The ground stone components of drills in the ancient Near East: Sockets, flywheels, cobble weights, and drill bits
Three types of drills are known from antiquity: the bow drill, the pump drill and the crank drill. Each type often included ground stone components - sockets, weights and flywheels. However, these components are inconspicuous; on their own they are almost never associated with drills. The result is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Edinburgh
2016-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Lithic Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/1642 |
| _version_ | 1828728637997711360 |
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| author | David Ilan |
| author_facet | David Ilan |
| author_sort | David Ilan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Three types of drills are known from antiquity: the bow drill, the pump drill and the crank drill. Each type often included ground stone components - sockets, weights and flywheels. However, these components are inconspicuous; on their own they are almost never associated with drills. The result is that the drill is nearly invisible in many assemblages, particularly those of the proto-historic and historic periods, from the Chalcolithic through to late antiquity. In this article I focus on the identification of the possible ground stone components of each of these drill types. The means by which these components were attached or applied to the drill shaft is examined and the way that they related to the rotary motion of drills is laid out. I briefly discuss the historical development of each type, referencing more detailed studies, where available. This study should be seen as a prelude to a more comprehensive study that will test hypotheses by means of experiment and catalogue more completely and precisely the ground stone components of drills that have been unidentified or misidentified in archaeological contexts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:18:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ec01f59a00f9404b8ee27895f9f5ccad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2055-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:18:01Z |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Lithic Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-ec01f59a00f9404b8ee27895f9f5ccad2022-12-22T03:29:39ZengUniversity of EdinburghJournal of Lithic Studies2055-04722016-10-013310.2218/jls.v3i3.16421642The ground stone components of drills in the ancient Near East: Sockets, flywheels, cobble weights, and drill bitsDavid Ilan0Hebrew Union CollegeThree types of drills are known from antiquity: the bow drill, the pump drill and the crank drill. Each type often included ground stone components - sockets, weights and flywheels. However, these components are inconspicuous; on their own they are almost never associated with drills. The result is that the drill is nearly invisible in many assemblages, particularly those of the proto-historic and historic periods, from the Chalcolithic through to late antiquity. In this article I focus on the identification of the possible ground stone components of each of these drill types. The means by which these components were attached or applied to the drill shaft is examined and the way that they related to the rotary motion of drills is laid out. I briefly discuss the historical development of each type, referencing more detailed studies, where available. This study should be seen as a prelude to a more comprehensive study that will test hypotheses by means of experiment and catalogue more completely and precisely the ground stone components of drills that have been unidentified or misidentified in archaeological contexts.http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/1642bow drillpump drillcrank drillflywheelNear Eastground stone tools |
| spellingShingle | David Ilan The ground stone components of drills in the ancient Near East: Sockets, flywheels, cobble weights, and drill bits Journal of Lithic Studies bow drill pump drill crank drill flywheel Near East ground stone tools |
| title | The ground stone components of drills in the ancient Near East: Sockets, flywheels, cobble weights, and drill bits |
| title_full | The ground stone components of drills in the ancient Near East: Sockets, flywheels, cobble weights, and drill bits |
| title_fullStr | The ground stone components of drills in the ancient Near East: Sockets, flywheels, cobble weights, and drill bits |
| title_full_unstemmed | The ground stone components of drills in the ancient Near East: Sockets, flywheels, cobble weights, and drill bits |
| title_short | The ground stone components of drills in the ancient Near East: Sockets, flywheels, cobble weights, and drill bits |
| title_sort | ground stone components of drills in the ancient near east sockets flywheels cobble weights and drill bits |
| topic | bow drill pump drill crank drill flywheel Near East ground stone tools |
| url | http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/1642 |
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