Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c24.8

v1.c24.8

Before the commencement of the direct trade, the Romans used to obtain Indian goods through intermediaries such as the Syrians, Jews, Pārthians, Axumites (non-Roman Arab-Africans) etc. The direct trade route was discovered gradually. The location of the original sources of commodities were closely guarded secrets. Thus, the Romans believed for some time that Indian iron originated from Ethiopia, the Ceylonese pearl from Kerala and so on. By the time of Ptolemy however, the Romans knew more about the Indian geography, mineral resources and technologies.