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Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c14: 6. Harappan Industrial Port at Lothal

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c14

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6. Harappan Industrial Port at Lothal

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LOTHAL lies between two ranns or salt-wastes, namely the Rann of Cambay on the south and the Little Rann of Kutch on the north, with the Nal Lake in the centre. The site Lothal is actually about 52 miles from Ahmedabad. The ancient mound is sandwiched between the Bhogava and Sabarmati rivers. More clearly it may be said that the mound is situated 4 miles away from Bhurki, a small railway station renamed Lothal-Bhurkhi on the meter-guage line of the Ahmedabad-Bhavanagar section of the Western Railway. (Rao, 18-19)

History of Excavation

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With a view to understand the cultural sequence of Lothal, the first trench SRG 1 was laid in February 1955. In view of the encouraging results it was decided to resume the excavation which was temporarily suspended in April 1955. Henceforth, the excavation was conducted on a large scale throughout the year. For this purpose the mound was divided into two main sectors, one to the north of SRG 1 and the other to the south, the former being designated as SRG 2 and the latter SRG 3. In 1956, SRG 3 was extended further to include a relatively isolated mound in the south-east corner, and thus the excavation continued up to the year 1957. (Rao, 21-22)

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Carbon-14 dates for the Harappan culture are 2300-2000 BC for metropolitan centres, 2200-1700 BC for the peripheral sites, 2200-1500 BC for Lothal (Phases I to V), 2000-1500 BC for Rangpur and 1800-1700 BC for Ahar. Ahar and Lothal cultures came in contact with each other by 1700 BC. Lothal inhabitation might have started even before 2200 BC. (Rao, 37-46)

Different Metals

Copper and Bronze

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The copper and bronze objects from Lothal can be divided broadly into five categories, i.e., tools, weapons, personal ornaments, objects of domestic use and figurines. The line of distinction between tools and weapons was very thin because certain tools such as axes could be used as weapons for offensive or defensive purpose. The personal ornaments formed the bulk of the copper objects which were nearly 1500 in number; it has not been possible to determine the shape and the use of more than one thousand objects because of corrosion. (Rao, 520)

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Most of the copper and bronze objects were obviously made by casting, but a few shaped and finished by hammering. Axes and chisels were heated and hammered after casting until they reached the atmospheric temperature. Thus it is evident that forging was well-known to the Lothal smiths. Chanelled crucibles with thick walls of clay mixed with sand were used for casting long bars which were subsequently hammered into chisels, rods etc. The thicker bars appear to have been cut into thinner ones as indicated by the grooves on some of them. The reason for not casting socketted daggers, arrowheads and shaft-hole axes is often attributed to the nonuse of closed moulds of more than one piece. But it may be noted here that the use of close moulds of more than one piece was made in casting figures in cire perdue technique.

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As an industrial and trading community, the Harappans devoted more attention to the improvement of the tools needed by the carpenters. This can be inferred from production of the advanced tools such as the curved saw with teeth, the auger-bit with twisted grooves, the plainer-bit with concave margins, the needles with eyelet at the piercing or flat-end. The personal ornaments consisting of the corrugated bangle, the amulet with a crouchant bull-figure, the bird-headed pin and the pendants and rings received the special attention of the coppersmiths of Lothal. But this does not mean that they were totally ignorant of the advanced tool-types. The spearhead with a folded socket and rivet-hold found at Lothal, indicates professional sophistication. Anyhow, the technicians concentrated on the production of ornaments, figurines and tools for the craftsmen. This fact is also borne by the use of bronze for making mirrors, bangles and rings, rather than axes, chisels, daggers and spearheads. Here the production of an alloy of more pleasing colour and lustre appears to have been one of the chief considerations in using tin with copper in making ornaments. (Rao, 520-22)

Bronze

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Not only copper, low-tin bronze was also used for making pins, mirrors, rods, chisels, flat axes, daggers and arrowheads; high-tin bronze was used for bangles and pins. The hardening property of lead was also known to the Lothal folk. They made use of this knowledge in hardening tools having sharp edges. Tin became a rare commodity in Sumer by 2700 BC until it could be had once again by 1500 BC. Sayce says that tablets from Kara Huyuk refer to tin which was a rare and precious metal in Babylon in c. 2500-2200 BC. It is perhaps during this period that bronze was being introduced in the Indus Valley and Kathiawar by the Harappan traders. Hence it had to be very sparingly used. Out of 71 copper objects from Lothal examined in four lots by Lal, the tin contents in two bangles were 11.20 per cent to 11.82 per cent. One grooved rod contained 9.02 per cent, a mirror 5.47 per cent, a pin 13.80 per cent, two chisels 9.02 to 9.62 per cent, an engraver 3.96 per cent, a spear 2.27 per cent. Thus only eight out of 71 objects may be said to have contained some appreciable quantity of tin. (Rao, 523)

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Another important point which emerges from the analytical data is that although bronze, both low tin and high tin, was in use at Lothal, it is difficult to say whether the use of tin was intended to produce a metal harder than copper, which was to be used for the production of tools with keen cutting edges, or tin was used just to produce an alloy of a more pleasing colour and lustre. The examination of the two chisels show that whereas one contains a high proportion of tin viz. 9.62 per cent, the other is completely free from it. If the use of bronze for producing tools with a keen cutting edge was well understood, it is difficult to explain the presence of tin in one chisel and its total absence in the other. The same statement is true of the two bangles, one of which is made of copper and the other of tin (11.20 per cent) bronze. It seems that although the use of bronze was understood, it was not used in a systematic manner for the production of special types of artefacts requiring suitable hardness, durability and a sharp cutting edge; however, there is no doubt that both copper and bronze were in use. (Rao, 652)

