Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c26.s4.8

v1.c26.s4.8

Brass articles of the first century BC or AD have been found on excavation of ancient stūpas. General Ventura executed operations for the examination of the stūpas at Manikyalaya in 1830. Three deposits were obtained of which the third, at a depth of 64 ft, consisted of a copper box enclosing a brass cylindrical box cast and beautifully turned on the lathe. The lid of the brass casket was found on cleansing to be inscribed. From the inscriptions on the various articles of this deposit and the accompanying Indo-Scythian coins, the great tope at Manikyalaya has been identified to be a mausoleum of the Indo-Scythian king Kaniṣka (1st century BC or AD) (Wilson, Asiatic Researches, Vol. 17, p. 601; Cunningham, Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1854).