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Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c26.s3: Mining Archaeology Related to Indian Zinc Ore

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c26.s3

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Mining Archaeology Related to Indian Zinc Ore

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In the previous chapter the recent pioneering work on the zinc-lead-silver mining archaeology in the southern part of Rajasthan (Willies, 1984, 1987, 1989) was mentioned and the relevant C-14 dates related to metallic ore mines in ancient India quoted (Table 17.1).

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The ancient workings in the South Lode (100 m depth) of Rajpura-Dariba mine have been C-14 dated as 1260 BC, 1130 BC, 1050 BC and the East Lode workings as 375 BC, 360 BC, 250 BC, 120 BC, AD 150 etc. Thus it is clear that the tradition of underground mining in India goes back to the thirteenth century BC if not earlier. The earliest emphasis was possibly on copper; at Rajpura-Dariba the other targets were lead, silver and possibly zinc which is strongly suggested by the brass artefacts of Lothal and Atrañjikhera.

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The art of smelting zinc ore and recovery of zinc metal by distillation must have been discovered before fourth century BC when Taxila produced the brass vase containing 34.34 per cent zinc. This possibility is reinforced by the facts of mining archaeology. Starting from the fifth century BC we have many C-14 datings in Rajpura-Dariba, Rampura-Agucha (these mines were discussed in the previous chapter) and most crucially in the Zawar Mine systems which would be discussed below.

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Zawar (24°21'N, 73°41'E) is about 30 km south-west from Udaipur, where the ancient mines (earliest C-14 date obtained so far is 430 BC) are found both opencast and underground. The locations and other details of the Zawar Mala, Mochia and Balaria Mines are provided in fig. 18.1. Some of the C-14 datings were given in the previous chapter (Table 17.1).

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Modern 470m level ZAWARMALA MINE Modern Raise 497.6 33 31 32 29 509.8 Wide Stope Timber 28 Chamber 25 26 27 Main Chamber 518.5 15 530.2 16 21.23 24 Double Arches 22 536 546 Promonontory 555 18 558 19 20 560 10 12 14 564 Top Chamber 13 Oldest Workings • Altitude-metres 0 metres 20 ∧ Photo-locations Long Stope Delhi Rajasthan INDIA Bombay Madras River Tiri Mochia Mine Old Zawar Zawar Mala Mine Boroi THE ZAWAR MINES 0 km 1 Ancient Mines STATE OF RAJASTHAN Delhi Ajmer Jaipur Jodhpur RAMPURA AGUCHA Kota RAJAPURA-DARIBA Udaipur AMBAJI ZAWAR Ratlam Devnimori 0 km 80 LW 1987 Fig. 18.1 : Ancient Mines at Zawar and the Details of Zawar Mala Mine.

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The host rock of the Zawar Mines is sheared dolomite, the result of metamorphism of sedimentary dolomites. The ore was geographically deposited syngenetically as disseminated lenses within the dolomite beds. Zinc occurs as sphalerite or as marmatite in which the zinc sulphide is in solid solution with iron sulphide. Also associated with the rock are galena, hydrozincite, pyrite, silver etc.

Journey Down the Zawar Mala Mines

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Ancient workings are found at outcrops on the ridge of Zawar Mala, and as deep as the 470 m (above sea) levels of the modern Zawar Mala mine, some 120 m below surface. The upper parts accessible from there were a few tens of metres below surface, isolated by a roof fall. At the surface, mine openings occur at intervals of 50 m or so. Willies (1987) investigated one mine of more commodious proportion—Pratapkhan or Pratap’s mine—in which Rana Pratap Singh, rival of Akbar took refuge during AD 1595-1600. A flat ‘room’ floored with phyllite slabs is inferred as Pratap’s refuge. The quarried materials used to feed a zinc smelter just below the narrow valley.

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The highest and possibly oldest workings are formed of small arched chambers, some 3 m across. Draughting strongly, the upper area was above water table, and was worked by a form of pillar and stall, with both pillars and openings very characteristically rounded by fire-setting. There was evidence of retreat-working of the pillars, producing wide or high chambers depending on the form of the high-grade orebody. Dumping of waste was systematically done, and debris from fireholes neatly stacked, thus the actual working areas being kept very clear.

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The method of excavation seems to have combined fire-setting and hammer-gad work. Mining tools like iron-chisels and pestle-shaped hammers were found. Lower still in the workings, the mine has been worked almost entirely by fire-setting, with very little gadwork being evident. A sample of timber from a set of steps near altitude of 558 m (32 m depth from the surface) has yielded a date of 170 BC. Nearby a rubble stone-built promontory (vide fig. 18.1) juts out from the waste-heaps. Also found at this spot was a ‘baby-bath’ sized earthenware water-container.

