Exploring Mycenaean knappers’ toolkit: confocal microscopy and surface topography

The aim of this preliminary pilot study is to develop methods for the observation and characterisation of Aegean Bronze Age stone arrowheads. This will allow us to reconstruct the techniques employed for their manufacture. The tools and gestures used are actually related to technical traditions, the skills of the knappers and their perception of the properties of raw materials. This research project combines the analysis of archaeological arrowheads from various Aegean sites with an experimental programme that replicates arrowheads manufacture with deer antler and copper alloy flakers. While low-magnification macroscopic observation successfully documented the shaping techniques employed, it proved insufficient to determine the type of flaker used. To overcome this limitation, silicone replicas of archaeological artefacts and experimentally knapped arrowheads were analysed using optical imaging and confocal microscopy in particular, which provided high-precision topographic data. These datasets were then processed using the method of the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to enable a quantitative assessment and characterisation of the surfaces. The results indicate that each tool material produces a distinctive topographic signature: regular, tightly spaced undulations for copper and more irregular patterns for bronze and deer antler. A multi-scale quantitative approach has the potential to distinguish between knapping tools and to deepen our understanding of Mycenaean manufacturing techniques, knappers abilities, know-how and expertise.