An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c21.s9: 16.9 Metals
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c21.s9
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16.9 Metals
v1.c21.s9.1
16.9.1 *Copper bronze*. The main copper minerals of India are chalcopyrite, chalcocite, bornite, malachite and azurite. The major mining areas are confined to Rajasthan (Khetri belt, 80 km long), Bihar (Singhbhum belt, 130 km long) and Andhra (Guntur belt, 5 km long). First the sulphide ore is roasted to get rid of sulphur. The roasted ore passes through various stages of smelting: copper matte, roasted matte, blue metal, black copper and refined copper. Antimony and arsenic are volatilized; iron oxide is removed by siliceous fluxes. On the basis of the available limited trace impurity data on ores and artefacts one can probably correlate the Harappa [4.9] and Chalcolithic [4.14] artefacts with the Khetri belt and the Copper Hoards [4.11] with the Rakha mines in Singhbhum [see DHALBHUM]. Several ancient copper workings have given historical ¹⁴C dates; only from Rajpura Dariba mines in Rajasthan an early date of c. 1200 B C. is available (Agrawal *et al.*, 1977, pp. 229-36).
v1.c21.s9.2
A few copper pieces first appear in the pre-Harappa [4.8] levels of KALIBANGAN, though in Afghanistan and Pakistan the beginnings are earlier. But compared to 5th-4th millennium B.C dates for the beginning of copper metallurgy in Iran the dates in India are later by 1000 years or more.
v1.c21.s9.3
The Harappa culture is quite rich in copper; the tool repertoire is marked by a variety of razors, knives, chisels, thin arrowheads and spearheads, axes and fishhooks, besides a variety of pots and pans. True saws [6.21] with teeth and body set alternatively from side to side appear at Mohenjo-daro, perhaps for the first time in the world. Tubular drills also are the first contribution of the Harappans. The mouldings are neither as ornate as the Chinese examples, nor as intricate as the Mesopotamian ones. But they do reveal the technology of closed casting (e.g. mid-ribbed swords) and *cire perdue* technology (e.g. dancing figurine from Mohenjodaro).
v1.c21.s9.4
The available analyses show:
v1.c21.s9.5
| *Tin content %* | *Artefact %* |
| 1 | 70 |
| 1 to 7 | 10 |
| 8 to 12 | 14 |
| 12 | 6 |
v1.c21.s9.6
For optimum strength and ductility only 8 to 12% tin [16.9.5] is required for alloying. But from the above we see that only 14% of the artefacts are in the optimum tin range. This may indicate either lack of control over correct alloying proportions or lack of knowledge of the required optimum tin content. The fact that 70% of the artefacts are unalloyed may indicate a general scarcity of tin. At Mohenjo-daro the upper levels have 23% bronze tools and in the lower levels only 6%. Mainly knives, axes and chisels are alloyed.
v1.c21.s9.7
Out of 177 artefacts from Mohenjo-daro and Harappa the following (non-tin) alloying pattern is obtained:
v1.c21.s9.8
| *Alloying* | *Artefact %* |
| As (arsenic), 1 to 7% | 8 |
| Ni (nickel), 1 to 9% | 4 |
| Pb (lead), 1 to 32% | 6 |
v1.c21.s9.9
Though even 1% of As increases the hardness of copper from 124 to 177 (Brinell hardness nos.), still only 8% artefacts are alloyed wth arsenic. Arsenic may have been used only as a deoxidizer for closed castings. Three examples from SURKOTADA have more than 13% lead. The metal forging techniques of ‘sinking’, ‘raising’, ‘running’, cold work, annealing, riveting, lapping, etc., are evidenced in various tools and pots.
v1.c21.s9.10
The tool repertoire of the Banas [4.14.1], KAYATHA, Malwa [4.14.5] and Jorwe [4.14.6], cultures consists of flat axes, fish-hooks, a few daggers, beads, nails, rods, wires, rings and anklets. A dagger from CHANDOLI has an antennae-like hilt. No pots and pans of metal are used in these cultures. Metallographic examination of the artefacts shows the use of cold work and annealing. Casting was generally open, though the KAYATHA axes show a superb craftsmanship and the use of closed moulds. No arsenic alloying is known; but lead was used in 1 to 2% range, perhaps for better fusibility. Generally the tin content is 1 to 5%, except for a SOMNATH axe which has 12.8% tin. In objects from AHAR² there is no alloying.
