"Zinc Production in Ancient India" by J.S.

Kharakwal, PhD

1. Introduction
The metal using cultures appeared in the Indian sub-continent around 6th millennium BCE. Subsequently, copper metallurgy is well attested to at various sites by the 4th millennium. Besides copper-bronze, these ancient societies were also aware of various other metals like gold, silver, tin. Even deliberate production of iron goes beyond the 1st millennium BCE. Compared to the great antiquity of these metals, in a historical perspective, regular production of zinc and brass and distillation of zinc is very late. Zinc is a difficult and enigmatic metal. In the earliest cementation process finely divided copper fragments were mixed with roasted zinc ore (oxide) and charcoal (a reducing agent), and heated to 1000C in a sealed crucible. The zinc vapour thus formed dissolved into the copper fragments yielding a poor quality brass, zinc percentage of which could not be easily controlled. Reduction around 1000C is crucially important as below 950C no zinc is produced. If the temperature was raised above 1083C, copper melted and flowed down to the bottom of the crucible. Because of such properties, pure zinc smelting was mastered so late. Zinc was largely used in manufacturing brass. It seems that there has been some confusion about early occurrences of zinc, brass and zinc extraction by distillation process. Brass, an alloy of zinc and copper, is known for a long time and can be produced accidentally as has been reported from China and West Asia. In India also there are examples of brass from Lothal and Atranjikhera in 3rd and 2nd Millennia contexts. The ancient Persians attempted to reduce zinc oxide in an open furnace but they failed. In fact zinc distillation was an advanced technique, perhaps derived from Ayurvedic preparations and a long experience of alchemy. Regular zinc production in China began only in 16th Century AD, which was perhaps based on the Indian technique. It required heating the zinc ore in a controlled manner and then condensing the vapours through a retort in a receptacle. The earliest 14C dates (uncalibrated) for the Zawar mines are PRL 932, 430+100 BCE and BM 2381, 380+ 50 BCE. Old workings at Rajpura-Dariba (375 BCE) and Rampura-Agucha (370 BCE) confirm the mining of lead-zinc ores in the southern Rajasthan during the fifth-fourth centuries BCE onwards. It has been demonstrated experimentally that brass produced by the cementation process could not contain more than 28 percent zinc. For producing higher zinc content brass, one requires pure zinc to be mixed with copper, which could have been possible only after discovery of zinc as a separate metal and its preparation by a process such as distillation. Though there is considerable amount of literature available on archaeometallurgy, particularly on copper and iron technologies, there is very little literature on zinc, barring few papers by Craddock and his collaborators on zinc and brass. The discovery of zinc distillation was a momentous invention and a remarkable contribution of India in the global history of science and technology. A book on the metallurgy of zinc, brass and zinc distillation in India would, therefore, fill a lacuna in the history of science. Zawar mines show a continuous development of zinc smelting technology from mid-1st first millennium BCE and finally evolved into the sophisticated distillation process in the twelfth century AD. I propose to study this story of gradual evolution of zinc technology in India. And also how it spread all over the world.

2. Early Indian Literature

The Vedic literature, for example, Satapatha Brahmana and Atharveda while dealing with immortality speak of gold, which has everlasting lustre and Soma, a plant of exhilarating quality, was also held in high esteem in the society. Such early references to metal are indicative of a long tradition of alchemy in India. According to the Upnishadic doctrine the five elements (earth, water, fire, air and a ubiquitous all pervading principle) give rise to or constitute the human body. The Ayurvedic Samhitas deal with the formation of human body and all related issues e.g., physical processes of digestion, disease and so on. Ayurveda is more concerned about the health and longevity of human body. The Charaka and Shushrut Samhitas deal with vajikarana (increasing virile power) and rasayana (enhancing longevity), for which various compositions and practical procedures have been mentioned. Unlike the principle of alchemy (rasasastra), in which mercury and sulphur play very important role, the Ayurveda speaks about elaborate methods of herbal elixirs, treatment of diseases and surgical practices. The more popular name for brass was riti or ritika; the word was probably derived from harita or yellow, which had been a synonym for gold in the Vedic literature. The word was chosen on account of the yellow colour of gold-like brass. The writings of Manu, Yajnavalkya and Patanjali of the pre-Christian era also refer to bronze (kamsya) and brass (ritika). Both Kautilya's Arthasastra and the earliest Indian brass of Taxila belonged to fourth century BCE, while the earliest 14C date of Zawar Mine is 430+100 BCE. The Arthsastra is the earliest firm literary evidence for the production of metallic zinc on a regular basis in India, which

