Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c20.s3.t7.10

v1.c20.s3.t7.10

There are many megalithic monuments north of the Vindhya mountains in the districts of Banda, Vārāṇasī, Mirzapur, Allahabad etc. At Kotia on the right bank of the Belan in district Allahabad, there is a definite association of iron with the megalithic structures dated 270 BC ± 105. The megalithic tradition of iron-making spread as far as the Chota Nagpur region in Ranchi and survived there amongst tribals until very recent times. Thus apart from Atrañjikhera area, the West Bengal-Bihar area and the Southern Peninsular Megalithic area constituted second and third nuclear zones for Iron Age culture whose influence spread and possibly met each other in the Madhya Pradesh-Uttar Pradesh area during the Historical Period.