Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c26.s3.2

v1.c26.s3.2

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.