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

utt edge, came to light at Boğazköy; this implement is unquestionably Egyptian and
must have been imported. 376 It is unclear, however, if the tool came directly from Egypt
or made its way to Anatolia through Syria-Palestine. The latter option may be likely, as
the Anatolian and Syrian regions share several tool preferences, notably the shaft-hole
blades and trunnion/lugged axes. The three adzes from the Uluburun shipwreck (KW
141, 576, 4399) have “necked” butt ends, which closely resemble Egyptian prototypes. 377
The development of the necked adze in Egypt is traced from the Old until the New
Kingdoms by Petrie, and there is no doubt that the Uluburun adzes originated from Egypt
or at least were heavily inspired by that region. 378
E1: Chisels (Plates 4.19-4.28)
Chisels and chisel-like implements are the prevailing tool type not only among
carpentry/masonry implements but also within the entire assemblage of MBA and LBA
tools. Seventeen percent (899 of 5308) of the known second millennium metal
implements are chisels or socketed chisels, and the implement’s basic form consists of a
metal shaft with a cutting edge at the tip. Traditionally recognized as part of a carpenter’s
kit, chisels were also employed for work on stone, metal, ivory, and bone. 379
The basic
chisel was universally valued, judging by its distribution throughout the Aegean and
eastern Mediterranean, particularly Anatolia (Table 4.7). Anatolian chisels, however, are
frequently small and do not match the quality seen with large chisels from the Aegean.
The implement reached its zenith in the LBA, but was utilized throughout the MBA and
sporadically in the third millennium. On Crete, the earliest chisels came from EM II
376
Neve 1996, 29, figure 70; Neve 2002, 93.
377
Pulak 1988a, 14, 16-17, figures 12-13; Yalçin, Pulak and Slotta 2005, 631 entries 190-191.
378
Petrie 1917, 16-17, plate XVII.
379
Deshayes 1960, 99; Evely 1993, 2, 12, 16-18; Shaw 2009, 52.
157