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

explicating hoarding behavior, a multi-dimensional approach should be taken. The
composition of each hoard and the repetitive selections from cache to cache illustrate that
accumulations were not haphazard; certain structural principles were at play in a hoard’s
formation. One organizational trait from the third and second millennium hoards was tool
kits, suggested by repeated patterns and variability within the implement data. The EBA
Aegean caches are termed carpentry hoards because they consist solely of wood- and
stone-working implements. In the LBA hoards, the tool kits exist as part of a larger mix
of metal objects. Clearly, the needs of craftspersons represented an important, albeit far
from the only, characteristic behind hoarding behaviors.
Similarities in tool kits from multiple regions are minimal. Cretan and Greek
mainland examples share certain affinities that show standardized implement selections,
such as double axes, at least two chisel types (broad versus narrow), and knives. Saws,
drills and other implements were also part of some compositions, but the grouping of
double axes, chisels and knives is the most consistent, especially in mainland hoards.
Cypriot caches are not as standardized as Aegean examples, but the wider range of
Cypriot carpentry/masonry tools are also indicative of tool kits. Moreover, two cases of a
metal smith’s set of utensils are known from Cypriot hoards (e.g. Sinda and Enkomi
Foundry).
Tool kits may provide an ideal method for analyzing cross-regional tendencies in
craftsmanship. My analysis of tool kits, however, is incomplete since a multitude of
implement sets from Anatolia or Syria-Palestine has not been detected. Consequently, I
am left to compare Aegean and Cypriot kits, which have restricted parallels. Cretan (but
not Mainland) and Cypriot hoards share an affinity for certain craft tools, specifically
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