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The path then leads to a spectacular area of double arching (536 m altitude). From here, the path leads downdip across the strike of the beds. In this Wide Stope were found fireset holes, timber props, shallow trenches and several wooden launders to convey mine drainage water. One of these launders yielded a radiocarbon age of AD 60.

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At this 500 m altitude (90 m depth from the surface) was found one 5 litre capacity pottery water vessel. Hegde (1989: 89) identified several such pear-shaped pots (probably used for keeping water) as Ahicchatra 10 A type datable to the last quarter of the first millennium BC.

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At the bottom of the ‘Wide Stope’ (altitude 479.6 m), a ‘finger-stope’ has been developed. These are down-dip (30-40º angle) fireset inclines about 3-5 m diameter. This stope had been cut by the 470 m modern mine level, and the bottom was entirely removed before adequate photography was available.

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Eastwardly along the strike from the double arches area, a path leads to a large ‘Timber Chamber’, which is characterised by many vertical timbers revetting large heaps of small fire-setting debris, to form a platform. This has been used possibly as a hauling position from finger-stopes down-dip (suggestive of some form of haulage apparatus-windlass or man-powered wheel?) and certainly as a means of removing a pillar of an earlier working. An wooden bipod in the chamber yielded an age of 140 BC.

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From the Timber Chamber, the path led via a 1 m high step and circular (firehole) opening to a further large chamber, called the Main Chamber, of the order of 30 m across, and perhaps 20 m high, developed on the dip. A large long stope extends slightly eastwardly across the dip downwards for over 80 m. The forefield going a little lower than 470 m was presumably limited by inflow of water. Burnt wood residues correspond to a date of 200 BC. There were large amounts of bamboo and acacia burnt fragments in the area and also pottery lamps (*pradīpa* or *diyā*) kept on ledges for illumination.

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The use of good paths, ladderways, semi-fixed lamps, neat stacking of waste rock etc. suggested the use of a large labour force. “One has a mental picture of perhaps some hundreds of persons at work, some carrying fuel or support timber in, and ore and rock waste out, probably using baskets carried on the head, with others conveying water in a similar way”. (Willies, 1987: 86)

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The combination of major ventilation problems due to fire-setting, the oxides of carbon and sulphur, particulate materials, high humidity etc. must have made working conditions difficult at best.

Some Other Zinc-Ore Mines

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In Zawar, the Mochia mine (*fig.* 18.1) is separated by the gorge of the River Tiri from Balaria, and has a series of parallel, almost vertical ore-bearing beds outcropping as a high ridge for a strike length of nearly 7 km. Most of the ridge is characterised by trench type workings, or by inclines and shallow shafts, exploiting richest individual beds. Ancient workings were found down almost to river level and showed iron gads, a draw hoe for filling baskets, an iron pestle, woven basketwork, rope and timber. The later part of the working was more recent; Balaria Mine yielded a post-medieval date.

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Boroi Magra Mine ridge (fig. 18.1) has a number of shallow workings, and deeper ones have been revealed by boreholes. Small mortars were cut into the rock near shafts, as a means of crushing ore down to coarse sand size. It is not clear whether washing technique or any means of beneficiation, apart from hand-picking was employed after crushing in the mortars.

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The earliest C-14 datings in the Zawar Mines are 430 ± 100 BC of the PRL 932 sample from the Zawar Mala Mine and 380 ± 50 BC of the BM 2381 sample from the Mochia Mine. (Paliwal et al.) Similar datings from Rajpura-Dariba (e.g. 375 BC), Rampura-Agucha (370 BC) etc. (vide Table 17.1) confirm the widespread underground mining of lead-zinc ores in the southern Rajasthan during the fifth-fourth centuries BC onwards.

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There are subsequent C-14 datings in the said mining area: 250 BC, 200, 170, 140, 120 BC, AD 60, 110, AD 150. The history of Zawar is interwoven with the colourful past of the former state of Mewar (Udaipur). An inscription dating to the seventh century AD found at Samoli in southern Mewar refers to the arrival of a merchant in the area and of his starting of a mine at Zawar, then known as Arandyagire. Inscriptions on old temples constructed in and around old Zawar tell of mining and working of the deposits in the seventh century AD, and of the full flourishing of the industry during thirteenth century AD onwards. (Paliwal et al.)