History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c12.12

v1.c12.12

Numerous uses of copper in early days in the form of coins of Kushan Kings like Kaniska and his successor and in the following Gupta periods are found. Large number of iron implements and weapons including swords and daggers found during an excavation near Madras are regarded as the products of 4th century B.C. The famous iron pillar bearing an inscription of about 415 A.D. near Delhi by the side of Kutub Minar was constructed in the 4th century A.D., first erected at Mathura and then removed to its present site at Delhi in or about 1050 A.D. Iron was mined and smelted in India since ancient times and steel making was a highly developed art. Iron does not seem to have been known in the Harappa period but it was known in the Vedic period. Megasthenese mentions iron amongst other metals and fine steel had been used for the manufacture of surgicals instruments for inscribing on stones evidenced by Ashoka’s inscriptions on stones. It is believed that Indian steel was exported to Persia and to Western European countries and was known in Europe by the name of ‘Wootz’ from which the famous Damascus blades were prepared (Sharma and Sinha, 1967). Iron produced in Ancient India was mostly wrought iron and charcoal was the fuel usually employed. In those days steel was produced by a process resembling modern crucible process. The ancient blacksmith extracted iron from local ores e.g., laterite, lateritic soil, ferruginous sandstone or soil. The indigenous iron industry was widespread and prosperous throughout the medieval period as can be seen by the heaps of iron slag strewn throughout the country at numerous places except in the alluvial planes of great rivers.