Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c12: 4. Minerals and Metals in Harappa

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c12

Language: English

v1.c12.s1 Geography and Archaeological Excavations — 3 parts
v1.c12.s2 Use of Special Rocks and Stones — 1 part
v1.c12.s3 Special Potteries and Clays — 3 parts
v1.c12.s4 Special Materials for Animal Figurines and Beads — 16 parts
v1.c12.s5 Other Special Materials — 15 parts
v1.c12.s6 Copper, Bronze and Other Metals — 17 parts
v1.c12.s7 Furnaces — 15 parts
v1.c12.s8 Reference — 1 part

4. Minerals and Metals in Harappa

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In the previous chapter, a separate discussion on Mohenjo-Daro has been made regarding the uses of mineral and metallic items. Similar discussion follows pertaining to the Indus Valley Site of Harappa.

Geography and Archaeological Excavations

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On the north bank of the great Dhāyā ridge, stands Harappa at the confluence of the two sukhrāvās (dry bed of Ravi). Its exact situation is in north-east-north of Harappa Road, a station on the North Western Railway with which it is connected by a Kachcha service road and 15 miles west-south west of Montgomery town, the District headquarters. From the latter, it can be reached along the canal bank road except for the last two miles which are traversed by the service road referred to above. (MSV, 2)

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From the sukhrāvās, the mounds extend southwards roughly in a parallelogram of which the circuit is nearly two and a half miles. Together with the low-lying tumuli, however, viz. Area G and J to the south-east, the cultivated fields to the east of the Thana mound and to the south-west of mounds AB and D, the cemetery H, and the low oval tumulus which forms the westward continuation of Mound F, the total circuit is over three and half miles. (MSV, 3)

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Although the site of Harappa has long been known to the archaeologists, it was Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahani who started excavations on both Mound F and AB in January 1921, and subsequently continued them during the winter seasons of 1923-24 and 1924-25. But from 1926-27 to 1933-34 it was Madho Sarup Vats who worked for eight years there. Not only he excavated the main mounds of Harappa, he continued southwards to explore the Cemetery H and area G also. (MSV, 11-12)

Use of Special Rocks and Stones

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At Harappa, excavation has revealed several rocks and stones which were to some extent special in this region. They are grey sandstone, short granite calf, red sandstone, grey granite and yellowish limestone. Querns which have been found in large numbers are of two kinds: footed and saddle. These are made mostly of sandstone of grey granite but sometimes of basalt. (MSV, 56-57, 69-74, 367)

Special Potteries and Clays

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Almost every type of pottery found in Mohenjo-Daro have also been found at Harappa. On the other hand, the converse is not equally true; it is observed that there are many varieties of vessels found at Harappa which are not represented at Mohenjo-Daro. In colour, the pottery of Harappa, like that of Mohenjo-Daro is prevailingly light-red and the clay of which it is made, more often that not, has a natural admixture of sand and lime or both, but only in such small quantities that these cannot be easily detected with the naked eye. (MSV, 275)

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In Harappa a distinction is marked between the burial and household pottery. Whereas the household pottery is usually made of comparatively coarse clay, the clay of the burial ware is of fine grain, better levigated and puddled, a little softer and therefore a trifle more plastic. Whereas the prevailing colour of the household ware is red and black, the sherds of the other class are of a decidedly deeper red colour with brighter slip on which the black painting becomes automatically pronounced. (MSV, 246)

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Vats commented that the Cemetery H (burial) pottery is strikingly different from the characteristic pottery of the town sites, both at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The clay of this Cemetery H pottery is generally of a finer texture, better levigated and puddled and at the same time softer and more plastic. It turns a deeper red and has a brighter red slip on it. The distinction between the two classes of pottery is equally observable in their paintings which have little or nothing in common with each other. (MSV, 275) It is believed that Cemetery H potteries are of later dates.

