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

Cretan assemblages. An unexpected link between combination and smith tools is hard to
explain, but the grouping is also attested in Cluster 3.
The statistical consideration of these hoard tools has helped to distinguish
regional patterns and to suggest typical tool groupings. Cypriot hoards fall under two
categories: one characterized by limited tool diversity and the presence of agricultural
tools, and the second by similarities with Cretan hoards that contain various
carpentry/masonry tools. Other than the rather insignificant grouping of Cluster 2,
Cypriot hoards are not regularly grouped with mainland assemblages. Mainland hoards
have demonstrable similarities with Cretan assemblages in Cluster 3, and the tool types in
these caches seem to show important connections that point toward probable tool kits.
The sub-grouping of mainland caches within Cluster 3 exhibits the strongest statistical
relationship. One reason for the similarity of these LH III mainland hoards is the repeated
deposition of tool kits, a point that is explained thoroughly in section IV.E. First,
however, it is necessary to consider the role of broken implements in a hoard, for the
question of tool preservation was not taken into account in the statistical analysis.
IV.D: Deconstructing foundry caches: modification and functionality of hoard tools
In the following pages, the prevalence of foundry hoards is questioned, for many
seem misidentified. To prove that broken implements perhaps retained functional value
for secondary purposes, 627
evidence for the intentional manipulation and alteration of
hoarded tools is presented. A functional worth of fragmentary tools is suggested by their
inclusion with well-preserved implements in what I consider to be purposefully designed
hoards. The level of preservation for a hoard’s tools has often corresponded to the
627 Chapman 2000, 49-104.
267