Dagger

Cycladic bronze dagger of the Early Cycladic II period (2800-2300 BC) with triangular blade, midrib and two small holes on the butt for affixing the wodden or bone handle. Judging from the small amount of bronze objets known from Early Cycladic I (3200-2800 BC) graves and settlements, it seems that metalworking really developed in the Cyclades only in the Early Cycladic II period. This is also the period when characteristic and long-lived types of bronze weapons, such as the dagger and the spearhead, made their appearance. The necessary technology was probably introduced from Asia Minor, where metallurgy and the production of bronze weapons had a much longer history. The Cyclades had notable deposits of copper on the islands of Kythnos and Seriphos, while it is possible that copper ores from the Laurion area in Attica were also exploited. Copper was initially mixed with arsenic and, from the closing stage of Early Cycladic II, with tin creating more durable bronze alloys.