Ægean archæeology; an introduction to the archæeology of prehistoric Greece . Fig. 107.—Minoan bronze arrowheads; Zafer Papoura (,III).Candia Museuvi. Actual size. bronze arrowheads were found at Knossos, with, near bythem, inscribed tablets with arrowheads in hieroglyphson them and numbers, evidently lists of the number ofarrowheads in the neighbouring stores, which is givenas 8640 in all. No bows have been found ; the horn ofwhich they were made is extremely perishable, and evenin Egyptian tombs has always suffered from the lapse oftime. But again on tablets we have lists of ibex-hornsevi
Ægean archæeology; an introduction to the archæeology of prehistoric Greece . Fig. 107.—Minoan bronze arrowheads; Zafer Papoura (,III).Candia Museuvi. Actual size. bronze arrowheads were found at Knossos, with, near bythem, inscribed tablets with arrowheads in hieroglyphson them and numbers, evidently lists of the number ofarrowheads in the neighbouring stores, which is givenas 8640 in all. No bows have been found ; the horn ofwhich they were made is extremely perishable, and evenin Egyptian tombs has always suffered from the lapse oftime. But again on tablets we have lists of ibex-hornsevidently for the manufacture of bows.* At Knossoswas discovered a fragment of a small steatite relief of anarcher.* The reputation of the Cretan archers in latertimes may well have been a very ancient one, and the • In the tombs of Scnmut and Rekhmara ; cj. the representation,Wainwright, Liverpool , Vol. VI, PL XV, 13, and PI. XVII,and my note on Ann., X, p. 156. 2 Serif ta Minoa, p. 44. ^ Ibid. « Ann., VI, Fig. 13. 252 AEGEAN ARCHAEOLOGY. Fig. io8. -Bronze double axe ; \, Minoan archers may be imagined to have been mastersof their craft. The Northern Greeks were not greatbowmen, and we can see a certain contempt for the bow as rather an effeminate o and un-Achaian weaponin Homer. The Cretanshngers were later asfamous as the archers ;and we see shngers inMinoan days on theSiege vase - fragment(PI. XXXI, I).The hatchet-Hke war-axe beloved of the Egyptiansseems not to have been used, and even the nationaldouble-axe (Fig. 108) was a tool rather than a round-bladed war-axe with three rings for the staffwas found at Vaphio.^ According to Sir Arthur Evansthe throwing-stick was known, as in Egypt, and was usedin war, whereas in Egypt it was confined to the Egyptian curved scimitar was never imitated ;the ap-Kri and ixaxo-ipa of the classical Greeks werelater introductions. Towards the end of the Minoanperiod we see the leaf-shape
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