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

The similarity of the Tiryns hoard with Cluster 1 and not with the Greek mainland
grouping is noteworthy. This pattern is explained by the general lack of tools in the
Tiryns cache and perhaps it should be considered an outlier. Yet one cannot help but
recognize that the Tiryns hoard, dated to the LH IIIC period, was very different from the
other mainland hoards, most of which date to LH IIIB/C. 624 The statistical inclusion of
the Tiryns hoard with a collection of Cypriot hoards may be significant, however, for
several objects within the hoard display Cypriot characteristics, including a bronze tripod
stand and three gold pendants shaped as bull’s heads. 625
As iron was more common
during the 12 th century on Cyprus than the Greek mainland, an iron sickle in the Tiryns
assemblage perhaps is indicative of a Cypriot tool. A Tiryns‒Cypriot link is documented
by other objects including the Cypriot wall-brackets at the post-palatial center.
Cluster 2 comprises only six hoards, and four of these can be dated to the 13 th or
12 th centuries while the other two are also from the LBA. Two hoards come from the
mainland (Katamachi and Stephani, both from Epirus), and four are from Cyprus (Kition,
Pyla, Athienou, and Enkomi miniature). These assemblages are related by the presence of
smith objects, in addition to a limited number of other tool variables. Three of the six
hoards have narrow chisels, two have doubles axes, and two have drills. Because of the
small cluster and the low number of variables in these hoards, Cluster 2 does not seem as
significant as Clusters 1, 3 and 4.
Cluster 3 contains 23 hoards principally from Crete and the mainland, though two
are from Cyprus (#32 and 37). Several sub-clusters form this much larger grouping and
two of those sub-clusters appear to be meaningful. The first sub-cluster consists of three
624 This point is emphasized by Maran 2006, 130.
625 Maran 2006, 134-137.
264