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

and the metal tube diameters fall within the same broad range. The metal cylinders from
Crete are described by Evely as “short bronze cylindrical sleeves.” 457 The diameter of
these objects (mostly reported as 3.5 cm and 4.5 cm) correspond to the dimensions of
drilled mortises found in masonry (e.g. at Chrysolakkos). 458
The length of the preserved
cylinders varies from 8 to 10 cm, which would suffice for a drill, as the depths of
mortised holes in stonework typically reach 3.5 cm. It is reasonable to consider these
cylinders as potential tubular drill bits, but this hypothesis is difficult to confirm since
there are no definite metal tubular drills with which to compare them.
The tubes have been previously interpreted as casings for handles, specifically of
saws: “these [the bronze sleeves] imply a straight handle of circular section, presumably
of wood, which were once joined to the blade by rivets and onto which were slotted the
459
bronze cylinders.” This interpretation seems to be bolstered by two hollow cylinders
found with three saws in the Knossos South House hoard. 460 It was presumed that the
hollow tubes belonged to the saws themselves. This interpretation is problematic for a
number of reasons. First of all, the Knossos South Hoard contained a wide range of tools
(saws, double axes, an ax-hammer, and razors), so another tool type (like a hollow drill)
would not be out of place in the tool kit. If the metal tubes were actually saw sleeves,
there should be an equal number of saws and metal tubes. 461
A metal saw handle seems
like an unnecessary use of valuable material. Although a metal sleeve could fasten
457
Evely 1993, 36, entries 1-7 (two from Knossos, three from Gournia, one from Ayia Triadha, one from
Zakros).
458
Shaw 1973b, 323, figure 2. Shaw (1973a, 161) also notes that the average diameter of round dowel holes
is between 3 and 4 cm.
459
Evely 1993, 36 figures 12, 16.
460
Evans 1928, 629-30, figure 393.b, c. I attempted to examine these metal cylinders from this hoard but
was not able to locate these objects in the Heraklion Museum in 2009. Evely (2003, 190) found one of the
cylinders in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (#1910.180).
461
Evely (2003, 190) notes that the saw handle interpretation is not definite: “The cylinders are believed to
be sheaths for the wooden saw-handles, but direct proof is lacking on this point.”
185