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

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<strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> 19 th century (12 th dynasty). 304 Socketed fenestrated axes are unknown on Cyprus<br />

or <strong>the</strong> <strong>Aegean</strong>, except for one example <strong>from</strong> Vaphio, which is discussed later (Plate<br />

4.2). 305<br />

The greatest collection of shaft-hole ax blades <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> areas under study is <strong>from</strong><br />

Syria-Palestine <strong>and</strong> Anatolia. At least 11 Anatolian molds <strong>and</strong> one <strong>from</strong> Syria-Palestine<br />

were designed to fashion various shafted ax blades; <strong>the</strong> majority of <strong>the</strong>se date to <strong>the</strong><br />

MBA. The number of molds <strong>and</strong> shafted axes <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> MBA reveals that production of<br />

<strong>the</strong> tool peaked during <strong>the</strong> first few centuries of <strong>the</strong> second millennium. This<br />

chronological phenomenon is also highlighted on Cyprus <strong>and</strong> Crete, where a greater<br />

proportion of shafted axes occur in MBA than LBA contexts.<br />

The MBA shaft-hole axes on Cyprus have a relatively narrow cutting edge <strong>and</strong> an<br />

extended overall length (see Fig. 4.1; Plate 4.3). This distinctive shape resembles <strong>the</strong> MB<br />

II narrow-bladed shaft-hole axes <strong>from</strong> Syria-Palestine, specifically <strong>the</strong> specimens <strong>from</strong><br />

Ras Shamra. While Buchholz argued that <strong>the</strong> Cypriot examples were manufactured on<br />

<strong>the</strong> isl<strong>and</strong>, this assertion is tenuous at best, for <strong>the</strong> objects closely resemble examples<br />

306<br />

<strong>from</strong> Syria (more so than Palestine). At <strong>the</strong> very least, Philip believes that “<strong>the</strong> Cypriot<br />

type fits easily into <strong>the</strong> general M.B. II pattern [of Syria-Palestine], as ano<strong>the</strong>r regional<br />

variant of a general Levantine tradition.” 307<br />

Despite <strong>the</strong> uncertainty of its origin, <strong>the</strong><br />

Cypriot shaft-hole ax unquestionably falls in line with <strong>the</strong> tool’s tradition in Syria-<br />

304<br />

Philip 1989, 49, 58-59.<br />

305<br />

Two fenestrated shaft-hole axes, a duckbill <strong>and</strong> a crescent-shaped type, were originally attributed to<br />

Cyprus by Evans 1935, 416, figures 345d <strong>and</strong> e. Catling (1964, 107) disregards <strong>the</strong> identification of <strong>the</strong><br />

axes as Cypriot because <strong>the</strong>y were likely sold by an antiquities dealer. Moreover, <strong>the</strong> axes are o<strong>the</strong>rwise<br />

unknown on Cyprus <strong>and</strong> “<strong>the</strong>ir patina is quite unlike that of genuine Cypriot bronzes.”<br />

306<br />

Buchholz 1979, 88.<br />

307<br />

Philip 1989, 42.<br />

133

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