Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c24.s2.7
Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c24.s2.7
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v1.c24.s2.7
K.T.M. Hegde (Current Science, Sept. 20, 1968, 37, No. 18, pp. 518-20) proved that the lead coins recovered from Nagara, Gujarat in stratified association with sherds of Roman amphorae, and belonging to the Kṣatrapa period around AD 363 were most possibly made from the lead-zinc ore in the Zawar Mines, Rajasthan. Twenty-five elements were looked for in the coins and the ore, and the impurity patterns were found to be almost the same. The coins contain all the impurities present in the ore except calcium and (in one case) beryllium. Further, the coins do not contain additional impurities which the ore itself does not contain. The coin metal was not alloyed with Cu, Sb or As. Assaying more than 97 per cent lead, it contained as expected around 1.2 per cent zinc coming from the natural ore at Zawar.