mentions brass as arkuta and liquid ore and refers to burning of a rasa (metal) to produce an eye salve or zinc. The text also records how various metals were obtained for example, tutthodgata (silver) was extracted from tuttha, which was refined 17 times to overcome tuttha. The text reveals that the Directors of Mining and Metal were supposed to examine old mines, locate new ones by examining the physical properties of the ores and establish factories for copper, lead, tin, brass, steel and so on. By the early centuries of the Christian era the Ayurvedic practices were very common in the society. It seems that the Chinese and Indians considerably shared alchemical knowledge in the Old World as amritadhatu (mercury or the metal of immortality) was often referred to in Mahayana (Buddhist text). In Indian alchemy one finds large number of rasas (minerals) and rasendra (mercury) is called maharasa (king of minerals). They have been classified into maha (superior) and upa (subsidiary) rasas (minerals). The maharasas are known as abhra (mica), vaikranta (kimberlite dust), masika (pyrites), vimala (chalcopyrite), adrija (bitumen), sasyaka (copper sulphate or a compound of copper) and capala (zinc carbonate). Various medicinal plants have been referred to in Rasarnavakalpa, which were used for transmutation and processing of the metal. In fact a large body of ancient Indian literature refers to various types of metal that were used in different periods. In the epics e.g. Mahabharata and Ramayana, brass and the bell metal have been termed as kamsya, the utensils of which were used for milking and drinking. However, in Grihyasutra brass is called either arakutah, riti or pitala, perhaps indicating different types. Pitala is generally considered to be brass. Among these terms riti seems to be yellow brass, bell metal. According to Gobhila Grihyasutra the Vedic students's hands were supposed to be dipped in bell metal vessels. In Jain literature zinc is known jasada. Since brass has yellow glittering appearance it was also sold as false metal gold. The RasRatnakara of Nagarjuna (a well known chemist of the Satvahana period, fourth century AD), has been referred to as one of the best ancient literary records of brass and metallic zinc (rasaka) production. It also informs about production of brass, cementation process and metallic zinc. The text was probably compiled in its present form in the seventh or eighth century AD. In later periods zinc was also known as yasada, yasadayaka, yasatva. The Rasaratnasamucchaya, a fourteenth century alchemical text, reveals that the Indian alchemy was not only confined to the principle of mercury and its compounds but also to a large number of other minerals. It reveals names of scores of celebrated alchemists like Nagarjuna, Govinda and others. The rasvidya (alchemy) was kept closely guarded secret and confined to devout practitioners only. It explains how a laboratory should be established in a place that is rich in medicinal herbs and several types of furnaces, instruments, kosthi (for extraction of essences), bellows, retorts etc. The Rasasastra text particularly reveals various kinds of instruments, types of furnace (e.g., dola yantram, kosthi yantram, musa ynatra, adhapatana yantram, svedani yantram, tiryakpatana yantram), and chemical processes used in smelting operations. The tirakpatana yantram (which means distillation by descending) was particularly used for distillation purpose. McNeil writes that this word is so close to the Latin nomenclature that it tempts one to conclude that links existed between European and Indian alchemical workers. It is believed that the ancient Rasasastra (alchemy) developed as Iatro-chemistry during the medieval times when the famous book Rasaratnasamuchchaya was compiled. The Ain-i-Akbari, a medieval text, also refers to ruh-i-tutiya i.e. zinc found at Zawar in Rajasthan. It is quite likely that ruh-itutiya may have been derived from the same term tuttha of Arthasastra. There is thus ample evidence of early Indian literature indicating that a wide range of alchemical practices were prevalent in ancient India. The Rasaratnasamucchaya (14th century) clearly mentions that a particular type of furnace was used for distillation process. The innovation of distillation technique of zinc in India is a glorious chapter in the global History of Science and Technology. I would like to explore and document the gradual development of Indian alchemy, with particular reference to zinc and brass, which led to the distillation technique, not only in the Zawar area, but al over Rajasthan.