Special Materials for Animal Figurines and Beads

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In the area J of Harappa a few terracotta toys (animal) were found with their fore and hind legs fashinoned in a large piece, i.e., without a division between the two legs. Vats is of the opinion that such toys are not found at Mohenjo-Daro. The animal figures, mostly in terracotta, have been found in very large numbers at Harappa. It offers a great variety of animal figures compared to those yet recorded from Mohenjo-Daro. These figures are fairly common in faience, specially the squirrels and rams. More rarely these were made of steatite, shell and bone. By far the largest number of these pottery toys are bulls, the humped variety being more common than the humpless ones. Amongst the aquatic animals are the crocodile, turtle and fish, and among the birds the duck, peacock, hen, kite, pigeon, sparrow, dove, parrot, owl are prominent. Besides these, there are steatite bird, faience parrot, steatite owl, terracotta pigeon, peacock, hen, duck, faience fish with white glaze, faience snakes, stone mongoose, humped bull in green faience, rhinoceros of burnt steatite and terracotta elephant and tigers at Harappa, which deserve special attention. (MSV, 182, 300-09)

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One very interesting fact about the Harappa beads is the great number of those which were made of steatite. In no other place, has such a large proportion of the beads found to be of this material. In addition to the number found, the variety of treatment that these have received is quite exceptional. Some specimens are in the natural stone, but the great majority have had some sort of treatment with heat, which has whitened the surface. Such beads have been called "Burnt steatite beads". Among the steatite beads those that show the most striking novelty as far as decoration is concerned, are the painted steatite beads. The methods by which these were made is not clear, but Vats thinks that both the red and the brown colours are due to iron. The red colour can be produced by painting the pattern on the stone with ferric nitrate solution and then heating it to red heat in a crucible which is packed with magnesium oxide. (MSV, 392, 394)

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Apart from this, there were small steatite beads, varying greatly in size, cone beads, gadrooned beads, cross beads, step beads, tooth beads, natural steatite beads and copper tube in bead. (MSV, 394-98)

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Next to steatite, the greatest number of stone beads are made from the silicate stones which are all more or less pure varieties of quartz. There are two main divisions of silicate stones. The first included the transparent varieties of quartz of which the chief are colourless quartz or rock crystal, amethyst, yellow quartz or cairngorm and smoky quartz. The second division includes the pellucid and opaque varieties such as agate, carnelian, chalcedony, chert etc. (MSV, 398) In Harappa, the beads found were of the second variety only. The first variety was common in Mesopotamia, but strangely not in Harappa.

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Agate is evidently a favourite material for beads at Harappa and is also noticeable in Mesopotamia, where agate beads with both circular and elliptical section are common. Comparatively few of the specimens from Harappa show specially good workmanship. (MSV, 399)

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A number of broken pieces of agate have been cemented together in a chalcedony matrix. This is a rare material. The only other beads made from it that have been found up to now are from Mohenjo-Daro; probably the material for both the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro beads comes from the same place. (MSV, 400)

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The carnelian beads are also few in Harappa. Only few beads of this type have been found which are exceptionally long barrel beads. The beads are exactly similar in shape to some from Mesopotamia. A second variety of etched carnelian bead is sometimes met with, in which the whole surface of the bead is whitened over, to a considerable depth by the usual method, and then a design in black is etched on the top by means of a metal salt. (MSV, 401)

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The chalcedony, chert, jasper and lapis lazuli beads have also been found at Harappa, but these are not profuse in number. Only three specimens of lapis beads have been recorded. This is very interesting, as enormous number of lapis lazuli beads have been found in Mesopotamia, and their shape is both circular and elliptical form. This shape is not found among the Harappa beads. (MSV, 903)

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There are several varieties of faience beads found at Harappa, but all those examined consisted of fine quartz grains in an isotropic medium. Most, if not all, of the beads were coloured, the original colours seem to have been blue, yellow, black and white, but some have corroded to a different colour from what these originally were. There are a number of zone and spiral beads which are made of the varieties of faience, either red and white or white and brown, the brown in some cases being almost black. (MSV, 404-5)

