Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c22.s6.2

v1.c22.s6.2

The occasional scarcity of copper in Taxila was a local and temporary phenomenon. There was no dearth of copper coins in the third century BC Mauryan era. During the period 200 BC-AD 25, the struggles between the Yavana (Greek), Śaka (Scythian) and Śuṅga dynasties, specially over the mines of copper and non-ferrous metals in Rajasthan etc., caused the shortage, not only in Taxila but also in the entire western India. While some of these metals were imported to the Western ports, the eastern states around Pāṭaliputra, Vārāṇasī etc. did not encounter any shortage of copper. Marshall rightly observed (chapter 28, p. 566 fn.) that “it is quite impossible that the large quantities of copper used under the Pārthian rule at Taxila (after AD 25) could have been imported by sea; the chief sources of supply must have been the copper mines of Afghanistan and Kashmir”. We might add that the copper mines of Rajasthan must have been productive during peace time.