v1.c21.s9.11
A variety of types is represented in the artefacts of the Copper Hoard culture: antennae swords [19.2.2], socketed axes [6.2], axe-adzes, trunnion axes, celts, harpoons [19.2.1], bar celts, spearheads, rings and anthropomorphs [19.2.3]. Without going into controversies, it may be stated that only the antennae sword, the anthropomorph and the harpoon are distinctive of the culture and its area of distribution is essentially the Ganga valley, where the metal is in abundance. In fact the GUNGERIA hoard alone weighs more than 400 kg.
v1.c21.s9.12
The Copper Hoard technology appears quite developed if one sees the double-mould-cast harpoons. But the few specimens metallographically examined so far do not show any evidence of annealing or of cold work.
v1.c21.s9.13
Smith 1905, reported tin alloying (6 to 13%) in some Copper Hoard examples in the British Museum. But so far we have not been able to get any evidence of tin in alloying from the examined artefacts from SHAHABAD, KAMDERA, Dhanbad, DARGAMA, HAMI and BAHADRABAD. However the celts from HAMI and Dhanbad show 5 to 8% As. These are the only examples of As alloying in the whole range of the Copper Hoards so far and may have been used as a deoxidizer for casting. Only in two instances from HAMI is there more than 1% Pb. Lal, 1951, p. 24, also reported the absence of tin in the BISAULI anthropomorph. Thus all the recent analyses of definite Copper Hoard specimens show absence of tin alloying. But it goes to the credit of the Copper Hoard technology that despite the use of pure copper, which is so difficult to cast, they could carry out complicated casting of harpoons, etc.
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[For late historical Buddhist bronzes from NĀLANDĀ *see AI*, 12, 1956, pp. 53-7.]
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Agrawal, D.P., 1971, *Copper Bronze Age in India*. New Delhi, with full bibliography; 1976, in *Arch. Congress & Seminar, 1972*, Kurukshetra, pp. 85-9 (for artefact-ore correlation). Agrawal, D.P., Krishnamurthy, R V., Kusumgar, S., & Pant, R.K. 1977, in *Radiocarbon*, 19 (for Rajpura Dariba dates). Lal, B.B., 1951, in *AI*, 7 (for analysis of Bisauli anthropomorph). Ray, A., & Chakrabarti, D.K., 1975, in *Jour. Economic & Social History of the Orient*, 18, 2, p. 219 (for ancient technology). Smith, V.A., 1905, in *Indian Antiquary*, 34, pp. 229-44.—D.P. AGRAWAL
v1.c21.s9.16
*16.9.2 Iron.* India is endowed with high-quality rich deposits of haematite, magnetite and limonite. Deposits of Singhbhum-Mayurbhanj in Bihar and Orissa, Salem-Tiruchchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, Bellary, Kemmangundi and Hiriyur in Karnataka and Bailadila and Rowghat in Madhya Pradesh merit special mention. Some of these deposits might account for a flourishing iron industry and high quality of iron. It is not without significance that two nuclear cultural zones of the Iron Age, viz. Magadha and the Deccan and s., were comfortably located near the rich iron-bearing areas.
v1.c21.s9.17
There are no technological data on iron prior to NBPW phase [4.18.1] [though iron was known in India earlier]. Studies on iron objects from the NBPW phase reveal that early iron was slag-bearing wrought iron (Bhardwaj, 1973). The metal was malleable and could be forge-welded. Iron ore was converted to blooms of spongy iron by the process of direct reduction. The desired objects were forged stage by stage from bloom to a bar, then thinning, pointing, folding and forge-welding. Some of the forge-welding operations require higher temperature necessitating the use of forced draught. UJJAIN, Pd II, 500-200 B.C., provides some evidence of the smelting of iron and use of lime as flux. A furnace for forging iron objects has been reported from this site. [For other sites see 16.7.]
