Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c27.1

v1.c27.1

We have discussed in chapter 12 the emergence of the Iron Age in India and its developments during the pre-Christian era. It has been established that: (a) India developed iron-making traditions independently and indigenously in at least three nuclear zones; (b) the Indian sub-continent was one of the earliest sites for the discovery of lamination technique viz., forge-welding of alternate layers of uncarburized and carburized sheets of iron; (c) the technique of quench-hardening and producing the martensitic structure, well-known in steel technology, was practised by the Indians at least during third century BC if not earlier.