Indian Epigraphy c9.t9.11

c9.t9.11

The engraving was done sometimes from a draft. Often the text was written on the plates with ink or was scratched with a needle and the letters were cut according to their shapes thus drawn by means of a chisel. Sometimes, especially in certain South Indian records, the engraving looks like scratching and it is possible that, in such cases, the surface of the plate was covered with a layer of a substance like mud and the writing was done, when it was in a semi-dried condition, by means of a graver. The engraving of the letters in some early epigraphs like the Kalwan plate¹ is done by dots instead of continuous strokes.