3. Chapterisation Scheme:
Chapter 1: The first chapter will deal with the characteristics of zinc and brass, its early discovery and use in a global perspective. A short introduction of literary and archaeological records, geographical distribution of ores and mining and smelting techniques will be given. Chapter 2: It will be devoted to the detailed survey of whole range of Indian literature e.g., Satapatha Brahmana, Atharveda, Upnishads, Ayurvedic samhitas, Ayurvedic medicinal practices, Rasarnavakalpa, Mahabharata and Ramayana, Arthsastra, Buddhist, Jain sources to understand the early beginning of zinc and brass metallurgy and alchemy. Also the alchemical texts e.g., Ras-Ratnakara, Rasaratnasamucchaya and others will be surveyed for zinc production and discovery of distillation technique. Based on the description of the alchemical texts reconstruction of various types of ancient smelting furnaces (e.g.,

tiryakpatana yantram possibly used for distillation) and other tools will be attempted, to compare them with the archaeological evidence. Besides these, Biblical, Greek and Chinese literary sources (TienKung K'ai-Wu) will also be surveyed for diffusion of the Indian zinc production technique in a historical perspective. Chapter 3: A detailed survey of zinc and associated minerals including geological information will be dealt with in this chapter. Zinc ore occurs in various regions of South Asia. In western India it is generally associated with either lead or copper bearing deposits. It has been found at various sites in Kashmir and Afghanistan in the northwest; Himanchal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Arunachal, Meghalaya and Nagaland in the Himalayan region; Uttar Pradesh (in Mirzapur), Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal in North India. In South India though Tamil Nadu has only one deposit at Mamanadur, it has been found at various sites in Andhra Pradesh. Western India appears to be the riches zone of this mineral as not only several rich deposit e.g., Ambamata, Kui-Chitrasani, Omlikamala in Banaskantha, Banejnes in the Gir Forest in Junagadh and Vadek-Champaner belt in Baroda and Panchmahals (all in Gujarat) and Zawar, RajpuraDariba, Pur-Banera, Deri, Ajmer, Jahazpur, Malikhera-Devpura-South, Dedwas-North Dedwas, SamodiTiranga in Eastern lead-zinc zone, Jasma-Rewara-Karor, Kalahudi-Bethumni, Banswara, Ajari, Basantgarh, Pipela-Watera (in Rajasthan) but also ancient mining and smelting has been found. Chapter 4: Following the survey of Early Indian literature, alchemy and zinc minerals in a pan-Indian context in the previous chapters, we would discuss archaeological evidence of brass, zinc and metallic zinc artifacts to delineate the gradual development and diffusion of technology, leading to zinc distillation process. Zinc vapour fuses with copper easily and this kind of fusion increases the hardness of copper. Although a very small quantity of zinc has been found from few Harappan copper-bronze artefacts, particularly at Lothal (ranging from 0.15 to 6.04 %) (Nautiyal et al. 1981) and Rojdi (ranging from 0.12 to 1.54 %) we do not know if the Harappans were really aware of the characteristics of zinc. Such small quantity may even be present in the ore before smelting and melting. But at Prakashe, a Chalcolithic site in Deccan, two copper objects each containing 25.86 and 17.75 