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

of objects from Mochlos also produced metal tools that have been tentatively identified
as ingot breakers. 611
An unusual series of metal attachments repeatedly turn up within LBA hoards:
tripod and stand legs, vessel handles, and model wheels. The fragmentary nature of these
items leads scholars to classify them as recyclable scrap material, but perhaps they were
included for a different reason. Tripod stand and tripod cauldron leg fragments are
attested in the Schliemann, Tiryns, Anthedon, Orchomenos, Kalydon, Enkomi Foundry,
Enkomi Miniature, and Enkomi Point 783 hoards. These collections for the most part
612
yielded a tripod leg without a corresponding vessel, stand or other leg fragments.
cache was a random aggregate of recyclable metal, additional fragments of a tripod
would be expected, and the repetition of a single leg fragment would not occur so
consistently. The appearance of isolated tripod legs in Aegean and Cypriot hoards most
likely signifies deliberate selection, which is inconsistent with the explanation of scrap
collection. Perhaps these fragments were stored as spare parts for repairing tripods, but
this does not explain why hoards repeatedly contained a single tripod leg. Alternatively,
the pieces could have served as instructive models to fashion molds for future casting
operations.
Bronze handles resemble tripod legs in that both forms are additive pieces riveted
to larger metal objects. As with the collection of tripod legs, several hoards contained
metal handles but no corresponding vessels. These assemblages come from Mycenae
(Poros Wall), Anthedon, Orchomenos, Ithaka-Polis, Mochlos (artisan), and Enkomi
If the
611 Soles 2008, 151.
612 Complete tripods in assemblages are known from the Tiryns treasure, Enkomi Foundry hoard, the Ugarit
priest house hoard, and the Santa Maria hoard in Paulis, Sardinia. In Crete, cauldrons, supported by three
legs, occur in two Knossian hoards.
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