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Wrought iron provides cheaper metal for extensive and general use. However the real impact of iron technology was achieved with accidental carburization brought about by heating and reheating of wrought iron objects in a charcoal fire during forging. This resulted in partial though uneven conversion of iron objects into those of steel. This practice known as carburization or case-hardening came into vogue during the NBPW phase and could replace bronze.
v1.c21.s9.19
From the accounts of Herodotos, Ktesias and Quintus Curtius it is clear that Indian iron was a prized commodity even in the pre-Christian era. Probably the reference is to wootz, a type of Indian steel made by a process resembling the modern cementation or crucible process. Wrought iron was heated with wood and leaves of specific plants in a closed crucible over a charcoal fire maintained at a high temperature by blowing air. The process was completed in a few hours. The annealed metal was quenched in different liquids to get the desired hardness. Cakes of wootz were also exported for manufacturing the so-called Damascus blades. This type of steel was specially manufactured in Hyderabad, Karnataka, Salem, etc. Ancient methods of making iron and steel are still followed by the primitive tribes like the Agarias, Marias, Asurs, etc.
v1.c21.s9.20
In the late phase of Pd II and early phase of Pd III of UJJAIN there is evidence of iron-smelting in the form of large deposits of iron slag, unsmelted or partly smelted iron ore, lumps of calcite or aragonite and quantities of a whitish powder, presumably lime, in close association with a canal [14.7].
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In the post-Christian period iron technology excelled in forging enormous masses of iron into huge pillars and large beams showing high resistance to corrosion. The classical example is the famous 4th-century iron pillar at Mehrauli in Delhi. Its dimensions are: length 7·20 m, above ground 6·70 m, underground 0·50 m, upper diameter 0·30 m; lower diameter 0·40 m the total estimated weight is over 6096 kg. Its percentage chemical composition is: iron 99·768; carbon, 0·23; silicon, 0·026; phosphorus, 0·180; manganese, nil; sulphur, trace; and nitrogen, 0.0065. The specific gravity is 7·747 and the metal is wrought iron. The pillar is believed to be made by successively forge-welding blooms of wrought iron. The corrosion resistance of this pillar has been an enigma to scientists. It is generally ascribed to: (1) the purity of iron, high phosphorus, low sulphur and absence of manganese; (2) cinder coating formed on the surface and better conditions in the surface roughness; (3) better forge-welding; and (4) drier and uncontaminated atmospheric conditions (Ghosh, 1963). [The rustlessness of the pillar has been exaggerated. While the body of the pillar is smooth, an excavation of its rough underground portion in 1961 showed that that portion was thickly covered with rust and other corrosion products. So was also the socket at its top, to hold a capital or emblem. *IAR—1961-2*, 149.]
v1.c21.s9.22
The 12th-century colossal iron pillar at Dhr, the ancient capital of Malwa, has a length of 13·30 m, now in three pieces. It is rectangular in cross-section with an average width of 0·25 m. Its estimated weight is 7112 kg. Like the Delhi pillar it is also made of wrought iron.
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An extensive use of large iron beams is found in temples in Orissa built from the 9th to the 13th century. The Sun temple at Konark has yielded 29 iron beams, the largest of which is over 10·66 m long and 12 × 12 cm in cross-section. The Jagannātha temple at Puri has 239 iron beams, their dimensions ranging up to 5·18 m in length and 15 × 10 cm or 13 × 15 cm in cross-section. They are of wrought iron, and the percentage chemical composition is: iron, 99·64; carbon, trace; sulphur, trace; manganese, nil; phosphorus, 0·15. Despite a similarity in composition of the iron beams with the Delhi pillar, these beams are severely corroded on account of salt-laden air of the sea coast.
