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

contexts, many of which were tenuously dated. The Cretan and Cypriot double adze
forms normally are not identical, though an example from Meniko on Cyprus closely
resembles an example from Ayia Triadha on Crete (see Plates 4.31-2). Typically,
variations in the length and cutting edge width occur between Cretan and Cypriot double
adzes, as evident in the scatter plot of these tools (Fig. 4.16a). In general, the Minoan
double adzes are significantly longer and slightly wider than Cypriot types (Fig. 4.16a,b).
Regional total MBA LBA General 2 nd millennium
Crete 18 - 13 5
Mainland - - - -
Cyprus 11 - 11 -
Anatolia - - - -
Syria-Palestine - - - -
Shipwrecks - - - -
Total 29 0 24 5
Table 4.12: Double adze distribution
The restricted distribution of double adzes implies a shared craft tradition,
however minor, between Crete and Cyprus. This potential link is enhanced by additional
similarities in masonry between the regions. 400
Soft limestone and sandstone were
traditional materials for monumental architecture on both islands, and these stone types
were easily fashioned by certain tools. One such implement may have been the double
adze, at least to hew out a block’s basic dimensions; other finishing tools would have
smoothed out visible surfaces.
The fact that a tool type common to the Neopalatial period on Crete appeared
several centuries later on Cyprus is difficult to explain. Even if the Cypriot double adzes
date to the 13 th century, a chronological divide remains between the appearances of the
tool on each island. In discussing the Cypriot examples, Catling assumed that the tool
was introduced from the Aegean, specifically by Mycenaean immigrant settlers during
400 Hult 1983, 73, 89.
169