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

functional interpretation of that assemblage. Interpretive analyses have followed an
overly simplistic rule of thumb that equates fragmentary tools with foundry materials and
better preserved examples with merchant collections.
Tools from the Katamachi cache (Plate 5.1) are intact, leading Vocotopoulou to
claim that these implements were newly minted and part of a merchant’s stock. 628 Yet
two Katamachi double axes (#4979 and 4980), a socketed chisel (#4985) and a pyramidal
anvil (#4984) have discernible signs of wear. 629
The selection of these tools, which were
clearly used, implies the existence of a craftsperson’s kit rather than a merchant’s stock-
in-trade. The Mycenae Mylonas cache likewise is designated a merchant hoard due to the
remarkably good condition of its objects, yet some of the knives, double axes, and chisels
therein display signs of wear. Despite their interpretation as merchant goods, the
Katamachi and Mylonas hoard tools were undoubtedly utilized prior to their deposition,
making the interpretation of the hoards as belonging to merchants unlikely. Evidently,
preservation alone is a poor index for evaluating the purpose of tools that were hoarded.
So-called foundry hoards consist of sundry objects considered to be scrap.
Examples from the Greek mainland include the Schliemann, Poros Wall and Tsountas
hoards from Mycenae, as well as caches from Anthedon, Kalydon, Orchomenos and the
630
Athenian Acropolis. From Mochlos on Crete, the following hoards are interpreted in
the same manner: Artisan, House C.3 and House C.7. 631
On Cyprus, Enkomi yielded the
Foundry, Gunnis, Stylianou, Brunnen 212, Point 1458, Point 438, and Point 783 hoards,
628
Vocotopoulou 1972.
629
I am grateful to the Ioannina Museum (Epirus, Greece) and specifically to Christos Kleitsas for allowing
me to examine these tools. For a more comprehensive examination of these implements as well as a full
discussion of metallurgy in LBA Epirus, see the work of Christos Kleitsas, who is studying this material for
his PhD dissertation.
630
Knapp, Muhly, and Muhly 1988, 248.
631
Soles 2008.
268