Copper in Ancient India c10.s1.1

c10.s1.1

In the author’s “Iron in ancient India” (p. 43) an account has been given of the wrought iron guns and cannon used since the Moghul period of Indian history. The Moghul guns and cannon were also made by casting brass and bronze. Bābar, the first Moghul Emperor and the first to introduce guns into India, mentions in his well-known memoirs the casting of a copper gun under the direction of Ustad Kuli Khan. Bābar writes “Around the mould they had erected eight furnaces for melting the metal (copper). From the foot of each started a channel which ended in the mould. As soon as I arrived, the holes to allow the flow of metal were opened. The fused metal rushed into the mould like boiling water. After a time before the mould was full, the fused metal from the furnaces began to flow very slowly, either because their size or the amount of material had been wrongly calculated. Ustad Kuli Khan, in a state that cannot be described, wished to fling himself into the very midst of the melted copper. I made much of him, ordered him a robe of honour and then succeeded in calming.