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From the above analytical work, it is concluded that artisans of Lothal were well conversant with the use of copper and bronze. It seems that for the objects of decorative and ornamental value, the use of bronze was considered essential. Its use was also considered essential for the strength and durability of the tools, and cutting edge in axes and chisels etc. (Rao, 652)

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Most of the copper and bronze objects examined were evidently made of casting; shaping and finishing by hammering would also appear to have been practised. The mirror which is made of a low-tin bronze was probably heated and hammered after casting until it reached the atmospheric temperature; the same can be said of the celts, axes and chisels. The technique of forging was thus practised by the metal workers of Lothal.

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The presence of such a high proportion of tin cannot be treated as accidental; it was used for producing a metal harder than copper; bronze-making and working reached a fairly high degree of technical excellence in those remote times. (Rao, 653)

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It has been proved that the inhabitants of Lothal were acquainted with lead. A sleeved axe used for fashioning copper objects contained 2.51 per cent lead. An unidentified object contained 1.64 per cent lead. (Rao, 523)

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Two specimens have been found to be made of lead; both of them are free from copper, iron, tin, zinc and silver. Nickel has been detected in traces in one lead specimen, whereas the other specimen shows 99.54 per cent of lead. It seems that lead of a high degree of purity was manufactured by the metal-workers of Lothal. (Rao, 655)

Manufacturing Objects

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The main objects were axes, sometimes with long narrow blade or broad blade; spearhead, arrowhead, razor, chisels, dagger head, mirror awls and needles, nails and rods, fish-hooks and saw. Among the personal ornaments that were made of copper and bronze were bangle, ring, ear-ornament, beads. There were few animal figures also, such as bull, hare, dog, bird, fowl etc. Other things fabricated were chair, spoon, jar, mirror etc. (Rao, 529-36)

Copper Ingot

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Copper ingots were found at Lothal. The bun-shaped ingot contains 99.81 per cent copper and no tin or any other alloy. The ingot of Mohenjo-Daro and that of Lothal closely resembled. These were plano-convex in shape. All these were found in a house which is considered to be the quarter or workshop of a metal-worker. The concave under-surface of the ingots suggests that the pit in which they were run had a convex floor. The ingots from Susa also have a concave under-surface and short projections. Some scholars think that Lothal and Mohenjo-Daro imported copper ingots. This crude metal was normally remelted for refining in clay crucibles, which were then broken up for the recovery of the purified metal. (Rao, 520-21)

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The analysis of the ingot shows that it is made of copper of a high degree of purity, i.e., 99.81 per cent and is free from tin, lead, zinc and arsenic but contains only traces of iron and nickel as impurities. (Rao, 653)

Manufacture of Copper

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The evidence of copper-smith’s workshop has been revealed from the Phase IV. There the mud brick structure consists of two rooms measuring 10 x 12 ft and 12 x 8 ft, internally, the overall measurement being 17 x 24 ft. A furnace rectangular on plan, measuring 2 ft 6 in x 2 ft is skirted by burnt bricks placed vertically on end. Other finds from the workshop include a copper chisel and two terracotta crucibles. A unique feature of the construction of the shop is that the cross-walls, providing entrance to the furnace-room, are not built in one straight line. Another feature of the workshop is the provision of a niche in the outer face of the western wall on the road side. (Rao, 95) Two types of furnaces used by copper-smiths are laid bare in Block A. One of them assignable to Phase III is more or less a circle on plan with a rectangular projection for supply of fuel. A thick bowl of coarse grey fabric with traces of copper and fragments of a copper chisel and a rod were found here. The second furnace laid bare in house No. 154, a muffle and a copper pin found near the structure go to prove that the structure was used as furnace by a copper-smith. In both the cases the crucibles were placed on burning coal in the enclosures as is done even today. (Rao, 83)

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One circular kiln of mud-bricks, 6 ft in diameter and 2 ft 3 inch deep, uncovered at Lothal near the copper-smith’s workshop appears to have been used for remelting ingots as suggested by an earthen bowl found here. Large sheets of metallic copper, reduced to copper carbonate due to prolonged mineralisation on account of the saline soil, have been recovered in the form of flattish chunks from the vicinity of the smithy. The smithy was situated near the nullah on the northern fringe of the town. The anchor stone found on the brick-embankment of the nullah indicates that boats were anchored here possibly for unloading the heavy metals.

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In spite of the destruction of the town in Phases III and IV, the copper-smiths re-established their workshop near the nullah in Phase V. Five small rectangular sink-like brick pavements skirted by bricks on edge and inter-connected with tunnels are laid bare in the workshop wherein several copper-smiths must have been working under a single roof. Near each sink, a pot-furnace containing ash and bits of muffles were noticed. Among the important finds mention may be made of two terracotta crucibles, small lumps of copper and a crescentic sleeved axe used for shaping copper and bronze objects.

