History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s6.49

v1.c24.s6.49

Archaeology reveals wells in different parts of India which belong to various periods. A comparative study of their technical details, shape, measurement including depth, lining of the walls, shape and size of bricks, and the device for drawing water and their flow to the fields, will throw welcome light on this aspect of irrigational technology. To exemplify we may refer to the well at Kumrahar datable to c. A.D. 300-450 (Altekar and Misra, p.31). It is brick-paved and has a diameter of 2.25 ft. There are 104 courses going to the subsoil water. For sealing it a special kind of bricks were used which were 10 inches long and 2 inches thick, the breadth being 7 inches at the inner edge and 9 inches at the outer one. The wells of the Gupta period exposed by the excavations at Bangarh (ANRASI, 1903-4, pp 4-9) are made of bricks which are broader on one side. The big well excavated at Rajghat has walls measuring 2.7 metres, the inner diameter being 2.35 metres. The inner surface is plastered with lime water (IAR, 1965-66, pp 54-55; 1966-67, p. 44).