v1.c21.s9.24
Banerjee, N.R., 1965, *Iron Age in India*, Delhi. Bhardwaj, H.C., 1973, in Agrawal, D.P., & Ghosh, A., ed., *Radiocarbon & Indian Arch.*, Bombay. Ghosh, M.K., 1963, in *National Metallurgical Laboratory Technical Jour.*, Jamshedpur. Neogi, P., 1914., *Iron in Ancient India*, Calcutta.—H.C. BHARDWAJ
16.9.3 Other metals—gold, silver and lead
v1.c21.s9.t1.1
In India the antiquity of this metal goes back to the Harappa [4.9] period. Gold ornaments are known from LOTHAL (Harappa), ROJDI (late Harappa), TEKKALAKOTA (Neolithic-Chalcolithic [4.14.8], Phase I), DAIMABAD (Chalcolithic [4.14.6]), KAUŚĀMBĪ (300 B.C.) and the Megalithic burials [4.17]. Gold foil beads and small gold objects are reported during the early historical period from NEVASA, NASIK, JORWE, PANDU RAJAR DHIBI, VAIŚĀLĪ, NAGARJUNAKONDA, etc. Except in the Harappa period gold was a scarce metal all through. From the Kushan period this metal was no longer scarce and its use in the form of coins was quite popular. Gupta gold coins show excellent gold metallurgy [3.1].
v1.c21.s9.t1.2
Gold occurs in two forms: (1) As ‘placer’ metal (alluvial or detrital gold) it is found in the auriferous sands and gravels of a large number of rivers which pass over auriferous rocks, as in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar (especially the region of Dts Singhbhum and Manbhum and in the valleys of the Subarnarekha river). That alluvial gold-washing was carried out in antiquity is substantiated from the fact that gold dust was paid by the Indian provinces as tribute to Darius the Achaemenid. (2) Important sources of gold in the form of quartz veins or reefs are the Kolar gold mines which produce 99% of India’s gold output. In addition the Hutti gold mines in Dt Raichur, Ramagiri area in Dt Anantapur and Wynaad area in Dt Nilgiri also deserve mention.
v1.c21.s9.t1.3
In the beginning gold nuggets were collected from the surface and gold was mined by ‘open cast’ method. A later method used for mining appears to have been ‘fire-setting’, where rock faces were heated and then cracked by throwing water on them. This helped in sinking deep shafts in quartz veins. Stray finds among old workings, two ¹⁴C samples from Hutti and field investigations indicate that shafts through the quartz veins had reached a considerable depth by the beginning of the Christian era. Over 240 m deep anciently worked mines have been recorded at frequent intervals along several km of reefs of the Kolar and Hutti gold mines.
v1.c21.s9.t1.4
Considering that gold from Kolar and Hutti gold mines is of light colour (being electrum, a native gold-silver alloy) and similar gold objects have been recovered from the Harappa sites, it has been inferred that the surface collection of gold nuggets had started by the Harappa period. The clustering of Neolithic sites around gold-mining areas and the recovery of gold ornaments from limited excavations of the Neolithic-Chalcolithic site of TEKKALAKOTA and Chalcolithic site of DAIMABAD confirm that the exploitation of these gold mines continued after the Harappa period.
v1.c21.s9.t1.5
Small pure metallic nuggets collected from the mining area could be hammered and directly shaped into simple ornaments and need not necessarily have needed the expert services of a goldsmith. But gold mined from quartz veins needed some treatment. The detached rock was carried outside the mine where it was crushed in large stone mortars and finally ground. This powder was washed with water on a sloping surface and gold particles were separated. Alternatively alluvial gold was agitated with water in pans, cradles and sluices, so that earthy matter was floated off and gold particles were retained.
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Gold particles whether obtained from alluvial washing or separated from reef gold were fused into small ingots in clay crucibles over charcoal fire at a temperature of 1063° C.
v1.c21.s9.t1.7
In the Harappa period gold ornaments were made both by hammering and casting. The art of drawing gold wires, soldering the metal and making both hollow and solid gold ornaments was known. Hollow conical ear ornaments, corrugated finger rings, large circular gold pendants with axial holes and minute beads show a remarkable skill of the craftsman.
v1.c21.s9.t1.8
[An analysis of the gold ornaments such as necklaces, spiral ear-rings and ear ornaments from the MAHURJHARI (Megalithic [4.17.6]) stone circles shows that whereas some are of 99·8% pure gold, several others are a mixture of gold and silver, each contributing nearly 50%. The ornaments were variously made of solid gold wire, gold leaf possibly mounted on a lac base and tubes filled in with lac. The NAGARJUNAKONDA megaliths [4.17.7] have yielded spiral-shaped ear-rings and 35 cylindrical beads of thin sheet gold. An alloy of silver has been used for the manufacture of 18 spacer beads exactly similar in shape to the gold ones. Gold diadems have been found in the urn burials [4.17.9] of ADICHANALLUR].