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Besides the above-mentioned beads, a good number of shell beads, ivory beads, copper beads, silver and gold beads were commonly made at Harappa and probably sent to Mesopotamian or Egyptian countries. Thus, a general survey of the beads obtained from Harappa shows several very interesting anomalies. A number of cases seem to point with absolute certainty a contact between the Indus and Mesopotamian civilizations. On the other hand, there are several facts which make this contact seem very improbable. If there were only one or two points suggesting definite contact, it might be thought that there was no close contact, and the individual cases were due to some haphazard trade, but such cases are too frequent. (MSV, 909)

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Perhaps the most striking connection relates to the etched carnelians. This rare and different process is not likely to have originated in more than one country. Thus the two plaque beads from Mohenjo-Daro and Ur are so identical in design that it cannot be accidental and at least two of this design came from each place. Although etched beads are very rare at Mohenjo-Daro, a fair number originated at Harappa. (MSV, 410) Thus Harappa could have been the major source of such beads.

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Then the small steatite beads from Harappa are practically the same as the beads from grave P.G. 55 in the early cemetery at Ur. The great number of these small beads in this grave is very extraordinary, since the use of burnt or treated steatite is very rare in Mesopotamia at that period. These beads were associated with an approximately equal number of lapis and carnelian beads. It is suggested that they formed a girdle. To suggest that such a girdle was imported complete, is not a satisfactory explanation as lapis beads are apparently very rare on the Indus. Even the trefoil ornament and the stepped design has been found both from Harappa and Mesopotamia. (MSV, 410)

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On the other hand, the following facts testify against a very close connection between the two countries. Firstly, the Indus civilization, as far as beads are concerned, was primarily a steatite civilization. More beads were made of this material, but in Mesopotamia very few beads of steatite have been found. Although in Egypt glazed steatite beads were commoner, these were generally small until a much later date, and never reached the size of the larger Indus specimens. Secondly, the technique of painting steatite is not known elsewhere apart from Harappa — either in Mesopotamia, Egypt or Greece. Thirdly, there is the rareness of lapis in the Indus civilization. That it is so rare in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro but so extremely common at Ur is difficult to account for. Fourthly, no bead of crystalline quartz, amethyst, garnet or obsidian occur at Harappa, though these materials are fairly common in Mesopotamia. Fifthly, the bicone shaped lapis beads at Ur was not found from Harappa. Sixthly, flattened leach beads have not been reported from Harappa, while quite a number of faience, agate, and other stones have been found in Mesopotamia. Seventhly, objects called plumb-bobs have been found in some numbers at Ur, but they have not been found at Harappa. Eighthly, the frit beads are of two varieties, hard and soft. Most of the Mesopotamian beads are made of the soft frit. Neither variety occurs amongst the beads obtained from Harappa.

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Thus, to summarise, Vats pointed to eight facts which suggest extensive intercourse between the Indus and Mesopotamian civilization. One, the seal from Kish. Two, similar etched carnelians. Three, the tabular beads with median ridge. Four, flat elliptical and lenticular barrels. Five, the long carnelian barrels; six, the small burnt steatite beads like those from Ur, seven, the trefoil design; eight, the step design.

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As against this, we have the following eight facts which suggest that the connection between the two civilizations was not very close. One, great quantities of steatite at Harappa only. Two, ‘painted’ steatite known only in the Indus Valley. Three, rareness of lapis at Harappa. Four, no beads of quartz, garnet or obsidian at Harappa. Five, no standard elliptical bicones. Six, no leach beads, seven, no plumb-bobs, eight, no soft frit bead at Harappa.

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So, according to Vats, the only solution seems to be that the two civilizations met in a third one, not at present discovered, and that this third culture zone acted like a filter, handling on same articles and detaining others. (MSV, 411-12) It is clear also that beads of certain materials like steatite, burned steatite, painted steatite, etched carnelian, shell, ivory etc. were Harappan and not imported.

