Ground Stone Celts from Franchthi Cave: A Close Look

by Anna Stroulia

Hesperia, Volume 72, Issue 1
Page(s): 1-30
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3182034
Year: 2003
VIEW ONLINE

ABSTRACT:

This article presents in detail the eighty-nine ground stone celts discovered in Neolithic levels at Franchthi Cave. The celts were fashioned primarily from local materials, using the techniques of pecking and grinding. No evidence for craft specialization in their manufacture has been detected. Only a small number of these tools are large or sturdy enough to have been used to cut down trees. Some of the celts could have been employed in lighter tasks (e.g., clearing shrubbery, working wood or bone), while others might have served in a ritual context.