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From one of the rooms of lower town a rectangular furnace of burnt bricks had been laid bare. The contents of the kiln were ash and fragments of terracotta crucibles. A stone mould used for casting pins and awls, a copper pin, a broken copper chisel and a hammer stone with a socket for hafting are among the other finds from the workshop and its vicinity. At both the sites the kilns do not have any vent. They appear to have been used for melting the ingots in open bowls.

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Two other types of kilns have been noticed at Lothal. One of them built near the workshop of lapidaries in Block F is circular on plan. The occurrence of several baked beads and pebbles of agate and carnelian in and near the kiln indicates that the structure was used by the lapidaries for baking raw materials as well as the finished product. But the possibility of the kiln having been used by copper-smiths for remelting copper need not be ruled out. (Rao, 522-23)

Source of Copper at Lothal

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S.R. Rao has observed that Mohenjo-Daro copper contained substantial amount of arsenic, and Lothal copper did not show any trace of arsenic. From this observation he suggested that Rajasthan copper ore which contains arsenic was the source for Mohenjo-Daro objects only, and Lothal copper came from Oman. There may be alternative explanations for the observed facts.

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It is proven that there was deliberate arsenic-alloying for Mohenjo-Daro copper. Not all copper ore from Rajasthan is arsenic-rich. Rao has himself recorded that Madhan-Kudhan section copper ore contains arsenic in trace amgunt, the per cent figure being in the fourth place of decimal.

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Analysis of thousands of copper artefacts shows a wide spectrum of impurity levels which could not be due to deliberate alloying. Thus diverse kinds of ores (some from Rajasthan) might have been used. The impurity level variation noted were: 0-4.02 per cent Fe, 0-13.8 per cent Sn (deliberate alloying), 0-3.6 per cent Pb, 0-2.48 per cent Ni etc.

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One highly oxidised antiquity (no. 4189) was a copper object and analysed 70.7 per cent Cu, 0.9 per cent Fe and 6.04 per cent Zn, 6.04 per cent acid-soluble component (probably carbonate) and rest oxygen. The high zinc content suggests that the ore might have come from South Rajasthan (Ahar-Zawar area). Rao has reported another sample of cementation brass from 1500 BC submerged Dwārākā.

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The high purity ingots of copper (99.81 per cent) and lead (99.54 per cent) suggest that the Lothal technicians had learnt the art of purification of impure metals, and de-arsenification in the first case.

Gold

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Apart from a large number of micro-beads of gold used in the necklaces, Lothal has yielded 110 gold objects of various sizes. The variety of objects used and the artistic skill of the jewellers are evident from the personal ornaments found at Lothal. (Rao, 632)

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Thin foils and beads of gold found at Lothal suggest that sheet-metal was beaten into foils. Casting was also widely practised. The goldsmiths must have possessed adequate skill and knowledge of metallurgy. Joining was done either by sweating or soldering. In the case of beads the midrib concealed the joints. Controlled heating was also applied for joining. The use of copper as an alloy for soldering between the spirals of coiled gold rings clearly suggest the use of an alloy. Conical objects and rings of gold were joined by sweating.

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Thus the high degree of precision, uniformity and control noticed in fashioning gold jewellery reveal a mastery over the technique comparable only with that of Sumer. The minute barrel-shaped and circular beads reveal the unerring control, the jewellers had in fashioning minute objects. An example of expertise in applied decoration is seen in jasper beads bordered with a gold cap at both the ends. The great economy excercised in using the precious metal is attested by the process of laying thin foils of gold over lac, as is even now the practice in India. Hollow-cones or conical caps of varying sizes in gold were found at Lothal. Another important find from Lothal is a gold-ring with a corrugated surface produced from a gold-sheet. (Rao, 633-34)

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The analysis of the gold from Lothal has revealed that a natural alloy, electrum, with a high percentage of silver and free from lead, was used by the goldsmiths in making pendants and other ornaments. After the analysis it has been proved that alluvial gold was not used by the Lothal folk.

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About the source of gold it is believed that the Neolithic folk of South India had worked on the gold-bearing deposits and their contact with the Harappans might have resulted in the trade in gold, steatite and other products of the mineral-rich areas. An important evidence in favour of the theory of the Neolithic folk working near the gold mines in Kolar area is the occurrence of the burnished grey ware and the black- and red-ware in North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu situated 40 miles away from Kolar Gold-mining area and about 50 miles from the ancient workings near Hosur in Tamil Nadu. Tekkalakotta and Piklihal have also yielded burnished grey ware along with gold objects. Mention has already been made of other evidences of contact such as steatite disc beads and carnelian beads characteristic of Harappan settlements occurring in the Neolithic sites. (Rao, 632-33)

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The earliest datable evidence from the Hutti mines is Carbon-14 date for the wood specimen, bp. 1890 ± 70 years. Allchin confirmed that the shaft was worked as deep as 250 ft in the opening years of the Christian era. There were evidences of fire-setting, crushing and rubbing of the rock prior to extraction of gold.

Silver

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Although no silver specimen has been found from Lothal, a good percentage of its use has been revealed from the gold objects and some with copper.