Other Special Materials

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There are few materials which were exclusively found from Harappa. One such object is mica. In the Mound F three such pieces of mica have been found. Even the terracotta beads of Harappa contain a large proportion of mica. The particles of mica, although so numerous, are very small. (MSV, 40, 407)

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Amongst the other objects of special material, unearthed from the Mound F of Harappa, are coral, Favia fabus common in the Indian ocean, and a piece of yellow arsenic (*haritāl*). This arsenic as we know was probably used both as a medicine and poison and also as an alloying element to harden copper tools. (MSV, 80)

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In the area G, it has been observed that many antiquities found here are liable to crumble since this area of Harappa is highly charged with saltpetre. (MSV, 80, 192-93)

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At Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, inlay objects have been found in very large numbers, mostly in shell, less frequently in faience, burnt steatite, red sandstone, yellow Jaisalmer stone and alabaster. Thus from the Mound F, an interesting group of inlay objects made of burnt steatite and faience was found sticking to some broken copper objects. From this area also, a rectangular block of yellow Jaisalmer limestone, a rectangular slab of this material and a fragment of curved tube of yellow Jaisalmer stone has been reported. Among stones found from here, red sandstone, faience cylinder, yellow Jaisalmer and *sang-i-abrī* of dark red colour are worth mentioning. (MSV, 461-66)

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From the Mound AB, an appreciable quantity of charcoal was found from the burnt down read and bamboo huts of poor people. On careful study it has been established that sample (1) is the charcoal of a *Bambusa* as inferred from the nature of the closed and scattered vascular bundles seen in the cross-section and the hollow internodes. Sample (2) is the charcoal of saccharum arundinaceum compared with a cross-section of the same from a herbarium specimen and found to agree. Sample (3) is the charcoal of a pine wood, confirmed by the presence of resin ducts in the numerous annular rings.

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A curiously carved stone object of an unusual stone was found to be made of light bluish green chalcedony. The cavities and brownish patches contain calcite. It resembles material which fills up amygdaloidal cavities in basic igneous rocks. It may have been obtained from Kathiawar.

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A small lump of decomposed orpiment, a mineral, trisulphide of arsenic used as yellow dye, was found from Mound F. A lump of rose coloured grain was found in a faience vase; it was reported that the black crystalline substance is hematite, ferric oxide, mixed with quartz. It yields a deep red powder when ground and it was meant evidently for use as red ochre. Dirty white paste of cerussite, lead carbonate, found inside a vase, might have been used as a face powder.

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Two cakes of red ochre were found from great granary area in Mound F. Manganese and iron mixed in varying proportions in the natural ore are also found used on the glazed coloured bands applied to the surface of faience vases. Sana Ullah has analysed blue and green earth, white faience and mortars found at Harappa:

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*Blue Earth*

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*Green Earth*

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Magnesia - 4.31 per cent Combined water - 10.05 per cent Moisture - 2.82 per cent

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*White Faience Ribbed Bangle* Silica - 87.45 per cent Alumina - 6.57 per cent Lime - 0.10 per cent Magnesia - 1.09 per cent Water - 0.73 per cent Alkalies - 4.56 per cent

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Mortars found in Harappa (seven samples) assayed 26-56 per cent calcium carbonate, 0.44-10.6 per cent magnesium carbonate, 34-61 per cent clay, up to 4 per cent moisture, and in one case 57 per cent gypsum. Materials made of shell were quite common. (MSV, 467-69)

Copper, Bronze and Other Metals

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As in Mohenjo-Daro, a good number of copper objects have been found at Harappa. Amongst them the most noteworthy is a two-wheeled copper chariot, the kind of which has not been found elsewhere. Apart from this there were copper antimony rod stopper, copper mace-head and other copper beads, ornaments etc. But the most important discovery of metallic antiquities that has so far been made at this site is a large hoard of copper and bronze implement and other objects of daily use. Sana Ullah after analysing 16 samples has given the tabulated results (*vide* Table 4.1).

