Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c25.s5.15

v1.c25.s5.15

We have mentioned earlier that the C-14 dates (*vide* Table 17.1) indicate that not only copper but also zinc, lead (and possibly silver) were extracted during the medieval periods of AD 1070-1440 from the Ambāmātā deposit in Gujarat and Bandlomattu-Agnigundala area in the Andhra Pradesh. At Agnigundala, mining was done in the nature of long, open trenches as well as along the dip of the lodes reaching a depth of 30 m. (Ziauddin, 1961) The ancient Gavulabhavi lead deposit in the Cuddapah district, Andhra Pradesh, was developed similarly through 280 m long surface diggings and underground shafts reaching 50 m below the surface. (Rao and Rao, 1977)