Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s2.5

v1.c28.s2.5

The thin white coatings on the Paraśurāmeśvara and Mukteśvara temples and on the Koṇārka one are very rich in lime content and do not seem to contain any intentionally added sand; these are therefore simple limewashes. The lime-pasters (like the mortars in Mohenjo-Daro) contain substantial portions of sand (and clay); the lime: sand ratios range from 4 : 1, 3 : 1, 2 : 1 to 4 : 3. In the last case, as in the interior of the vimāna of Koṇārka temple, the coarse plaster is about 0.56 cm in thickness. For the plaster of the Liṅgarāja temple which assays 3.12 per cent MgO, dolomitic limestone must have been used after calcination. Despite having small percentages of SO₃, the plaster samples did not have any substantial amount of gypsum. Gypsum, used in Egypt, Mohnejo-Daro and Harappa, were locally available.