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From the Table 4.1 it is to be noted that these objects contain generally an appreciable, and sometimes considerable proportions of arsenic besides a small amount of nickel. Lead is either absent or much below 1 per cent, but specimens with higher proportions are met with occassionally. In the 48 Indus Valley specimens which have been analysed so far, these elements are distributed in the following manner:

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| | Per cent | Per cent |
| *Arsenic* | 0-.3 in 19 | .3-.5 in 5; |
| | .5-1.0 in 10; | 1-2 in 7 |
| | 2-7 in 7; | |

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| *Nickel* | 0-0.2 in 22; | 0.2-0.5 in 18 |
| | .5-1.0 in 6; | 1.0-1.5 in 2 |
| *Lead* | Nil in 15; | 0-0.5 in 14; |
| | .5-1 in 12; | 1-3 in 4; |
| | Above 3 in 2 | 32 in 1 |

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From the above table it will be seen that nickel is generally below .5 per cent and seldom exceeds 1 per cent, but the proportion of arsenic is relatively higher and sometimes excessive. The Sumerian copper also contains similar proportions of nickel, but it can be distinguished from the Indus Valley metal by its virtual freedom from arsenic. Arsenic-rich materials might have been deliberately added in Harappa copper.

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About the source of copper we have already discussed in the previous chapter. The Rajputana mines are nearest to Harappa and contain As and Ni; the extensive remains of ancient workings and heaps of slag in some of these mines indicate the existence of a flourishing copper industry in early India. Vats thinks that the small amount of tin, arsenic, antimony, lead, nickel and iron which have been found in the specimens of copper from Harappa imply impurities derived from the ores and not intentional addition for any specific purpose. However all these foreign elements influence the working properties of copper in varying degrees and add to its hardness or strength.

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The extent to which tin was mixed with copper in the various grades of bronze in use at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro is apparent from the analysis of 48 specimens in which the percentage of tin was found to be as follows:

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| | *Per cent* | *Per cent* |
| *Tin* | 0-1 in 28; | 1-4 in 3; |
| | 4-8 in 7; | 8-11 in 6: |
| | 11-14 in 4 | |

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About the source of tin, discussion has already been made in the previous chapter.

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Bronze casting was undoubtedly practised, but the art does not appear to have made any great advance at Harappa. It may be inferred that the addition of lead to bronze for casting purposes has evidently not been realised, since none of the bronze objects contains any appreciable proportion of lead.

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Soldering was well-known to the Indus people and it is very likely that a simple tin solder of its alloy with lead was employed for this purpose. Thus there

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Table 4.1

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Chemical Analyses of Copper and its Alloys found at Harappa

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| S. No. | Description of specimen | Copper | Tin | Antimony | Arsenic | Lead | Nickel | Iron | Zinc | Total | Remarks |
| 1. | Spearhead No. J125 | 97.66 | 0.33 | .. | 0.06 | 0.70 | 0.14 | 1.11 | .. | 100.00 | C.O. |
| 2. | Saw Lot No. 277g/2 | 98.12 | 0.33 | .. | 0.65 | 0.10 | 0.39 | 0.41 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 3. | Fragment Lot No. 277 | 98.60 | 0.07 | .. | 0.66 | tr. | 0.26 | 0.41 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 4. | Lance-head Lot N. 277e/2 | 98.69 | 0.10 | .. | 0.68 | tr. | 0.40 | 0.13 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 5. | Folded sheet Lot No. 277 | 97.69 | 0.15 | tr. | 1.19 | 0.85 | 0.05 | 0.07 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 6. | Celt Lot No. 277a/19 | 98.37 | 0.00 | .. | 1.40 | 0.11 | 0.10 | 0.02 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 7. | Needle No. 11859 | 92.55 | 0.29 | .. | 2.96 | 3.72 | 0.21 | 0.20 | 0.07 | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 8. | Dagger | 90.05 | 0.00 | .. | 6.58 | 2.80 | 0.18 | 0.39 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 9. | Rectangular Rod No. 5133 | 97.20 | 0.84 | 0.19 | 0.70 | 0.00 | 0.09 | 0.98 | .. | 100.00 | C.O. |
| 10. | Chisel Lot No. 277k/3 | 94.92 | 3.60 | .. | 0.60 | 0.20 | 0.29 | 0.39 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 11. | Chisel No. B 1754 | 92.61 | 6.43 | 0.31 | 0.36 | tr. | 0.20 | 0.09 | .. | 100.00 | P.O. |
| 12. | Dagger No. 4255 | 91.87 | 6.42 | .. | 0.26 | 0.98 | .. | 0.47 | .. | 100.00 | C.O. |
| 13. | Dagger No. 1208 | 91.00 | 6.76 | 0.44 | 0.04 | 0.88 | 0.14 | 0.74 | .. | 100.00 | C.O. |
| 14. | Celt Lot No. 277a/21 | 91.10 | 7.85 | tr. | 0.42 | tr. | 0.22 | 0.41 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |
| 15. | Awl No. Af150 | 88.38 | 9.16 | 0.42 | 0.40 | 0.10 | 0.17 | 1.37 | .. | 100.00 | C.O. |
| 16. | Chisel X | 87.42 | 10.45 | .. | 1.10 | 0.52 | 0.17 | 0.34 | .. | 100.00 | U.M. |

