2000, 87-89.
98