Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c14.s3.9

v1.c14.s3.9

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)