An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c21.s9.1

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).