percent zinc has been found, which is of a very high quantity. Perhaps this was, for the first time, intentionally mixed to harden the objects in early second millennium BCE. Subsequently some early Iron Age sites in the Ganga Valley e.g., Atranjikhera have yielded heavily alloyed copper objects which contain 6.28 to 16.20 % zinc. Therefore it is quite likely that the protohistoric communities were aware of the properties of zinc and brass. Taxila, located about 20 miles north of Rawalpindi in Pakistan, has yielded few brass objects such as two bangles, one vase and a pot datable to 3rd century BCE to 1st century AD. The vase, which was excavated from Bhir mound at Taxila, contains very high quantity of zinc i.e., 34.34%. This might have been done by mixing pure zinc and copper, which was achieved at Taxila before the arrival of Greeks. There are a large number of artifacts/ sites, datable to the early centuries of the Christian era, which contain high quantity of zinc. To name a few, a part of chariot in submerged Dwarka assays 10.68% zinc ; brass coins of Dhanadeva and Aryavarma of Ayodhya; brass casket of Manikyala (2nd cent AD), scores of icons of Buddha and Brahmanic deities; copper objects of Rajghat containing (17 to 25%) zinc from the early historic context. Falk suggests that a large amount of metal for punch marked coins of silver during the imperial Mauryas was obtained from the Zawar (zinc, lead, copper, silver) mines of Rajasthan. Such a rich repertoire certainly suggests that brass was very popular in the Indian sub-continent during the Mauryan, the Sunga, the Kushana and the Gupta and even in later times. The Gandhara School of art of the Old World is very well known both for stone and metal sculptures. Various metal sculptures (copper based) of this school contain 5 to 21.7% zinc. Those containing high percentage of zinc may be result of cementation process. Several Brahmanic, Buddhistic icons e.g., Maitreya, Vishnu, Avalokitesvara, Surya, Buddha, Tara, Namasangiti etc., from Kashmir and north Pakistan also have yielded zinc ranging from .01 to 35.14 %. A few Jain and Hindu icons of Mahuli, Gujarat have also yielded zinc as an important component in the icons. The Buddhist bronze images as many as 18, datable to 8th to 12th century AD, of Nalanda contain 8 to 16% zinc. Besides these, a copper object from Timargarh was found contains 12% of zinc. This kind of archaeological evidence certainly suggests that zinc or brass was known to protohistoric communities in certain regions of the Indian subcontinent, though it became popular as early 3rd -4th century BCE when it was valued and prized too. Such long tradition of brass making might have led to the large-scale production of zinc. The discovery of a roll of sheet zinc at Agora in Athens datable to 2nd-3rd century BCE is an interesting example of pure zinc. The Greeks were not producing such zinc at that time and possibly they obtained it from India. The Indians had certainly mastered the technique of pure zinc and high zinc brass earlier than their counterparts. In Asia Minor the source of brass was at Gordion in Turkey, which is referred to by the Greek writers Theopompus and Strabo as oreichalkos. Perhaps the Greeks, the Etruscans, the Romans, the Egyptians all might have learnt zinc and brass technique around the early centuries of the Christian era from India.