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The specimen of gold from Lothal has invariably shown the presence of silver and more or less complete absence of copper. There is no doubt that an alloy of gold and silver, not containing copper, was used by the goldsmiths of Lothal. There were similar findings from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. One pendant from Lothal has given the following result: 66.55 per cent gold and the rest silver. The other pendant which is light yellow has given the following composition: 58.52 per cent gold and the rest silver. From the above data it is clear an alloy of gold and silver containing about 30 per cent and 40 per cent of the silver was used for making pendants. Since the proportion of silver in the pendants compares favourably with that in the native alloy electrum, it would be natural to attribute the source of the material of the pendants to this natural alloy. This view is further supported by the fact that the pendants are completely free from lead as well as copper. Therefore, it seems probale that the alloy was not prepared artificially by mixing metallic gold with metallic silver, but most probably native alloy, electrum was used for making the pendants. As gold has been found associated with silver in these objects, so it would therefore not be unreasonable to assume that alluvial gold was not used by the goldsmiths of Lothal. (Rao, 664-65)

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In two specimens of Lothal, silver was found considerably contaminated with copper: 54.65 per cent of silver and 2.67 per cent of copper and 86.57 per cent of silver and 7.87 per cent of copper respectively, the former specimen containing 3.29 per cent of iron in addition. Apart from contamination with iron and admixture with copper, these two silver objects have been found to be free from lead and only one of them contains traces of nickel. (Rao, 655)

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One specimen made of silver (scraper) has been found to contain 71.2 per cent of silver. This object was found to consist of sound metallic core made of silver and the outer layer represented oxidised copper as cuprite. (Rao, 657)

Bead

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The Harappans used every conceivable material ranging from baked clay to gem stone and gold for making beads and pendants. The refined taste and selectivity of the lapidaries of Lothal are explicit from the unique shapes and variegated colours of the beads produced by them; much of the raw material, especially semi-precious stones, were probably imported from outside. The bead-factories at Lothal produced beads not only for domestic use but also for export.

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Among the materials used for making beads mention may be made in the order of priority: steatite, faience, semi-gems such as carnelian, agate, chalcedony, jasper, opal, onyx, chrysoprase, lapis lazuli, plasma etc., besides terracotta, copper, gold, shell, ivory, and bone. All the stages of manufacture involved in bead-making namely heating, chipping, grinding, sawing, polishing and finally boring could be seen from the raw material, half-finished and fully worked beads at Lothal. (Rao, 580)

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Steatite, a soft massive variety of talc, was the most popular raw material used in the bead industry at Lothal. It is composed of hydrous magnesium silicate. The present source of steatite are Devni Mori and Kundol in the former Idar state in North Gujarat. However, the sources of black and yellow varieties of steatite are far away in the Deccan especially in Mysore state. Recently, steatite deposit has been reported from Lokhan and Mora — both situated in North Gujarat. The extensive use of steatite at Lothal suggest that there was a regular inflow of the raw material. Most of the steatite beads are made paste and a few are of stone. The micro-cylinder beads of steatite paste were manufactured by rolling the paste on a thin wire or thread and fired to a temperature as high as 1200°C, thus rendering them unbreakable. Another important type of the steatite ware is the disc-bead. Among other interesting types is a standard barrel with a trefoil design. There is also a kind of bead with lenticular section which is coloured pink. Steatite seals and beads are covered by a thin film which is considered by some as a glaze. (Rao, 583)

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Faience is a synthetic product, being calcined quartz formed by the amalgamation of lime with quartz at a very high temperature. The glaze frequently noticed on the surface of faience objects is due to silica, a natural mineral ingredient of quartz. Lothal has yielded some of the hardest faience beads including a few talco-faience ones with a light blue tint. Segmented beads strictly confined to faience are of particular interest as they provide collateral evidence for dating and cultural contact between Lothan and the Western Asiatic sites. The maximum number of segments on beads at Lothal is six. (Rao, 583-84)

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Amongst other varieties, lapis lazuli, agate, carnelian, jasper, opal, chrysoprase, onyx, cairngorm or smoky quartz, bloodstone, plasma, chalcedony, amethyst, crystal and amazonstone (microcline feldspar) are some of the varieties of gems and semi-gemstones used for bead making at Lothal. (Rao, 585)

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Agate is banded chalcedony and under this head are included opal, carnelian, crystal, onyx and milky quartz, which are only different names for differently coloured banded chalcedony. Constitutionally these are crypto-crystalline silica. Onyx is identified as such from the parallel bands of the same or different hues. It is difficult to work on agate as its texture is complex, but if properly handled, some of the most attractive types can be produced in agate. A common type among agate bead is the standard-barrel lenticular. In some cases the circular section are flattened, resulting in an elliptical section. Agate takes a very high polish. It is likely that the well-polished but unbored bead-like objects found at Lothal were used as ring-stones. The Rajpipla agate-bearing conglomerate and gravels contain rich crypto-crystalline varieties of silica; these were imported by the lapidaries of Lothal through Bhagatrav. Other sources are Rangpur of Ahmedabad district and Kapadvanj in Kaira district. The varieties used by the Lothal folk are different. The most important types in agate are the standard barrel with a lenticular section, convex cone with a plano-convex section, the cylinder and the ‘boot-shaped’ ones. (Rao, 585)

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Among the semi-precious stones, carnelian was the most popular, not only because of its attractive red colour and translucency but also because of the plentiful supply of the material from overseas sources. A great variety of beads with various shapes and shades of colour in red, lemon, yellow and a translucent variety known as sard have been found at Lothal. The lapidaries of Lothal produced carnelian by cooking agate. It is a great technological advance over others in bead-making. They knew that for easy working it was necessary to heat the agate nodules. The deep red colour of the beads was due to cooking the finished bead once again in the kiln at a high temperature. Long barrels, cylinders, truncated convex-cones, standard bicones with a cylinder section, diamond-shaped ones and small sphericals with a circular section are the main types of beads in carnelian. (Rao, 585-86)

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Onyx was more popular at Lothal than in the Indus Valley. It is found at Vijarkhi—4 miles south-east of Narmana, a Harappan site in the Halar District of Saurashtra. Standard barrels and cylinders (both with lenticular section) of onyx are found in considerable numbers at Lothal.

