An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c13.s3: 8.3 Metal Objects
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c13.s3
- Language
- English
8.3 Metal Objects
v1.c13.s3.1
A bun-shaped copper ingot from lothal may be compared with Sumerian ingots. The same site has yielded a copper amulet with a bull figure similar to one found in Susa D. During the 2nd millennium b.c. the movement of peoples from Iran and perhaps even from the Caucasus region into India is evidenced by the stray finds of copper and bronze items. A Copper Hoard [4.11] from khurdi in Dt Nagaur includes a fine bowl with a long protruding channel spout, with analogues in pottery and metal at Giyan I, Sialk, etc., and another simple bowl of copper reminiscent of examples from Sialk. Among the Copper Hoards from fatehgarh and bithur in the Ganga valley and kallur in the Deccan are swords or discs of copper with midribs and 'antennae' hilts comparable to examples from the Koban culture of the Caucasus (c. 1200-1000 b.c.) A copper spearhead from chandoli and a fragmentary one from navdatoli are similar to spearheads found in a grave at Geyer in Palestine, datable to the close of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, though they may not be imports.
v1.c13.s3.2
Metal objects of the Graeco-Roman period have been found at different sites, mostly Taxila, BRAHMAPURI, AKOTA, etc. From the last site the handle of a bronze jug bearing a figure of Cupid has been reported. BRAHMAPURI has yielded a bronze wine jug with trefoil rim and lion-faced handle, a cup with parallel ring pattern and mirrors with ‘omphalos’ (raised knot) at the centre and concentric rings.
v1.c13.s3.3
A number of metal objects of Graeco-Roman provincial art of the 1st to 3rd centuries come from different centres such as Sirkap (Taxila), BRAHMAPURI, NAGARJUNAKONDA and ARIKAMEDU. Apart from the objects from Sirkap, where they are naturally considerable in number and varied in nature, a bronze statuette of Poseidon from BRAHMAPURI is remarkable.