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

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axes (as well as corresponding molds) on Crete by <strong>the</strong> LBA is recognized by Evely: “it is<br />

not until <strong>the</strong> Neo-Palatial period that <strong>the</strong> trickle of actual examples becomes a flood.” 325<br />

Beyond Crete, <strong>the</strong> increase of double axes over time is quite dramatic on <strong>the</strong> mainl<strong>and</strong>,<br />

but also recognizable in Anatolia <strong>and</strong> Cyprus. The reason for this sudden <strong>and</strong> intensified<br />

consumption of double axes during <strong>the</strong> LBA is unclear. The paucity of examples <strong>from</strong><br />

Cyprus, Anatolia, <strong>and</strong> Syria-Palestine provides a stark contrast to <strong>the</strong> rich quantities<br />

recovered in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Aegean</strong>. Due to <strong>the</strong> popularity of shafted single axes <strong>and</strong> trunnion/lugged<br />

axes in areas o<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> <strong>Aegean</strong>, a strong market for <strong>the</strong> double ax never materialized<br />

in <strong>the</strong> eastern Mediterranean or Anatolia. Therefore, five Gelidonya <strong>and</strong> two Uluburun<br />

double axes should be understood as implements typical of <strong>Aegean</strong> assemblages ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

than of <strong>the</strong> eastern Mediterranean. 326<br />

Shaft-hole <strong>and</strong> trunnion/lugged axes were more<br />

accessible than double axes in <strong>the</strong> eastern Mediterranean, <strong>and</strong> despite <strong>the</strong> regional<br />

preference for <strong>the</strong> single-blade tools, <strong>the</strong> double axes were found on <strong>the</strong> ships. It is very<br />

possible, but not certain, that <strong>the</strong>se double axes were originally manufactured in <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Aegean</strong> before ending up on an international vessel. The reason for <strong>the</strong>se tools aboard <strong>the</strong><br />

vessels remains a mystery, but perhaps <strong>the</strong>y were a tool kit, as argued for in Chapter 5.<br />

Regional total MBA LBA General 2 nd millennium<br />

Crete 327<br />

235 25 (7 are EBA-MBA) 137 70<br />

Mainl<strong>and</strong> 112 3 (1 is EBA-MBA 104 5<br />

Isl<strong>and</strong>s 12 2 8 2<br />

Cyprus 4 0 4 0<br />

Anatolia 12 1 9 2<br />

Syria-Palestine 3 1 2 0<br />

Shipwrecks 7 - 7 -<br />

Total 382 32 270 79<br />

Table 4.3: Double ax distribution<br />

325 Evely 1993, 54.<br />

326 This supposition does not claim that <strong>the</strong> shipwreck double axes were manufactured in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Aegean</strong>, but<br />

merely indicates <strong>the</strong> regional selection tendencies for <strong>the</strong> double ax.<br />

327 For a list <strong>and</strong> discussion of Minoan double ax molds, see Evely 1993, 41-55, figures 20-21, plates 14-15.<br />

139

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