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The chemical composition of Gupta gold coins shows them to be an alloy of gold (75%) and silver (25%). This alloy has favourable mechanical properties and good castability. It has high ductility, low annealing temperature and extremely easy workability. Twenty-five per cent silver has helped to increase the hardness (160 Vickers hardness no.). The macro-examination of the coins shows excellent embossing on both the sides indicating that striking techniques were well developed.
v1.c21.s9.t1.10
Both silver and lead may be dealt with together on account of their common source and metallurgy. The earliest use of these metals goes back to the Harappa period. A silver bangle and a few silver fragments are reported from LOTHAL. 102 silver plates were recovered in association with the Copper Hoards [4.11] from GUNGERIA. The regular use of silver is marked by the introduction of silver punch-marked coins [3.1] by 600 B.C. Lead objects are reported from Harappa sites now in Pakistan but not from those in India. However lead was frequently used in this period for alloying with copper [4.9.1] and its advantage in lowering the melting point and thus easing in casting was fully realized. In the early historical period lead was a common metal, and its objects in the form of spools of coiled strip, wire, nails, antimony rods [18.1] and the like are reported from many sites. Lead was also used for minting coins.
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There are no silver ores in India. Most of the silver is obtained as a by-product of the smelting of lead ores. The major sources of silver and lead have been the argentiferous lead-zinc ores of the Dawdwin mines in Burma and the Zewar mine, Dt Udaipur. Both of these are reputed to have been worked in antiquity. It is quite likely that silver ores were also obtained from Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Iran, etc. A small amount of silver could have come from the gold mines of s. India where this metal is found naturally alloyed with gold and is believed to have been used since the Harappa period.
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But the impurity pattern of Mohenjo-daro silver (the chemical analysis of LOTHAL silver is not available) and punch-marked coins in general shows that their source was argentiferous galena rather than electrum. However silver plates reported from GUNGERIA show 3·70% gold and a punch-marked coin in the Lucknow museum has been reported with 10·53% gold. This could imply that a method of separation of silver from gold was worked out during the Copper Hoard period [4.11].
v1.c21.s9.t1.13
The production of both lead and silver was from the same ore—argentiferous galena (basically an ore of lead in which silver occurs as an impurity). Smelting of this ore and extraction of lead from it is one of the simplest metallurgical operations. In ancient times metallic lead could have been obtained by simply heaping the ore on top of the fuel placed on the ground or in a pit. Fused metal, which melts at 327° C, could have run out at the bottom of the heap and was collected. (Reduction temperature of lead oxide is well within 800° C and so smelting could be done easily in a domestic fire using charcoal.)
v1.c21.s9.t1.14
Crude lead (base bullion) as obtained above was repeatedly melted and crystallized and lead crystals were removed. This resulted in the concentration of silver as in the modern Pattinson’s process. The remnant of lead was removed by the cupellation process.
v1.c21.s9.t1.15
Metallurgical studies of silver punch-marked coins reveal that despite primitive techniques by 600 B.C. Indians could obtain silver of high purity (0·1 to 0·5% lead was the main impurity). It indicates that cupellation was carried out with great perfection. Alloying of silver with copper was deliberate and in correct proportion, giving ease in casting, providing optimum strength and wear resistance. It also economized the metal.
v1.c21.s9.t1.16
Allchin, F.R., 1962, in *Jour. Economic & Social History of the Orient*, 5 (for methods of gold mining in ancient India). Bhardwaj, H.C. & Misra, S., 1968, in *Jour. Numismatic Soc. of India*, 30, pp.