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Jasper is a very hard and opaque variety of quartz obtainable in turmeric yellow, blood red and green hues and in variegated forms also. Blood-stone is a variety of jasper with speckles of red in a green matrix. It was very rare in the Indus Valley, and its products were in greater use in the late Harappan period at Lothal. Variegated jasper and crystal are reported from Tankara in Kathiawar. Both red and green varieties of jasper occur in the form of small pebbles in the Bhadar river between Ranpur and Rangpur. Etching was done on jasper also. The popular types in green jasper are the convex bicones, short and standard barrels, while in red jasper short convex-cones, cylinder and barrels are common. (Rao, 586)

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Among other semi-gemstones, the assorted group chrysoprase, plasma, crystal, amethyst, milky-quartz, amazon-stone, lapis, granite and chert are included. Most of them are poorly represented. A solitary bead of chrysoprase found at Lothal has a pleasing apple green hue and a waxy lustre. Plasma has a fine chlorophyll green colour with a sheeny lustre, and takes superb polish. Crystal is extremely rare and lapis-lazuli is also very rare at Lothal.

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The collection of amazonstone, a gem, from Lothal deserves mention both for quality and quantity. It can be identified by its alluring colour from grass-green to sea-green with typical concoidal fracture and sheen lustre taking a superb polish. Palanpur in North Gujarat is known for amazon-stone. Other sources are Nilgiris of South India and Chisnoti in Padar area of Kashmir, but Lothal must have obtained its supply from Palanpur where a late Harappan site is found.

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Opal is uniformly rare at Lothal and the Indus Valley sites owing to the paucity of its occurrence in nature. It has a pearly lustre and is translucent with a peculiar play of colours. An important type of bead in this material is a short-spherical one. Another type is an unfinished short-barrel bead. It is unbored and might have served as a ring stone. A couple of weathered beads of granite are found in the late levels of period A at Lothal. (Rao, 586)

Manufacture of Beads

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A bead factory with a working platform in the open courtyard surrounded by eleven rooms has been laid bare in Block E near the acropolis. Two earthen jars, one containing 582 carnelian beads and another containing 212 beads of carnelian, shell and steatite, were found embedded in the platform. Several cores, flakes, ground and unbored beads were scattered all over the courtyard and in the rooms around. To the north-east of this factory is a kiln used for baking the raw material and finished product. Another important evidence for suggesting that the mud brick structure with a working platform surrounded by workers' room was a bead-factory is that a flanged drill-bit of bronze used in boring stone beads was found near the factory. (Rao, 580)

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The Lothal folk also followed almost the same process as is being adopted by the modern lapidaries. At first, the nodules of agate were heated to a smoky colour and the cortex was removed. The core was then reduced to the required size and shape by low-flaking using the pressure-technique. Subsequently by rubbing on slabs of sandstone the surface was smoothened and the edges were rounded off. Polishing might have been done by using haematite granules or fuller's earth in fine chamois leather, after rolling them over a sandstone block. Sand was used as a smoothening medium. Beads were subsequently bored from both sides using flanged drills of bronze and finally heated in the kiln referred to above. (Rao, 581)

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The kiln used by the lapidaries for heating beads is ovoid on plan; its longer axis being 5 ft and height 1 ft 4 inches. It is not known whether it had a vaulted roof or not. Thin burnt bricks are used for the walls which are mud-plastered along with the floor. The four interconnected flues in the floor of the upper chamber allowed fire to reach the earthen bowls containing pebbles and beads. A huge dump of dehydrated lime seen near the kiln proves conclusively that limestone was used for completely dehydrating steatite. Bannister and Canningball have said in the case of micro-steatite beads from Chanhu-Daro, that the beads must have been dehydrated and then heated to a temperature 1200°C. Lothal is the only Harappan site where evidence of such an elaborate arrangement for large-scale production of beads has been found. Obviously it must have been a very important centre for making beads.

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In the case of steatite beads the raw material was powdered, made into a paste and rolled into tubes over a thread or wire. These tubes were fired and cut into their sections with a fine wire or saw to obtain disk or cylindrical beads. Marks of cutting with a wire are clearly visible on the disk beads from Lothal. Thicker beads of steatite appear to have been produced by heating raw steatite pieces cut to the required size and shape. The lapidaries of Lothal used very delicate instruments with effective control in fashioning micro-beads of gold of uniform size with a diameter of less than 1/50th of an inch. Great skill has been exhibited by them in covering a small jasper bead with a gold cap on either margin. In the selection of the raw material and the shaping of the beads to bring out prominently the variegated bands in agate, carnelian, chert and jasper they are unequalled by the lapidaries elsewhere. Apart from this, Lothal has yielded the largest number of etched beads. From the fact that it manufactured carnelian beads on a very large scale, its claim for being the first centre wherefrom the technique of etching travelled to other centre is probably justified. (Rao, 581-82) Beck opines that etching must have been done by alkali such as lime and the Harappans were the first to initiate this technique.

