Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c20.s3.t5.2

v1.c20.s3.t5.2

The Hallur area provides one of the three earliest dates for Iron Age Culture in India (Atrañjikhera and Pāṇḍu Rājār Dhibi in North India providing the other two). In chapter 10, we referred to some of the ancient mines of copper in the Karnataka area which must have witnessed very early open cast iron ore mining also. We would like to record the technical details of a few iron objects found from Komaranhalli and Tadakanhalli. Komaranhalli is one of the important megalithic burial sites 12 km east of Hallur dated 1200-1100 BC by thermoluminescence determination. (Indian Archaeology — A Review 1980-81, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi, 1983, p. 29) Tadakanhalli is the megalithic site dated 1000 BC, near (and contemporary to) Hallur site. (Nagaraja Rao, 1981: 25) The National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLCCP), Lucknow, India received 31 objects from Komaranhalli (arrowheads, axes, knives, daggers, swords, spearheads, bars and rods etc.) and 20 from Tadakanhalli (above types and also chisels) for metallographic examination. Several samples were found to be heavily corroded; investigations were carried out on the rest which had some residual metal. (Agrawal, O.P., 1980-81 and 1990) A Komaranhalli spear and an axe from Tadakanhalli were examined with great detail, the results of which are presented below.