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

The socketed chisel’s form suggests that it was more specialized than basic types.
The socket, when attached to a shaft, provided an extension for the chisel, thereby
increasing the tool’s overall length (Plate 4.29-30). Even without a wooden shaft, the
socketed chisels were relatively long—this despite the fact that the width of their cutting
edges were consistently narrow. When socketed chisels are used for delicate work,
pressure is applied by hand or with a wooden mallet; either one of these options may
explain how the chisels were used if unhafted. Of the socketed chisels with known
measurements, 12 have a cutting edge between 1.6‒2.9 cm, 31 fall within the 0.6–1.5 cm
range, and 4 have cutting edges 0.5 cm or less. The average blade width of the Anatolian
examples is 1.01 cm, while the Cypriot tools have a 1.4 cm wide blade on average (Figs.
4.15a, b). Socketed chisels are noted for their combination of a narrow cutting edge with
a long implement. Anatolian examples average 13.9 cm in length while those from
Cyprus are 13.3 cm. The disparity between length and width is made clear when the ratio
of tool length is divided by the cutting edge width. The mean ratio for socketed chisels is
relatively high (13.08 with a coefficient of variance of 0.4) and this mean and the entire
ratio range (particularly the mid-spread) is very similar to the data from the mortise
chisels (Figs. 4.14a, b). The comparable measurements between socketed and mortise
chisels imply that socketed versions were employed for woodworking. Undoubtedly, the
hafted object was optimal for hard-to-reach areas, while the narrow cutting edges suggest
that the tools were custom made for detail work. The option to extend the tool’s reach, as
suggested by the socket, further denotes that the implement serviced small, otherwise
inaccessible, areas. Although probably effective as a carpentry tool, the socketed chisel
could have performed detailed work in masonry. Another explanation for the purpose of
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