History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.s3.1

v1.c13.s3.1

Generally it is believed that the first metal artifact must have been produced by cold working i.e. forging, virgin metal nuggets found in nature but the early knowledge of the art of metal casting also cannot be denied. The description of this craft in the *Ṛgveda* and *Yajurveda* is a clear indication of its knowledge in that period. It is definite that the idea of shaping metal by handling it in molten condition must have originated from the observation of the flow characteristics of molten Gold, Silver or Copper and their capacity to take the shape of the channel on resolidification. Even some of the earlier-square coins have revealed the cast dendritic structure confirming their manufacture by casting technique. These coins belonging to 4th to 7th century B.C. were most probably made by first casting molten metal in open channels and then hammering it flat before cutting the strip into square sections of uniform size and weight.