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The objective of this research was to understand the stone tools associated with the plastic deformation of metals, commonly referred to as hammers and anvils. For these tools, still largely unknown, there was no inventory in France in 2008, and only four tools recognized as such appeared in the French bibliography. Starting from the few known examples, significant investigative work within the collections of public or private museums, mainly along the Atlantic coast, initially led to the identification of more than a hundred tools, most of which were unpublished. This work continued in the museums of the East and South of France, but the tools seem rarer there and difficult to locate within sometimes ancient collections. The research focused on three aspects: understanding the function of these tools, to place them within the
chaines operatoires of metal and to understand their links with metal tools. In this context, a functional typology of these lithic tools has been developed based on the typology of their metal counterparts to allow for a better comparison of the performances of both series of tools dedicated to metalworking. The publication of this work will present as complete an inventory as possible of the stone tools from the Atlantic facade of Europe.