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(Note — U.M. = Unaltered Metal. C. O. = Completely oxidized. P. O. = Partly oxidized. Sulphur is frequently present in minute quantities.)

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is good evidence of soldering of both gold and silver.

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Another interesting fact is that as in Mohenjo-Daro, löllingite has been traced from Harappa also in the form of a small lump. Its presence is interesting as arsenic may have been extracted from it and used for hardening the cutting edges of tools instead of the tin alloy. (MSV, 99, 181, 367, 378, 384)

Furnaces

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Altogether sixteen furnaces, all from Mound F, have been discovered at Harappa. These are of three kinds: (a) part of round pottery jar, (b) cylindrical pits dug in the ground with or without brick lining, (c) pear-shaped pits dug in the ground with or without brick lining. There was only one jar-furnace, Fb, for making potteries. This kind of furnace with charcoal as fuel is still used by gold and silversmiths in India.

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Furnace Fm is of cylindrical shape. It is paved and lined exclusively with courses of brick-on-edge. The walls are mud plastered and along with ashes a lot of highly vitrified slag was found in it. This indicates fairly intense firing, but no object was recovered in or around it.

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Furnace Fa is also cylindrical. This type of furnace appears to have been subjected to most intense firing as may be inferred from the fact that its mud walls have actually run down in pencil-like formations of slag. At a lower level is also seen, faintly at the right hand side, the section of a slanting flue which forms an obtuse angle with the body of the furnace. Twenty feet south of this furnace has been recovered a fragmentary earthenware crucible whose contents show that it was used for melting bronze. From inside, the walls are plastered with mud in which straw is added as an adhesive. A window is left at a convenient point whereby the fuel, the metal to be melted together with the crucible are put inside, and the window cover kept at hand.

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The remaining thirteen furnaces are all pear-shaped in plan. Eight of them (Fe, Fh, Fi, Fj, Fk, Fl, Fo, Fp) are lined with burnt brick, while the remaining five (Fc, Fd, Ff, Fg, Fn) are mere pits dug in the ground. All the eight brick-lined furnaces, were plastered with mud mixed with a quantity of sand in order to resist fusibility. In many furnaces, there is a small rectangular pillar or sometimes wall set at the back and an air passage for the circulation of heat between itself and the back wall. In many places, owing to the intense vitrification, the surface of this brick wall has run down. The furnace was found filled with ashes of light weight, in which some slag was also found. That these furnaces were repeatedly used is clear from the fact that in several instances the original mud and sand plaster, which was generally converted into slag, had to be covered afresh with about half an inch thick layer of similar plaster. Exactly similar pear-shaped furnaces have been found in Mohenjo-Daro.

