Heel axe; Anatolia, Bronze Age, first half of the second millennium.

Heel axe; Anatolia, Bronze Age, first half of the second millennium.
Copper.
There is an example of this piece in the MET Museum’s collection. Inventory No.: 63.147.1
Provenance: G. Elias Collection.
Lugged-type copper axe. The piece features a convex cutting edge and a rectangular butt flanked by two shoulders. Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula that is currently occupied by the Asian part of Turkey. During the Bronze Age, the New Hittite Empire was established, reaching its peak in the 14th century B.C. The empire encompassed much of Anatolia, northwestern Syria, and Upper Mesopotamia. After 1180 B.C., the empire disintegrated into several independent Neo-Hittite states.