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Besides the above kilns, two more kilns have been noticed at Lothal. One of them situated close to the bead factory in Block F is circular on plan and has two chambers. Its longer axis along the mouth was meant for supply of fuel. Fire reached the upper chamber through four flues all of which are interconnected. There is sufficient evidence to show that this unique type of kiln was used for baking pebble and beads of semi-precious stones. Among the important finds from the kiln are beads in different stages of manufacture, partly baked pebbles, fragment of earthen bowls used as containers for baking the pebbles and finished beads. (Rao, 83)

Seals

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Indus seals were in use at Lothal from the earliest phase of occupation to the latest in Period A and to a small extent in Period B also. The earliest seal is made of steatite. It is of light grey colour and has been used in the manufacture of most of the seals at Lothal, because the material is soft and can be easily cut, engraved and polished. Quite often the seatite paste was pressed into a mould, dried and then engraved and heated for making seals. Three categories of steatite seals have been distinguished. Category A consists of seals made of soapstone with a white coating of the same material producing a greasy lustre. These show a considerable proportion of magnesia and silica. Category B consists of seals made of steatite paste with a pearly lustre and they crumble in moisture. Seals of soapstone without any greasy coating are included in Category C. Besides steatite, agate, ivory and copper were also used. Terracotta seals are not infrequent. (Rao, 306)

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The process of preparing seals is fairly clear from the lumps of steatite and partially-cut blocks found at Lothal. A rectangular block of steatite was first sawn to the required size and shape. The second stage was to produce a rough square boss, if the seal was to have one, on the reverse by cutting out with saw the unnecessary portions. The hole for the ring, by which the seal used to be held was bored with the help of bronze drills of the flanged type dipping towards the centre from two sides. The tool used for engraving depended upon the material of the seal. For soft substances like steatite, terracotta and soapstone, engravers of chert, ivory and bone were used. In the case of harder substance such as agate and shell, chisels and engravers of copper and bronze were necessary. (Rao, 307)

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Horace Beck was of the opinion that the surface of the steatite seals was painted with an alkali and then subjected to heat. A careful examination of the alkaline coat indicates the application of more than one coat of the liquid and even overlapping of brush marks. The chemical analysis has indicated that the covering film is made of the same material as the seal itself and appears to have been applied. After the application of the coating, the seal was baked to produce the white exterior while the core itself remained grey or greenish, and hardness was produced with the escape of water from the core. A closer examination of the seals reveals that engraving was done before the seal was fired. The chemical analysis of the white film covering the surface of the seals shows the following composition:

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Silica - 61.2 per cent Oxides of aluminium and iron - 2.4 per cent Lime - Nil Magnesia - 34.6 per cent Water (by difference) - 1.8 per cent 100.00

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The quantity of water varies up to 2.17 per cent in some cases. The surface substance is therefore said to be steatite or talc that has been deprived of the greater part of its water, which is only possible by ignition. (Rao, 309)

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Thus different types of seals have been distinguished on the basis of shapes, i.e., square, rectangular, cylindrical, plano-convex, circular and miscellaneous. (Rao, 309)

Clay

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The natural soil available in the flood plains around Lothal is alluvial clay mixed with small quantities of mica. Below this deposit is a thick layer of whitish kankar. The alluvial clay is capped by a deposit of sticky black clay which is used nowadays for pottery making. Mica, sand and lime occurring in small quantities as natural impurities acted as degraissants for tempering earthen wares. However in the case of coarser wares, sand, lime and chaff were deliberately added to counteract the plasticity of black clay for producing a porous and gritty surface. The use of chaff in clay for producing red and coarse grey wares is evident from the smoky core and pitted surface and section of the vessels. Occasionally animal-dung was also used as a degraissant. (Rao, 335)

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Pottery samples were chemically analysed and found to contain high proportions of not only SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, and Al₂O₃, but also CaO, MgO and CO₂. This proved that calcareous clay was used for making potteries.

Terracotta

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Terracotta objects throw valuable light on the occupations, artistic achievements and religious beliefs of the people. This is also true of Lothal which has yielded more than three thousand terracotta objects. The terracotta objects from Lothal can be divided into six broad categories, i.e., human and animal figures, personal ornaments, tools and weapons, household objects, toys, gaming pieces and miscellaneous objects. The objects included in the last category are sling ball, triangular terracotta cakes and other miscellaneous objects of indeterminate use. Earthenware, terracotta seals, sealings and beads are noteworthy among them. Lothal folk used buffish alluvial clay mixed with mica, and sand as degraissant for making terracotta which withstood high temperature. (Rao, 475-76)

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The most interesting terracotta objects which have been found from Lothal are muffles, crucibles, and moulds for melting and casting metals. The crucibles are of two types — one being a shallow bowl in which the ingot was melted and the other a channel for pouring molten metal. In the latter case the open end could be closed by placing a lump of wet clay. The crucibles have thick walls rendered coarse by the use of sand in the mixture. Two out of three crucibles have come from the copper-smith's workshops. A compartmented rectangular vessel containing traces of metal must have been used as a muffle. Its thin walls suggest that it was not subject to high temperature. Perhaps molten metal was poured into it to obtain small tubes. Other muffles are shallow and thin bars could be had by pouring molten metal into them. (Rao, 497)