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241-51 (for silver coins): 1971, in *ibid*., 33, 123-7 (for Gupta coins).—H.C. BHARDWAJ
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*16.9.4 Slag*. Slag is the refuse material left after the smelting of metallic ores and comprises fused earthy matter. On account of its easy fusibility and low density it is conveniently removed during smelting, the separation being facilitated by the use of flux. It survives in a good condition without much chemical alteration and is of great significance in archaeological metallurgy.
v1.c21.s9.t1.19
Smelting of ores was generally done more near mining areas than in habitational settlements. Accordingly enormous quantities of slag of copper, lead and iron are found littered around these areas. Some of them may belong to great antiquity though no definite dates can be assigned to them.
v1.c21.s9.t1.20
Copper slag is also reported from such sites as LOTHAI. (Harappa [4.9]), AHAR² (Chalcolithic [4.14.1]), RAJGHAT⁴ and SHAMALAJI (early historical); and iron slag from HASTINĀPURA (PGW), RAJGHAT⁴, UJJAIN, PANDU RAJAR DHIBI, MAHISDAL, SARADKEL and SHAMALAJI (all early historical). So-called glassy slag is reported from NAVDATOLI, MAHESHWAR, NAGARA, NEVASA and KOPIA (all from early historical levels). Slag is reported from a number of ash mound sites [14.3].
v1.c21.s9.t1.21
The occurrence of slag is an evidence of local smelting. Its analyses are instructive in that they reveal the contemporary smelting practices, nature of the ores used, percentage of the metal extracted, use of flux and the temperature available. The analyses of (1) copper slag from AHAR² (Chalcolithic), (2) copper slag from RAJGHAT⁴, Pd I (early historical), (3) iron slag (from the same site and level), and (4) slag from KUPGAL (ash mound) are as follows per cent: loss on ignition—in (1) and (2) nil, in (3) 3·14, in (4) 10·5 (by difference); SiO₂—in (1) 38·16, in (2) 39·17, in (3) 16·32, in (4) 62·00; Fe₂O₃/FeO—in (1) 45·32, in (2) 38·72, in (3) 74·43, in (4) 11·00 (combined with Al₂O₃); Al₂O₃—in (1) 5·96, in (2) 12·02, in (3) 4·25, in (4) see above; CaO—in (1) nil, in (2) 5·39, in (3) 1·20, in (4) 8·00; MgO—in (1) 3·02, in (2) 0·62, in (3) 0·45, in (4) nil; MnO₂—in (1) 0·89, in (2), (3) and (4) nil; CuO—in (1) 0·91, in (2) 1·05, in (3) and (4) nil; Ni, in (1), (3) and (4) nil, in (2) trace; SO₃—in (1) 4·14, in (2) 0·20, in (3) and (4) nil; P₂O₅—in 1 and (2) nil, in (3) trace, in (4) 2·5; TiO₂—in (1), (2) and (4) nil, in (3) trace; K₂O—in (1), (2) and (3) nil, in (4) 5·00; C—in (1), (2) and (3) nil, in (4) 1·00. Thus in (1) and (2) chalcopyrite is the main copper ore used and either the ore contained good percentage of silica or silica was added as flux. About 1% of the metal is left in the slag which shows that extraction was fairly good. In (3) very rich ore was used but as much as 74% of the ore was left unsmelted. It implies that iron technology was not yet fully evolved and the requisite temperature was not available. The so-called slag reported from the ash mounds is not of iron but is the product of continual burning of cowdung.
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Bhardwaj, H.C., "Aspects of Ancient Indian Technology", Ph.D. *thesis*, Banaras Hindu Univ.; in Agrawal, D.P., & Ghosh, A., ed., 1973, *Radiocarbon & Indian Arch*., Bombay. Hegde, K.T.M., in Sankalia, H.D., *et al*., 1969, *Excavations at Ahar*, Poona. Mujumdar, G.G., & Rajaguru, S N., 1966, *Ashmound Excavations at Kupgal*, Poona. For other sites see respective entries in vol. II.—H.C. BHARDWAJ
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*16.9.5 Tin*. The tin-bearing localities in India are in Dts Hazaribagh, Dharwar, Palanpur, Champaner, Bhilwara, Bastar, Almora and Pithoragarh (Chakrabarti, 1979) and a few other localities elsewhere of which no precise information is available.
