Csornay Boldizsár - Dobos Zsuzsa - Varga Ágota - Zakariás János szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 99. (Budapest, 2003)

DÁGI, MARIANNA: 'Tinkers' and 'Patchers': Some Notes on the Ancient Repairs of Greek Vases

of modern times.

16 But after a closer examination of the repaired vases of the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities and other collections, it appeared that cylindrical drill holes were made also in ancient times in many cases.

17 But if there are no traces of metal bits and soil deposit and corrosion in the drill holes, then how can it be dated? May we depend on the hole shape solely? It is hard to detect any difference between the shape of the drill holes found on objects of different periods, places and material. Sunk drill holes can be found on Neolithic bone objects, Mesopotamian stamps, Cycladic idols and Attic pottery as well.

18 It points to the similarity of tools of different periods and areas. Considering the representations, archaeological finds and ethnographic sources, we can reconstruct a drill-type used extensively in many crafts and periods. Most probably this was a bow drill,

19 or it could have been a drill similar in principles to an auger, or the tràpano of todays goldsmiths.

20 However, regarding the making of the drill holes, it is not the drill itself but the drill bits that are significant. Three types of bits can be reconstructed by the tool finds,

21 half-finished objects, drill holes and toolmarks:

22 a solid rod drill with a ball or slightly pointed end, a core drill

23 and an arrowhead-shaped drill.

24 On the 16 The terminology of drill holes used in the article is as follows: cylindrical hole - cylindrical hole crossing the wall of the object; sunk hole - cylindrical hole with conical ending on one side (usually the upper); twin-sunk hole - cylindrical hole with conical ending on both ends; blind hole non-transitive cylindrical hole. 17 A good example is a fragment of a red-figure krater from the first half of the 4

lh century, found in the House of the Twin Erotes in Olynthus (Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum, inv. no. 38.40). This object has three cylindrical holes. See Robinson 1950, 88, pi. 41, no. 34. 18 See, e.g., the holes of a Cycladic idol from Amorgos (Athens, National Archaeological Museum, inv. no. 3937) and the above mentioned red-figure kylix painted by Onesimos (Museo di Villa Giulia, inv. no. 121110; Veio, Cerveteri, Vulci, Città d'Etruria a confronta [ed. Moretti Sgubini, A.M.], Catalogo della Mostra, Roma, Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Villa Poniatowski, 1 ottobre - 30 dicembre 2001, Roma 2001, 150-152, pi. 10). 19 See the representation of the Rekhmire tomb in Thebes: Davies, N. de G., The Tomb of Rekh-mi-re at Thebes, New York 1943, 51, pis. 52-53. 20 See Hampe - Winter 1965, 61, figs. 53-54. 21 For the relevant finds from Mallia, quarter u, see Poursat, J.-C, Artisans minoens: les maisonsateliers du quartier Mu, Paris 1996, 106-107. 22 To the examination of the drill holes on a repaired Cycladic idol, see Gwinnet - Gorelick 1983. For the examination of holes on Mesopotamian seals, see Gwinnet - Gorelick 1987. To the examination of toolmarks on ivory objects, see Evely, D., Towards an Elucidation of the Ivory-worker s Tool-kit in Neo-Palatial Crete, in Ivory in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period (ed. Lesley Fitton, J.), London 1992, 7-16. 23 The core bits were mainly used for drill holes of a bigger size, for example for the handle holes of Neolithic stone axes (e.g. Geneva, Musée dÄrt et d'Histoire, inv. no. A6646; Wolf, C, Le site littoral d'Yverdon, Avenue des Sports [Canton de Vaud]. Une étude du développement culturel et chronologique de la fin du Néolithique de Suisse occidentale et des régions voisines, Lausanne 1993, pl. 120, no. 11), or for architectural elements or stone vessels. See Shaw, J.W., Annuario 49 (1971) 70, fig. 61 and notes 1-2. An example of this bit with a small diameter - 0.2 cm - is found in Mallia, quarter u (Poursat, op.cit. [n. 21] 106, S 56, fig. 42/m). 24 This is a bit hammered flat on both sides with a V-shaped cutting edge.