Though few brass objects have been found even in a Neolithic context in China it does not seem to have become common before the 16th century. Zinc smelting began in China in Jiajing period (1552 - 1566 AD) of the Ming dynasty in 16th Century AD, the evidence of which comes from the excavations at Gui-Zhou. It was exported to Europe in the end of the 17th Cent AD under the name totamu or tutenag. Tutenag possibly has its origin in the word Tutthanaga a name of zinc in South Indian languages. A seventeenth century Chinese author has written that Tutenag is a word from some foreign language. Thus there is textual and etymological evidence of transmission of ideas regarding zinc between the two countries. These facts together indicate that zinc was smelted about three centuries earlier in India (in 13 Century AD) than in China and these ideas were transmitted to China in the 16th century AD. Various communities of the Ganga doab, central India and Bengal e.g., Karmakar, Ure Kumar, Dhokra, Kasera, Khagra, Tamera, Thathreas were involved in pre-industrial traditional craftsmanship of copper, brass and other metals. The Dhokra/Maral, the Khalishahis, the Bhagbanpur, the Ranas of eastern India, the Gharuas of Madhya Pradesh, Jhara in Delhi are traditional artisans and make brass icons of Brahmanic and various local deities. Similarly there are various centers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu where varied icons of different metals are made. An ethnographic study of the traditional technology would not only enhance our understanding of zinc-brass making but also would help us to understand the diffusion of technology from Zawar, Rajasthan in Western India. Chapter 5: It will deal with ancient brass and zinc mining and smelting centres. Among the old workings for zinc, the Zawar complex of Rajasthan in Western India is the most famous. Impressively abundant traces of old workings extend all over the 25 km mining belt and go down to a depth of 90 m below surface. It is claimed that the Zawar miners went up to depths exceeding 150m. The miners perhaps used wooden ladders, scaffolds and launders to drain water in the mines. The wooden samples of two such mines each at Zawar and at Mochina have been dated by 14C. These dates certainly suggest that in the second half of first millennium BCE extensive mining and smelting of lead-zinc ores were done in western India and perhaps the metal was supplied for various regions for coins and other objects. The earliest dates we have for zinc distillation are from a white heap, which is of the 12th century AD. Zawar (24 21' N; 73 41'E), an ancient zinc smelting site, is situated about 40 km south of Udaipur. It was excavated and studied jointly by a team of scholars from British Museum, MS University, Baroda and Hindustan Zinc Limited in early eighties. Zinc smelting was done in small cylindrical retorts (about 30 cm long and 10 cm in diameter) and the vapour was distilled from the charged retorts by placing them in the furnace in a vertically inverted position. The furnaces were found in two parts consisting of a zinc vapour condensation chamber at the bottom and a furnace chamber at the top. These are separated by a perforated terracotta plate measuring 65 X 65 X 20cm. As many as 36 charged retorts were arranged inverted vertically on the perforated plate. From the condensation funnel tubes, luted with retorts, which were inserted through the perforated plate, zinc vapour was collected in vessels in the lower chamber and condensed. Controlling the heat and maintaining constant temperature inside the furnace was perhaps the most difficult job. Craddock thinks that the Zawar installations were a combination of the principle of mercury smelting and the form of the pottery kiln termed as kosthi type in early Indian literature. Together, they led to one of the most advanced metallurgical operations of the medieval world. The Koshthi furnaces at Zawar were the industrial version of those outlined in the Rasaratna-samuchchaya, with banks of between three and seven furnaces, and each furnace held 36 retorts. Chapter 6: It will deal with conclusions of the study. Perhaps such a long tradition of Ayurvedic medicinal system, alchemy and traditional technologies prevalent in India resulted in the innovation of zinc distillation process. Despite the very early occurrences of accidentally produced brass in India, China and West Asia, deliberate pure zinc production was very late. The Zawar distillation industry was a unique phenomenon of Rajasthan, in India, which has stolen a march globally in the earliest production of zinc. The innovation of distillation technique of zinc in India is a glorious chapter in the global History of Science and Technology. I would like to explore and document the gradual development of Indian alchemy, with particular reference to zinc and brass, from the mid-1st millennium BCE, which led to the distillation technique, not only in the Zawar area, but all over Rajasthan. The distillation technique of zinc production goes back to the 12th Century AD and possibly reached China from India in the 16th Century. In fact this is an important contribution of India to the world of science.

4. Methodology

A survey of the published archaeological records will be done to understand the zinc- brass metallurgy in a historical perspective. A survey of Ancient Indian alchemical literature will be carried out to delineate various stages of development of zinc metallurgy right from the protohistoric times.

Field work will be done particularly in Rajasthan around Zawar and in some other areas to locate ancient sites and where people still practice zinc-brass smithy for making local and classical deities and other domestic objects, to tap the surviving knowledge of ancient zinc smelting and production. I also intend to identify the medicinal plants particularly close to the ancient zinc smelting locations and their use in smelting with the help of traditional Ayurvedic experts. An attempt will be made to understand the diffusion and global spread of zinc production.

Thus this study is an attempt to understand the responsible factors behind the invention of zinc distillation technique and to highlight such an important chapter of history of science, which has gone unrecognised.