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While there is no evidence of the occurrence of tin in any pre-Harappa context it is a regular constituent in the Harappa copper/bronze assemblage, taking 1% or more as an indication of its deliberate use, the percentage ranging from 1·2 to 26·9 at Mohenjo-daro (Marshall, 1931, pp. 480-2, p. 484; Mackay, 1938, p. 479), 3·60 to 10·45 at Harappa (Vats, 1940, p. 378) and 2·60 to 11·07 at RANGPUR (Rao, 1963, pp. 152-3). Agrawal, 1969-70, is of the view that the tin-bronze is more abundant in the upper levels of Mohenjo-daro than in the lower ones, but the limited data may not justify such conclusion. [See also 16.9.1.]
v1.c21.s9.t1.25
On the Chalcolithic [4.14] sites, while AHAR² has no tin, a fact which need not be overemphasized, NAVDATOLI, NEVASA, JORWE, CHANDOLI and SONPUR I A show a low range of tin (Agrawal, 1969-70; 1973, p. 187). Previous meagre data show that the Copper Hoards have tin in proportions ranging from 3·83 to 13·3% (Smith, 1904, pp. 229-44), but subsequent analysis of some Copper Hoard [4.11] objects has not revealed tin in any worth-mentioning quantity. An ADICHANALLUR urn burial [4.17.9] object however shows a high percentage of 23% (Rea, 1915, p. 3).
v1.c21.s9.t1.26
The bulk of evidence of the early historical period comes from Taxila where the tin percentage is usually high (Marshall, 1951, pp. 567-9). So is it in objects from the earlier historical levels of PRAKASH (Athavale in Thapar, 1964 and 1965, pp. 131-5) and the coins from KAUŚĀMBĪ (Prakash and Singh, 1968). The 18 late historical bronzes at NĀLANDĀ that have been examined have a range of 1·15 to 23·68% (Lal, 1956, pp. 53-7), while one bronze from Kurkihar has 13·00% (Shere, 1961?). A Gupta bronze in the Cleveland Museum has 16·40% (Czuma, 1966, p. 70). but some 12th-century s. Indian bronzes have a low content of tin.
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In all cases the tin ores available within the limits of India might have been the source though for the Harappa sites Khorasan and the area between Bukhara and Samarkand, where Harappan movements have now been established, might have been an additional source.
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Agrawal, D.P., 1969-70, in *Purātattva*, 3; 1971, *Copper Bronze Age in India*, New Delhi. Chakrabarti, D.K., 1979, in *Man & Environment*, 3, pp. 71-4 (for tin in early India). Czuma, S., 1970, in *Bull. Cleveland Museum of Art*, Feb., pp. 55-67. Lal, B.B., 1956, in *AI*, 12. Mackay, E.J.H., 1938, *Further Excavations at Mohenjo-daro*, Delhi, 1. Marshall, J., (ed.), 1931, *Mohenjo-daro & the Indus Civilization*, London, 2; 1951, *Taxila*, Cambridge. Prakash, S., & Singh, R., 1968, *Coinage in Ancient India*, New Delhi. Rao, S.R., 1962 & 1963, in *AI*, 18 & 19. Rea, A., 1915, *Catalogue of the Prehistoric Antiquities from Adichanallur & Perumbair*, Madras. Shere, S.A., 1961 (?), in *Bronze Images in Patna Museum*, Patna. Smith, V.A., 1905, in *Indian Antiquary*, 34. Thapar, B.K., 1964 & 1965, in *AI*, 20 & 21. Vats, M.S., 1940, *Excavations at Harappa*, Delhi.—D.K. CHAKRABARTI
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the top is flat. The profile is generally concave, tapering or vertical and the base is invariably convex which is necessary to retain the convexity of the finished vessels. Short, stumpy and conical dabbers are also known.