Persian-Period Metal Finds from Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (pp. 93–107)

More than 100 metal objects dating to the Persian period (fifth–fourth centuries BCE) were unearthed in the excavations at Tel Mikhal. The assemblage included weapons (arrowheads); tools and implements (e.g., knives, needles, nails and tacks); weights; jewelry (bracelets, fibulae, pins and spatulae); a Tanit figurine; and an Egyptian amulet. The arrowheads were of the Irano-Scytic type, made of tin-bronze. All the arrowheads were left as cast, without mechanical treatment. Among the tools and implements, nails form the largest group; they were made of unalloyed copper and tin-bronze. The ten fibulae found at the site were made of tin-bronze; all underwent mechanical treatment. It is apparent that in the manufacturing of the metal objects, emphasis was placed upon the raw materials from which the objects were crafted.