5. Time-Frame
As I also intend to undertake archaeological and ethnographic field work for first hand data, therefore it seems that to prepare the final draft of the book containing 200 to 250 pages will take about 18 to 20 months to complete.

Chapterisation: - The tentative chapterization of the work (subject to modification) is as follows: No. 1 Chapter Title Introduction Vedic Literature; Epics: Mahabharata and Ramayana Sutras Arthsastra Ras-Ratnakara Rasasastra (alchemy) Rasaratnasamucchaya (RRS) Ain-i-Akbari Greek, Chinese Sources Northwestern Region including Pakistan and Afghanistan Himalayan region Central India including Bihar and West Bengal Northeastern Region Peninsular region Western India West Asia, Africa Europe South Asia Asia Minor Zawar and other sites. Ethnographic Perspective Content

Early Indian Literature

Geographical Distribution of ores

Zinc- Brass in Archaeological Context

5 6 7

Ancient Zinc Mining and Smelting; Innovation of Distillation Technique Conclusion Bibliography

7. Bibliography
Agrawal, D.P. 1971. The Copper Bronze in India. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal. Agrawal. D.P. 2000. Ancient Metal Technology & Archaeology of South Asia. Delhi: Aryan Books International. Biswas, .K. and S. Biswas 1996. Minerals and Metals in Ancient India vol II. Delhi: D.K. Printworld. Chakrabarti, D.K. & Nayanjyot Lahiri. 1996. Copper and Its Alloys in Ancient India. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal. Craddock, P.T. 1987. The early history of zinc. New series 11 (4):183-191.

Craddock P.T. 1987/88. The Early History of Zinc and Brass. Berichte Wiener, uber Naturwissenschaft in der Kunst 4/5:.225-245. Craddock, P.T., I.C. Freestone, K.T.M. Hegde, L.K. Gurjar & V.H. Sonawane 1985. Early Zinc Production in India. Mining Magazine, January,1985. Pp.45-51. Craddock, P.T., I.C. Freestone, L.K. Gurjar A. Middleton & L. Willies 1989. The Production of Lead, Silver and Zinc in Early India. In Old World Archaeometallurgy (Ed.) A. Hauptmann, E. Pernicka and G. wagner. Bochum: Selbstverlag des Deutschen Bergbau-Museums, Pp. 51-69. Craddock, P.T., L.K. Gurjar and K.T.M. Hegde 1983. Zinc Production in Medieval India. World Archaeology, 15:211-21. Falk, Harry 1991. Silver Lead and Zinc in Early Indain Literature. South Asian Studies 7: 111-117. Mukherjee, M. 1978. Metalcraftsmen of India. Calcutta. Raghunandan, R.K., B.K. Dhruva Rao and M.L. Singhal. 1981. Exploration for copper, Lead and Zinc ore in India. Bulletin of the Geological Survey of India Series A-Eeconomic Geology, no 47. Calcutta. Rao, R.P. and N. G. Goswami. (Ed.) 2001. Metallurgical In India: A retrospective. New Delhi: India International Publisher. Reedy, C.L. 1986. Technical Analysis of Medieval copper Alloy statues for Provenance determinations. Los Angeles. Reedy, C.L. 1989. Determining the region of origin of Himalayan copper alloy statues through Technical Analysis. A Pot Pourri of Indian Art (Ed.) P. Pal. Bombay. pp 75-98. Reedy, C.L. 1992. The materials and technology of Gandhara and Related copper-based sculptures. The Crossroads of Asia (Eds.) E. Errington, J. Cribb and M. Claringbull. Cambridge. Pp. 2441-55. Tewari, R.K. and N.K. Kavida 1984. Ancient mining activity around Aguncha village, Bhilwara dirtrict, Rajasthan. Man and Environment 8:81-87.