Stone Objects

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Although Lothal is situated in the coastal belt of the Kathiawar peninsula where thick deposits of alluvium and blackish clay form the natural soil, and stone is not to be seen on the surface for nearly 50 miles around Lothal until one reaches the Ranpur hills, still, a good number of stone objects have been unearthed from here. Stone of good quality had to be imported during the proto-historic times from long distance over land and sea depending on the quality of the material needed. Sandstone which is available in plenty near Dharangadhra appears to have been made use of for making querns, mullers, pounders, whetstones, hammerstones, ball, burnishers and mace-heads. Limestone and sandstone were used for anchors. Schist stone was occasionally used as touchstone and for making small conical objects which served as pendants, gamesmen or weights. Granite has been used very sparingly for crucibles, pounders and whetstones. Sandstone was used for making spheroid weights.

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The stone objects found from Lothal may be functionally divided into three categories viz., objects of domestic use, craftsmen's tools and mechanism of trade. Near about hundred and fifty stone objects have been found from Lothal.

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Pounders, querns and mullers made of sandstone and granite were used for grinding at Lothal. A unique type of rotary mill in sandstone made in two parts was used at Lothal. Quern of large size has been found at Lothal. The material used in mullers is granite, sandstone, and schist, and the material used at pounders is also schist, granite, phosphoratic schist and sandstone, the hardest variety namely granite being more common. (Rao, 553-56)

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One of the most striking features of the Indus civilization is the adoption of an accurate and common standard of weights throughout the territory occupied by them. They preferred hexahedron weights of chert to any other shape and material, although their contemporaries used duck-shaped and barrel-shaped weights in the Nile and Euphratis-Tigris Valley. The Lothal folk also rigidly followed the standard prectised in the Indus Valley and actually imported well-polished weights of chert etc. from outside, as suitable material was not locally available. Besides chert, banded agate, jasper and schist were made use of. Two cubical weights of carnelian have also been found at Lothal. It is interesting to note that the truncated spheroid weights were more popular in Period B than in Period A. The occurrence of two barrel-shaped weights at Lothal and cubical ones at Ur, Kish, Brak Susa etc., suggest a vigorous trade between the Harappans and Sumerians. (Rao, 560)

Mortar

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At Lothal generally mud-mortar was used as binding material in constructing residential buildings, the use of lime-mortar being limited to the construction of drains, baths, water chutes etc. Floor paved with baked-bricks were occasionally lime-plastered. In important buildings even the mud-brick floor was lime plastered. In the case of walls of the dock, mud mixed with lime has been freely used. The analysis of the mortar has shown that ordinary calcareous clay containing sand and silt was mixed with chaff for plastering walls. There is no trace of gypsum mortar at Lothal, though it was used at Mohenjo-Daro. (Rao, 73)

Shell Objects

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Though shell is not considered to be a mineral, we would discuss the use of shell objects at Lothal. Shell materials were found in many Harappan sites, and like steatite beads and seals, these objects also typified ancient India. In view of its coastal position, Lothal naturally played the premier role in shell fabrication technology.

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Various types of marine, estuarine and fresh water shells were used at Lothal in the manufacture of precision instruments, ladles, engravers, knives, inlay pieces, gamesmen, personal ornaments such as beads, bangles and pendants, and occasionally for seals.

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The fresh water shells and marine varieties from Lothal fall into three well-defined classes of Molusca, namely, the Gastropoda, the Lamelli-branchia (Pelecypoda), and the Scaphopoda, all of which were worked by the Lothal craftsman. All these varieties except chank are common in the Arabian sea. The chank Xancus (Turbinella; pyrum linn.) species is strictly confined to the Indian waters — Gulf of Mannar and Kathiawar coast from Dwaraka to Beyt — occurring nowhere else in Asia. Chank industry flourished in Lothal, Late- Harappan sites of Amra and Lakhabawal near Jamnagar and also in the pilgrimage sites of Beyt and Dwaraka.

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While the dock collections at Lothal included both marine and fresh water species of shells, the township collections specifically abounded in chank amongst other things. Hundreds of columella of chank-shell, rejected flakes, unfinished bangles and other finished objects of shell found in the workshops of Lothal confirm that shell-working was a flourishing local industry. One of the workshops encountered in street 1 was devoted to shell-bead industry.

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The process of sawing, engraving and giving final shape to the shell objects was almost identical in Kathiawar and the Indus Valley. The saw marks on the columella and the valva clearly show that the shell was turned slowly while sawing with a bronze wire. The thick rings produced from the septum were sawn into thinner pieces for making bangles. The walls of the chank-shell were made use of in preparing bowls and ladles (1.4 to 4.6 in diameter).

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A very interesting instrument made of shell is a hollow cylindrical objects with symmetrical loop-like curves, produced at regular intervals by partially sawing across the opposite margins. Four grooves on the upper margins of the cylinder and four on the lower when joined, give interesting lines producing exactly 45 degrees. The instrument must have served the same purpose as a modern compass and helped in marine and land survey, alignment of road etc. Another leaf-shaped object with a semi-circular end might have been used as a plectrum for playing on a stringed instrument.

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Mention may also be made of the use of bones and ivory at Lothal. There was trade of ivory between India and Sumer. Ivory was used for making Kohl rods, gamesmen, jar-stoppers, ceremonial knives, and most interestingly, scales up to 46 mm distance with the smallest division being 1.7 mm.

