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

ear little sign of being furnace-bound objects. 647
One double adze (L39) has a thin,
distorted blade end (made so by annealing) thus illustrating how tools were repaired and
reused (Plate 5.25). A second Gunnis double adze (L 37) is disproportional, with one end
noticeably longer than the other; the tool also probably incurred damage from annealing
(Plate 5.26). Moreover, the implement has an unusual use-wear pattern that bespeaks of a
secondary, non-traditional operation. A semi-circular series of incisions appear on one
shaft-hole sidewall (Plate 5.27). This sequence of marks resulted from a rotating
operation, but such a motion is inconsistent with normal adze usage. The patterned marks
imply that the tool was held horizontally and rotated for an unspecified purpose, maybe
as a crowbar or lever. These conspicuous markings signify that this double adze was
multi-functional, illustrating the tool’s adaptability and heightened value.
The Enkomi Stylianou hoard yielded a cone-shaped bronze object that is the pour
648
cup of a casting operation. Despite this obvious link to metallurgical activity, the
contents of the entire assemblage were not necessarily raw material for a bronze smith.
The majority of Stylianou tools are intact, including the hoard’s only wood- and stone-
working implements: three flat axes. 649
The array of other implements in the cache
(whole plowshares, sickles, picks, a shovel, a spatula, and a shepherd’s crook) was also
serviceable – not scrap material.
The Mathiati hoard is similar to other metal foundry hoards, but reanalysis of the
assemblage is difficult since many objects from the cache are now missing.
647
An ax-adze in the hoard has a crack on one sidewall, but it is uncertain whether this damage resulted
from post-excavation activity or if the tool was already damaged prior to deposition.
648
Catling (1964, 285-86) suggests that the bronze pour cup came from a two piece mould; an alternative
explanation is that the cup was formed during the lost wax casting procedure.
649
For Stylianou hoard references: Catling 1964, 285; Matthäus and Schumacher-Matthäus 1986, 174.
650
For Mathiati hoard references: Catling 1964, 282, figure 49f-g, 52, 53a; Matthäus and Schumacher-
Matthäus 1986, 176.
650
Numerous
277