J.S. Kharakwal Kyoto 25th February, 2002

Iron Technology and Its Legacy in India (From the Earliest Times to Early Medieval Period)" by Vibha Tripathi, PhD
India is one of the richest countries in the iron ore deposits. Perhaps because of this reason she has been famous for producing good quality iron and steel right from the ancient times. Alexander, in 3rd century Before Christ was presented with steel swords. Ktesias highly praised the Indian swords that he was gifted with. In the following centuries in 5th cent. A.D. the marvel of metallurgical skill finds expression in the Delhi Iron Pillar, the seventy ton edifice that has withstood the weather almost without rusting foe over 2000 years. The huge beams at the sun temple of Konark and the Dhar pillar bear testimony to the metallurgical expertise of the ancient Indian craftsmen. Even as late as the British period, the steel sword of Tipu Sultan was considered a marvel that has recently drawn world attention. The saliency of wootz iron that was being produced in large quantities at a cottage industry level in Mysore and the neighbouring regions is on records. It was in great demand in the ancient world. However, despite such a distinguished past, the history of iron metallurgy in India has not received due attention of scholars. Several volumes that have dealt with the subject of ancient metallurgy of the world do not even mention about iron technology in India. As late as 1980' the volume edited by A. Wertime and J.D. Muhly, 'Coming of the Age of Iron' is silent on iron metallurgy in India. It is high time that the glorious past of iron in India and her contributions to the advancements in the field if metal technology in general be brought to the notice of the world. It is, therefore proposed to write a volume on ancient Indian iron technology and the legacies it has left behind.

Iron, in India makes its earliest appearance in a chalcolithic setting, probably discovered by early copper using societies in different parts of the subcontinent. How and under what circumstances the metallurgy was learnt/discovered is an issue that is still debated. Whether iron technology was learnt through outside contacts or it evolved out of the existing knowledge of metal craft as a by product needs to be investigated into. Which part of the subcontinent it appears first? How did the metallurgy develop? Why is it that despite several attempts at different levels it has not been possible to understand much less to reproduce the wootz ? When was its impact felt in socio-economic milieu? What was the pattern of adaptation of iron technology in the early society? The interface of technology and society is yet to be examined and evaluated in all its dimensions. The present study proposes to address to such unresolved issues related to early Indian iron working. It is with this aim that the present book is proposed.

Status of Research on Iron Technology in India

Scholars in the field of history, archaeology, geology and also modern metallurgy have been taking interest in iron working practices during ancient times. Some important publications may be mentioned here. As early as 1912 Hadfield studied iron objects excavated at Taxila (Sir John Marshall). P. Niyogi wrote a history of iron (Iron in Ancient India, 1914). A sizeable work on Iron was produced by N.R. Banerjee ('Iron Age in India', 1965, Delhi). More recently D.K. Chakravarti published 'Early Use of Iron in India' (1992, Delhi). A.K. Biswas and Sulekha Biswas have written Minerals and Metals in Ancient India (INSA, Delhi 1995). G. Kuppuram and K. Kumudmani wrote History of Science and Technology in 6 volumes (New Delhi, 1990). There are chapters on iron in 'History of Technology in India' (Vol. 1, A.K. Bag, ed. 1997). Recent publications on iron technology are, Metallurgy in India : A Retrospective (P. Ramachandra Rao & N.G. Goswami (eds), N.M.L. Delhi 2001) D.P. Agrawal's 'Ancient Metal Technology and Archaeology of South Asia (Delhi, 2000) and the 'The Age of Iron in South Asia : Legacy and Tradition' by this author, (Vibha Tripathi, Delhi, 2001). Work is also underway on various aspects of iron metallurgy, viz. R. Balasubramaniam is engaged in study and analysis of Delhi iron pillar and is writing frequently on it. Thelma Lowe has been working on the Wootz steel for more than a decade. Articles on these subjects appear in Indian and International journals from time to time. Tylecote, Pleiner, Maddin etc. have been contributing on archaeometallurgy writing on different aspects of iron metallurgy in reputed journals.

