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

ounded tip end with teeth (Plate 4.52). Shaw envisioned it being used “for careful
finishing of framing or furniture wood.” 492 The dual nature of the tool, with its filing and
sawing capabilities, was ideal for detail work in the finishing stages of carpentry projects.
An imperfect comparison for the Mochlos rasp is a short Knossian saw, which
incorporated dentations on a rounded tip (Plate 4.51). 493
The file-like part of the rasp
acted like modern sandpaper in refining a wood finish or perfecting a particular joint.
The metal file, traditionally thought of as a metallurgical utensil, somewhat
resembles the unique Mochlos rasp. An elongated bronze file with a rough surface,
created by a series of triangular indentions, was deposited in the LH IIIB/C Athens
494
Acropolis hoard (Plate 4.53). Although the file might be used to sharpen and refine
metal cutting edges, perhaps it is more reasonable for it to have worked wood. The
Athens file is the only extant metal example, yet three stone molds from MBA Kültepe
preserve designs indicating that rough-surfaced files were produced. 495
The existence of
the Mochlos rasp, Athenian file, and Kültepe molds implies that a metal rasp or file was
helpful to carpenters but not essential to their kit. The rasp and file have a slightly curved
tip that would have been very useful for rounding interior edges in woodwork.
II. Carpentry/masonry tool consumption by site
This section investigates the carpentry/masonry tool types and quantities by site
within a particular area and time period. 496
Analysis of the site-by-site distribution
enhances the overall picture of tool selection, for localized tool tendencies regularly exist
492 Shaw 2009, 52.
493 See Evely 1993, entry 57; Object stored in the Knossos Stratigraphic Museum in Box 1877.
494 Spyropoulos 1972, 74 entry 9; drawing 139 on pg 76, plate 23γ.
495 Müller-Karpe 1994, 205 plates 35.1, 2, and 4.
496 It must be recognized that many of these sites have numerous other tools, but the tables in this chapter
section only count the wood- and stone-working implements. For a complete list of all tools from a site, see
the general catalogue, presented in Appendix 4.
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