BRONZENE SÄGEBLÄTTER – HANDHABUNG UND KONZEPTION IM LICHTE EXPERIMENTALARCHÄOLOGISCHER VERSUCHE
BRONZE SAW BLADES – USE AND CONCEPTION IN THE LIGHT OF EXPERIMENTS

Summary/Abstract: The saw blades deposited in Late Bronze Age and Urnfield Period hoards of the Carpathian Basin are frequent, with their main concentrations in eastern Hungary and Transylvania. They must be understood as specialized instruments for certain working scopes and materials. As may be concluded from the functional characteristics and the traces of wear, they were used for fine working of soft materials. This assumption could be confirmed by the results of the experiments described here. Four series of trials were carried out with two specially prepared copper saw blades. The effects of the blade in working soft wood (pine), hard wood (beech), horn and steatite were studied. The application of the saw needed a high effort of strength for all materials, the efficiency of the saw differing. A shaving removal of material was possible in the pine sample and the pice could be cut through completely. However, the saw often got stuck in the material and left a very rough and fibrous surface. Both processes were unsuccessful on the beech sample. The wood was too hard and the fibres too fine, so that the teeth could not enter the material properly. Thus a primary use of the bronze saw blades as instruments for woodworking does not appear likely. However, the saw blades proved quite suitable to the working of horn and steatite. For both materials fast work was possible, ending with the intended results. The samples could be cut through and the surfaces showed the characteristic traces of a sawing instrument, as they may be observed on Bronze Age artefacts in an almost identical way. A use with metal plate or other metal objects, however, can now be excluded. Hafting along the entire back of the saw blade proved practical. It allowed sufficient pressure on the blade during sawing and is comfortable for the worker. Besides this, the blades was optimally protected against deformation. The bronze saw blades may thus be considered specialized tools for working horn and/or soft stones, such as steatite or sandstone as well as gypsum or slate.

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