Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c26.s3.t1.3

v1.c26.s3.t1.3

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.