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

oxhide ingot fragments and metallurgical objects (a metal mold for a pruning hook, a
plowshare casting, and a broken sledgehammer) imply that a smith assembled the hoard.
Intact agricultural and carpentry/masonry tools, however, were incorporated into the
assemblage. These items were functional and not raw materials for a smith. Even
fragmentary tools in the hoard like the double adze, double ax, and ax-adze remained
valuable for basic utilitarian needs. 651
At least one cutting edge of each fragmentary tool
was retained, making each piece somewhat useful. The extremely short hammer-adze
was, in all likelihood, transformed from an ax-adze, providing even more evidence of tool
modification and secondary usage.
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Although intentional tool manipulation is evident in several hoards, the purpose of
these transformations is uncertain and probably multifaceted. Were tools purposely
divided into manageable pieces for a furnace? Under that scenario, there should be
corresponding broken tool parts within hoards, but this is not the case. The practice of
altering tools is most noticeable in the Orchomenos hoard and with the Cypriot hammer-
adzes in the Enkomi Brunnen 212, Enkomi Trésor de Bronzes, and Mathiati hoards.
Intact serviceable implements were habitually mixed with fragmentary items in metal
assemblages. Any tool fragment that retained a cutting edge plausibly had a secondary
practical purpose. Recognizing the importance of hoarded implements, regardless of their
level of preservation, may help reshape our understanding of the caches. Tools were
valued for their functionality by craftspersons and played a significant role in the
formation of a hoard; this point has been previously underappreciated.
651 For photographs of these objects, see Catling 1964 plates 52-53.
278