Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c22.s1.6

v1.c22.s1.6

The semi-precious stones found at Taxila were obtained from other sources, imported as items of trade. Pebbles of jasper of various colours — red, green and yellow — probably came from Rājpūtānā or Central India. Jade, comprising of both jadeite and the nephrite variety, came from the well-known mines in the Karakash Valley of Eastern Turkestan, or the Tunga Valley of the Pamirs (jadeite) or the Rewāh State in Central India (nephrite variety only). As noticed by Hiuen-Tsāng, jade assumed greater importance in the context of Buddhist carvings, during the post-Taxilian period.