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

A complete double ax and four halves of double axes come from the Orchomenos
cache. Each fragment was intentionally altered as such, yet no half has a corresponding
match, meaning that each piece came from a different ax. One double ax half (MX 502)
retained a damaged blade edge still capable of making simple cuts (Plate 5.3). Severed at
its shaft-hole area, the object’s two sidewalls are slightly bent in one direction. This
distortion did not result from typical usage. The original double ax may have incurred
damage to its shaft hole through use, but the object must have been cut in two
intentionally. This process involved cracking the tool at the shaft-hole area, then bending
the opposite blade ends of the double ax back toward each other, probably aided by
pounding with a hammer. Distorting the object in this way facilitated the severing
process, which was ultimately accomplished with a cutting implement like a chisel.
Another double ax fragment, also cut at the shaft hole (MX 503, Plate 5.4),
reveals unmistakable proof of deliberate manipulation. Roughly one-third of a shaft-hole
sidewall remains and is turned outward. On the opposite side, a short stub is the remnant
of the other sidewall. Along the broken edge of this stub, there is a small, yet distinct,
rectangular groove, perhaps a cut mark from a narrow chisel. A second gap along the
break seems to indicate another cut, further confirming that this piece’s present shape was
intentionally made. Despite its fragmentary nature after being bent and cut, this double ax
piece preserved a serviceable cutting edge, meaning that the tool possibly retained a
functional purpose, perhaps that of a wedge.
A third fragmentary double ax (MX 509, Plate 5.5) was also broken on purpose.
One sidewall of the shaft-hole faces outward; this deformation is the result of bending the
opposite tool ends together, probably by using a hammer. A fourth double ax half (MX
271