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Symbol of cult and prestige. The excavation at Shiqmim uncovered a copper mace head identical to those found in the Cave of the Treasure. Split in half for the sake of a detailed metallurgical examination, the mace head proved to contain a high percentage of arsenic, unlike the simple copper tools at the site, but exactly like the cult/prestige objects in the Cave of the Treasure. This circumstance suggests that the mace head was not made in the village, but at the stillundiscovered site or sites where the objects from the Cave of the Treasure were made.