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

The purpose of spatulas is poorly understood, and Catling recognized at least two
Cypriot types: “furnace” and “socketed.” 701 Two furnace spatulas recovered in the
Foundry hoard were used to maneuver coal in a forge, according to Catling. 702
Spatulas
are found in numerous Cypriot hoards that contain additional evidence of metalworking
such as the Sinda hoard, the Mathiati hoard, and Enkomi’s Foundry, Stylianou, and
Trésor de Bronzes hoards. A spatula, unaccompanied by other metalworking tools, is also
attested in the Pera bronzes. The recognition of some spatulas as crucible scrapers is not
unreasonable; socketed examples enabled the tool’s length to be extended for working
with extreme heat.
At least three tool-kits are discerned among the shipwreck data: one
carpenter/mason and one metal smith kit from Gelidonya, and one carpenter/mason tool
set from Uluburun. The implement groupings represent an unusual mix of tools, not
entirely consistent with any regional hoarding practice; indeed these shipwrecks comprise
a blend of Cypriot and Aegean tool preferences. The composition of the two
carpentry/masonry kits has both Aegean and eastern Mediterranean traits, while the
Gelidonya smithing implements and affiliated materials bear a resemblance to Cypriot
hoards. Each shipwreck tool assemblage generally recalls the selections found in land
hoards. Pulak argues that the majority of Uluburun implements are consistent with Near
703
Eastern or eastern Mediterranean types, while the Gelidonya tools have Cypriot and
Near Eastern characteristics with “almost nothing point[ing] to an Aegean origin.” 704
Yet
701
Catling 1964, 101 (furnace spatulas), 105-106 (socketed spatulas) and 85 (plow scraper). Karageorghis
(1973, 77) notes accepts Catling’s identification of spatulas as plow scrapers since the “edges of the [Sinda
spatula] blade are not sharp and that the blade seems to have been considerably worn by use.”
702
Catling 1964, 101-102.
703
Pulak 1998, 208; Pulak 1988, 16-18.
704
Bass 1967, 117.
301