An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c23.s5.2

v1.c23.s5.2

Eight Harappa [4.9] mirrors are reported, three each from Mohenjo-daro and Harappa and one each from KALIBANGAN and LOTHAL. Of those from Mohenjodaro (Mackay, 1938, pp. 477-8), all of bronze, slightly oval in shape with recessed face and the edge slightly raised, one is comparatively small in diameter and was 'possibly made for a child' (*ibid.*). The other two have respectively a rectangular and long flat handle, each having a hole at the end of the handle. The mirrors from Harappa are of copper. One of them, 1·80 cm in diameter, is oval in shape with a long tang (Vats, 1940, p. 391), while another, which is similar, is of a smaller size (*ASI-AR 1936-7*, p. 40). The third specimen, round in shape with a plain flat handle, was 'found in the water-jar' placed along with other pottery in Burial 2 from Cemetery R 37 (Wheeler, 1947, pp. 87, 125-6). The copper or bronze mirror from KALIBANGAN also has been found in a grave near the head of a human skeleton (*IAR 1963-4*, p. 38). The LOTHAL bronze mirror is ovoid in shape having a slightly concave surface. In this context reference may also be made to the bronze/copper mirrors found at a number of contemporary sites like Mundigak and Dashli-Tepe, respectively in s. and n. Afghanistan, Altin-Depe in s. Turkmenia, Bronze Age sites of the Andronovo culture and Tulkhar Depe in s. Tadjikistan (Gupta, 1979, 2, pp. 116, 160-1, 190, 193, 195 and 201).