Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c11.s2.10

v1.c11.s2.10

Stone of any kind was a rarity, for none occurs in the alluvium of the Indus plain, so whatever stone might have been required, was brought from more or less distant places. The three kinds of stones which were easily obtained were (1) a white or pale-coloured nummulitic limestone which occurs as an outcrop on the banks of the Indus at Sukkur and could be brought down stream by boat on raft, (2) gypsum (sulphate of lime) and (3) alabaster (a refined form of gypsum), which could be quarried a hundred miles or so away in the Kithar mountains or brought by boat, if that was more economical, from Kathiawar. Other stones in use both at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were: the fine-grained yellow Jaisalmer stone, steatite or soapstone and a dark grey slate, all three of which almost certainly coming from Rajputana; gneiss and basalt which are found commonly in many of the neighbouring regions; red, grey, and dark brown limestones, grey sandstone and chert, the provenance of which has yet to be established.