Copper Adze from an Early Bronze Age Hoard from Seville (Spain)

Abstract

Arsenical copper adze (Cu = 99.0%; As = 0.7%) with a simple trapezoidal shape coming from a hoard of 400 or 500 similar pieces in the land of Seville (Spain). Its metallurgical composition, its chronology in the Early Bronze Age, its parallels in the Near East and the Iberian Peninsula and its function are discussed. This hoard of copper adzes testifies the development of carpentry in the Lower Guadalquivir and probably the beginning of riverside carpentry related to the navigation.