History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c14.s1.6

v1.c14.s1.6

The engraved faces of each pair of discs faced each other, while the blank side of each of them was attached to the outer side of the immediately upper or lower pair (as the case might be). The opening on the rim of each pair (as indicated in the last but one paragraph) was usable for channelling molten metal into the inner side. Available data indicate that the series of discs was then plastered over on the outer side, leaving only the channels leading to the sockets uncovered. Molten metal could now be poured into different moulds separately, or, which was more likely, it could be made to flow down through a vertical hollow column communicating with the channels leading to the coin sockets of the moulds placed vertically. The practicability of the latter method is indicated by the ‘U’- or ‘V’-shaped cut leading right into the socket of some Sanchi and Sunet moulds. The deep cutting through the side of each of these moulds seems to have been designed to allow metal run directly into the socket from some central channel (like the above mentioned vertical hollow column).