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Since nothing was recovered inside these furnaces, we can only guess as to the nature of the articles fired in them. These are hardly likely to have been used for making potteries, since pottery does not require such intense heat as is evident by the vitrification in some of these furnaces, and moreover the furnaces themselves would be inconveniently small for the firing of pottery. More probably these were designed for the casting of metal objects. There is abundant evidence to show that such metal objects were manufactured locally. The furnaces might have been also used for the firing of faience objects such as small vessels, squirrels, rams, beads, sundries for inlay, jewellery of metal and stoneware bangles; as well as for glazing steatite seals, faience, sealing, vessels etc., for putting on bands of coloured frit on some faience vases; for etching carnelian beads by a process which incorporates efficient arrangements for quickly reaching a very high degree of heat and equally rapid cooling arrangements in order to keep the colours bright.

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Copper jar no. 277 recovered from Mound F contained one hundred weapons, implements, utensils both finished and unfinished. Cast bars, lance-head, bangles, thick sheet of copper with hammer marks must have been manufactured locally. (MSV, 470-73)

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On the basis of the above discussion, a few conclusions may be drawn regarding the main differences between the two cities or sites: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.

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The excavations at Mohenjo-Daro have shown the impressive varieties of materials which were used there. It is true that in comparison to Mohenjo-Daro we did not get such varieties of materials from Harappa. On the other hand, certain kind of materials used at Harappa were not found at Mohenjo-Daro.

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Two special items which have been found from Harappa are coral and mica. Use of coral was not at all noticed at Mohenjo-Daro but at Harappa few specimens of coral have been noticed. In the case of mica it may be said that its existence has been marked in the clay at Mohenjo-Daro, but mica as a piece is entirely special in Harappa. In this context, mention may also be made of yellow arsenic found at Harappa.

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Although the rocks used were more or less similar in both the cities, one or two special types of stone was exclusively used at Harappa. The yellowish limestone was exclusively found from Harappa. Apart from this, grey granite and basalt were to some extent special in Harappa.

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We have mentioned earlier that the clay of Harappa was slightly different from that of Mohenjo-Daro, because of the admixture of mica in it. Thus we find that the Cemetery H pottery had come into existence with such a fine texture, being more soft and plastic in appearance. Cemetery H potteries probably belong to a somewhat later date. Another thing which is very much peculiar to Harappa is its nature of terracotta animal toys. Different types of toys with different design have been unearthed from here which according to the excavator “are not found at Mohenjo-Daro”.

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Now, if we turn our attention toward the beads, then we find that there was a prolific use of bead both at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. The main materials were the same (copper, chalcedony, steatite, agate, faience) etc. In this context we notice that as in Mohenjo-Daro, the use of lapis lazuli was rare at Harappa also. But Mohenjo-daro got few more materials which Harappa did not. Thus we find that in Mohenjo-Daro there were the use of plasma, green feldspar, turquoise, amethyst etc. These materials were most probably imported from far away sites.

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In the case of minerals and metals it may be noticed that the metals were more or less common in both the cities and probably the sources were identical. The copper chariot was exclusively found from Harappa. Another thing which is very interesting is that śilājit was used at Mohenjo-Daro, but it was not found at Harappa.

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Compared to Mohenjo-Daro, which was probably the capital city, Harappa was more of a manufacturing centre. As in Mohnejo-Daro, furnaces have been unearthed from Harappa, but here, the furnaces are greater in number, as many as sixteen. These are of different shapes which definitely indicate their different types of functions. Thus, apart from baking the potteries, these must have served to other purposes also. In this context it can be said that the furnaces Fa, Fc and Fj definitely served for the preparation of metal objects, because from these furnaces slag was found and even crucible was also found very near to these furnaces. Even the shape of the furnace also indicates that these were specially built to withstand a high temperature. The excavators concurred that these were designed for the casting of metal objects.

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Although some evidence of metallurgical activities were noticed in Harappa, extraction of metals such as copper, lead etc. might have been performed elsewhere, and crude metal ingots received at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro for the fabrication of the end-product objects.

Reference

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Madho Sarup Vats, 1974, *Excavation at Harappa* (MSV) Vol. I, Bharatiya Publishing House, Pilkhana, Varanasi.