Conclusion

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The above discussion shows that Lothal occupies a very important position in the Indus Valley civilization. The excavated materials have proved that Lothal served both the purposes, i.e., on the one hand a port town and on the other hand a factory site. The Indus civilization itself and to some extent the foreign countries, i.e., Bahrain, Oman, Persian gulf and the Mesopotamian cities were dependent on this port town. We find that the beads of Lothal and other objects, manufactured here, were also available in other Indus sites as well as in the foreign countries. This proves that there was a clear-cut trade relation between these countries.

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In this respect it can also be said that Chanhu-Daro was also a factory site, but its activities and production was not so wide and huge like that of Lothal. Copper at Lothal was arsenic-free whereas Mohenjo-Daro copper contained arsenic, and was probably made from Rajasthan ore. The technicians at Lothal either obtained copper from some other source such as Oman or knew how to remove arsenic by roasting or a subsequent stage of purification.

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Secondly, evidence of manufacturing objects from these materials such as copper etc. were not so much conspicuous at Mohenjo-Daro, whereas Lothal clearly exhibits its prowess of fabrication facilities. One large scale copper-smiths' quarter has been revealed at Lothal. Near the pavement a pot furnace containing ash and charcoal was noticed. The pavements are too small to be used as ablution pavements. Small lumps of copper and bronze and two terracotta crucibles with traces of copper were also found in the workshop. The most important find is however the crescentic sleeved axe bearing hammer marks. It was used for shaping copper and bronze objects. This particular evidence is enough to prove the authenticity of metallurgical activity at Lothal.

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The people of Lothal were experts in engineering metallurgy. Thin foils and beads of gold found at Lothal suggest that sheet-metal was beaten into foils and at the same time it also proves that the goldsmiths must have possessed adequate skill and knowledge of metallurgy. The uses of different types of metals and their products prove that the art of metal-working was practised on a large scale, and the metal-workers of Lothal could manufacture a wide assortment of metallic objects, some of which were of a utilitarian character whereas a few others such as ear-rings, bangles and other ornaments indicate fairly extensive use of metallic objects of decorative value.

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Three types of furnaces were found at Harappa but there is some doubt whether these were used for metallurgical purpose or not. Some excavators opined that these were used mainly for baking the pots and beads. But at Lothal the purpose and function of the furnace are more or less clear. From the evidences (furnished by the excavation) and shapes of the furnace, the excavators are of the opinion that these furnaces were used for metallurgical work, such as melting copper ingots or for casting tools and ornaments.

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Like Chanhu-Daro, Lothal was also famous for bead-making industry. One bead-making factory where nearly eight hundred assorted stone beads were found, clearly indicates its volume of work. Different types of materials were used here for the manufacture of beads. Lothal, which has produced the largest number of etched carnelian beads, may reasonably claim to be the centre from where the technique of etching spread to other regions. Lothal has yielded beads in various stages of manufacture which go to show that the process of bead-making was very much practised here. The manufactured beads used to be exported to foreign countries and to the different Indus cities. It is possible that the production at Chanhu-Daro was not adequate to meet the demand of the ancient world and hence the artisans of Lothal had also started to manufacture it.

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By its coastal position and activities, Lothal remained unmatched amongst other Indus cities. In spite of its destruction again and again by flood, the inhabitants of Lothal rebuilt it properly and kept it as an active port and manufacturing centre.

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Reference

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S.R. Rao, *Lothal* (Vols. I & II) Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi, 1979 (Vol.I) and 1985 (Vol.II).

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exported to foreign countries. It is difficult to say that the production at Chanhudaro was not adequate to meet the demand of the ancient world and hence the surplus had also been exported to foreign countries.

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It is interesting to note that in Lothal and other Indus cities, in spite of the destruction of the flood, the inhabitants of Lothal, property and houses, had been reconstructed and the manufacturing continued.

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References

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The evidence of Lothal is very important for the study of the bead-making industry. There were found a number of bead-making workshops. The evidence is enough to prove the existence of bead-making industry in Lothal.

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The people of Lothal were very much interested in metallurgy. They had used copper for the manufacture of tools and weapons. Lothal must have possessed a good knowledge of metallurgy. The metal-working industry was practised on a large scale and the metal-workers of Lothal made and manufactured a wide assortment of metallic objects, some of which were of utilitarian character whereas a few others such as earrings, bangles and other ornaments indicate rarely seen artistic use of these objects of decorative value.

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These types of furnaces have been found in Lothal but there is some doubt whether these were used for bead-making industry or not. Some scholars opined that these were used for baking the beads but at Lothal the purpose and function of the furnaces are more or less clear. From the evidence across the three excavation, the shape of the furnace, the accessories, one of them at least these furnaces were used for metallurgical work, such as melting copper inside or for the manufacture of ornaments.

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Like Chanhudaro, Lothal was also a centre for bead-making industry. One bead-making factory where clearly the finished semi-precious beads were found at A, clearly indicates the volume of work. Different types of raw materials were used for the manufacture of beads. Lothal, which has produced the largest number of etched carnelian beads, is reasonably claim to be the centre from where it went to other sites. The evidence at Lothal has yielded beads in various stages of manufacture so as to show that the process of bead-making was quite well known there. The manufactured beads used to be

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