Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c25.s6.1

v1.c25.s6.1

Diamond and other gem minerals were known and mined in India in the distant past. The evidences pertaining to the ancient period (up to AD 1200) are almost entirely literary. No C-14 dating of such ‘ancient’ workings is available. Reviewing diamond mining in India, Max Bauer (1968: 141) commented that the working of the most important deposit known at present “do not date back to very remote periods, probably in all cases subsequent to the year AD 1000 and sometimes much later”. We disagree on the basis of literary records, but we do not have specific C-14 dates or archaeological evidences to counter Bauer’s statement.