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

all of which were supposedly destined for the furnace. Other alleged foundry
assemblages from Cyprus include the Mathiati, Sinda, and Pyla-Kokkinokremnos
hoards. 632
The understanding that these hoards were primarily metallurgical in nature is
based on several factors. There are bits of unrecognizable metal pieces that indeed
deserve a “scrap” or “miscellaneous” designation, while the presence of processed copper
(oxhide ingots or fragments thereof) in hoards is taken to imply that future melting and
casting activities were intended. The hoarding of broken objects further substantiates the
image of a founder’s assemblage. The tools, weapons, and vessels from foundry caches
are interpreted as a collective whole, rather than affording the individual pieces the kind
of focused consideration that might lead to a different conclusion. The mere presence of
oxhide ingot fragments in hoards does not confirm metallurgical activity, for ingots were
valuable commodities in exchange networks and regularly broken up for distribution.
Although incomplete implements give the impression of being ready to be melted down,
archaeometallurgical evidence is largely absent in hoards. Molds, crucibles and tuyères
might be expected in assemblages that truly belonged to smiths. Moreover, the
preservation level of objects is overemphasized in some hoard interpretations. For
example, only three objects from the Kalydon-Psorolithi hoard (Plate 5.2) are
significantly damaged, yet the whole assemblage was deemed to be a foundry hoard.
Whetstones, files, weights, balance scales/pans, and other miscellaneous items
like swage blocks and anvils were occasionally integrated into assemblages. The
capability of sharpening implements with whetstones or file-like instruments conveys the
importance of implement maintenance, repair and reuse. Tools for cold working enabled
basic repairs and alterations, as opposed to the more laborious operations of melting and
632 Knapp, Muhly, and Muhly 1988, 254.
269