Hoyau

A mattock (ˈmætək) is a hand tool used for digging, prying, and chopping. Similar to the pickaxe, it has a long handle and a stout head which combines either a vertical axe blade with a horizontal adze (cutter mattock), or a pick and an adze (pick mattock). A cutter mattock is similar to a Pulaski used in fighting fires. It is also commonly known in North America as a "grub axe". A mattock has a shaft, typically made of wood, which is long. The head consists of two ends, opposite each other and separated by a central eye. A mattock head typically weighs . The form of the head determines the kind and uses of the mattock: A cutter mattock combines the functions of an axe and adze, with its axe blade oriented vertically and longer adze horizontally. A pick mattock combines the function of a pick and adze, with a pointed end opposite an adze blade. Both are used for grubbing in hard soils and rocky terrain, with the pick mattock having the advantage of a superior penetrating tool over the cutter mattock, which excels at cutting roots. Mattocks are "the most versatile of hand-planting tools". They can be used to chop into the ground with the adze and pull the soil towards the user, opening a slit to plant into. They can also be used to dig holes for planting into, and are particularly useful where there is a thick layer of matted sod. The use of a mattock can be tiring because of the effort needed to drive the blade into the ground, and the amount of bending and stooping involved. The adze of a mattock is useful for digging or hoeing, especially in hard soil. Cutter mattocks (jembe-shoka) are used in rural Africa for removing stumps from fields, including unwanted banana suckers. As a simple but effective tool, mattocks have a long history. Their shape was already established by the Bronze Age in Asia Minor and ancient Greece. According to Sumerian mythology, the mattock was invented by the god Enlil. Mattocks (μάκελλα) are the most commonly depicted tool in Byzantine manuscripts of Hesiod's Works and Days.