Iron in Ancient India c6.s2.1

c6.s2.1

In January 1898, Mr. William Peppe, a landholder of Birdpur in the Basti district, excavated an old stupa near the village of Piprāhwā¹ situated on his estate half a mile from the Nepal frontier and fourteen miles south-east of the ruins at Kapilāvastu. During the excavations a big stone-coffer was discovered, containing inside two vases, one lotā and one box, all made of soap-stone together with a beautiful crystal bowl with a fish handle and numerous cut stones, and gold stars and leaves. The relic urns contained pieces of bone, which, from an inscription on one of the vases, were supposed to be the bones of the " divine Buddha " (the bones were subsequently presented to the King of Siam). Mr. Peppe also discovered in the building to the east of the stupa several objects of iron, viz. a small iron spear-head, with blade measuring 3¼"×⅞"×¼", and handle measuring 4½", also an iron spike, nails with large heads and sundry pieces of iron. The Piprāhwā vases as well as four iron pieces, viz. the spear-head, two nails of ordinary size and one curved iron spike longer than the nails have been preserved in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. The inscription is regarded as older than the reign of Asoka, being circa 450 B.C., but the iron articles were not found inside the stone-coffer but in the monastery to the east of the stupa, which Vincent Smith recommended to excavate as he hoped that objects of interest and inscriptions might be obtained. The monastery was possibly erected a few centuries later, and we may regard the iron articles to be specimens of the first or second century A.D.¹ The author has seen these articles; the spear-head has rusted considerably but the nails have been very well preserved. The nails show distinct signs of hammering and it is wonderful to see that they have been preserved so well. The iron is undoubtedly wrought iron.