✨ tag yourself ✨ but with Aegean Scripts! Mainly Bronze Age, with a sprinkle of Iron Age (Cypriot Syllabary).

Arkhalokori Axes 

 I-DA-MA-TE

L. Godart - J.P. Olivier 1982, Recueil des Inscriptions en Linéaire A 4, Autres Documents, Études Crétoises, XXI, 4, Paris1982 (ou GORILA 4), 142-143: AR Zf 1 and AR Zf 2.

https://www.academia.edu/18644123/Flouda_G_2015_Materiality_and_script_constructing_a_narrative_on_the_Minoan_inscribed_axe_from_the_Arkalochori_cave_SMEA_Nuova_Serie_1_2015_43_56 Flouda, G. 2015. "Materiality and script: constructing a narrative on the Minoan inscribed axe from the Arkalochori cave", SMEA Nuova Serie 1, 2015, 43-56.

ARKA | The bronze Arkalochori Axe is a second millennium B.C. Minoan votive double axe which is believed to be used for religious rituals. 925 Sterling Silver cuff | Visit our online store | Link in Bio | (at Sydney, Australia)

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These bronze swords and ax heads on display at  the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion were found in a cave at Arkalochori, located on Crete. They are from sometime between 1700 and 1450 B.C. The cave notably was absent of any figurines or offering tables which would indicate the cave serving as a shrine. Some suggestions as to what the cave may have been used for include usage as a hiding place for valuable metal objects or as a place of offering from warriors. Looking closely at the swords it is obvious that they were not used for combat, but instead they must have served an artistic or ceremonial purpose. The tang, a thicker non-flattened section of metal at the base of the blade where the handle is attached, on each of the swords is too short to provide the necessary support for a functional weapon. I was impressed by the number of bronze weapons I saw across all of the museums we visited. These were some of the best preserved we saw. Many others had deteriorated significantly. I have recently gotten interested in bladesmithing  from watching a TV show on the History Channel. Most of the blades crafted on the show are made from steel, but it is cool to see what materials were used before steel was invented. Bladesmithing is an important art that dates back thousands of years and is seen in cultures all around the world. 

(Posted by Bjorn Peterson, Biology Major, Class of 2020)