Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c20.s1.15

v1.c20.s1.15

To summarise, it is clear that iron known before 1200 BC was mostly wrought iron and ‘used sparingly, mostly for votive, amuletic or prized items of exchange’. (Maddin, 1982) Examples of deliberately carburized and quenched samples are available only from twelfth-eleventh century BC context onwards. The spurt in iron technology throughout the world is believed to be associated with the break of the Hittite empire and diffusion of technical know-how across the national borders.