History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c12.s1.t4.9

v1.c12.s1.t4.9

(i) At Hutti, the old workings reached a depth of 640 feet (195.07 m) a depth unparalleled by another truly ancient working yet discovered in any part of the world. The difficulty of working must have been accentuated by the steepness of the reef and by the hardness of the rock, every inch of which was doubtless broken by the laborious method of “fire setting”, heating the rock with fire and dashing water over the heated surface. Pieces of charred wood used for this purpose are still to be found in the old workings.