Justification
There is now a need to undertake an overview of all the researches going on in different parts of the world and present a comprehensive history of iron in India. Equally important, though much more ardous is the study of artifacts from excavations that are being conducted in different parts of India. A systematic classification and analysis of these objects belonging to different phases of cultural growth will throw a much needed light on development and adaptation pattern of technology and the impact on its contemporary society. Interestingly, despite the adverse conditions, against all odds the traditional societies living in remote parts of India still continue to produce iron in the age old primitive methods. It may be interesting to investigate it closely and make a proper documentation of these practices. Besides being a model for understating the past, these societies are bearers of a legacy of the glorious tradition of Indian iron technology. A field survey conducted in these areas is likely to yield fruitful results and shed light on the Indian heritage in this field. Ancient Indian literature is a rich source of knowledge on different aspects of life, including on metal technology. To give an example, the early medieval text Ras Ratna Samuchchaya, describes several varieties of iron and their manufacturing processes. It may be worth its while to incorporate material from the literary sources to substantiate the information available from other sources, an exercise that has not been done on an appreciable scale, so far. This is high time that such an examination of sources is attempted with a multidisciplinary angle covering all these aspects of ancient Indian iron working. It is proposed to undertake this work in this book.

Aims and Objectives

(i) To study in detail the iron technology with a multidisciplinary approach using all possible sources. (ii) To conduct a brief field survey including small scale excavations in some selected areas for untapped sources of information. (iii) To collect samples for study and analyse them for a proper and phasewise understanding of different aspects of metallurgical development. (iv) To correlate the resource-zones and the related important cultural centres of ancient India. (v) To undertake ethnographic investigations in remote areas for the surviving remains of traditional iron working. (vi) To interpret and synthesise the data collected in the form of a book on ancient Indian iron technology covering all its aspects.

To fulfill these objectives I propose to adopt the following approach:

Approach
(i) Literature survey for collection of data from different sources, viz. (a) archaeological (b) literary (c) ethnographical. (ii) Exploration of minerally rich areas for remains of ancient working and collection of sample. (iii) Collection and analysis of ore, iron objects crucibles, slags, furnace remains for retrieving further information and reconstruction of metallurgical processes. (iv) Survey and documentation of tribal regions for collection of indepth information on traditional iron working. Some small scale excavations, if necessary may have to be undertaken. (v) Synthesis of the above data in the form of a book. The format of the proposed book (which may be modified if need be) may be spelled out as under:

Ch.I. Introduction
I.1. Incidence of iron in ancient world : If we situate the examination of iron in India in the world context we may get a better perspective. The issues like circumstances of the earliest recognition and emergence of metallic iron may have certain comparable features in different world civilizations. Therefore, we need to examine a. Mesopotamia and other Western Asiatic countries b. Egypt c. Central Asia d. Iran e. China I.2. The early iron technology, typology, iron utilization pattern and whether it had any impact other than status symbol needs to be assessed. I.3. Why and when iron comes to be adopted in preference to copper-bronze. I.4. Coming of an age of iron in ancient world.

Ch.II. Advent of Iron in India

The earliest emergence of iron, the circumstance of its discovery will be investigated in this chapter. The following issues will be closely evaluated a. Is iron in India an accidental by product of earlier metal working or alternatively a consequence of interactions? b. Where is the evidence of experimental stages? c. Are there cases of meteoritic iron in India? II.1. First iron in India in Copper-Bronze Age Setting a. The Harappan Context(?) b. Iron at Chalcolithic Ahar c. Iron at Chalcolithic Madhya Pradesh II.2. First Regular Use of Iron 2.1 Context of Early iron in India (In a large country like India there are different zones that show iron in divergent cultural contexts). 2.2 Chronological Framework and antiquity of iron. 2.3 Conclusion and Discussion.

Ch. III. Archaeological Evidence of Iron

As suggested in Ch.II, above, iron shows up in divergent contexts therefore it will have to be studied according to (a) their spatial distribution (b) the typology of objects at different stages of development (c) the technological status (d) the possible resource zone for each region (e) mining and ore selection (f) furnaces, forges, tuyeres, slags etc. if found in excavations. III.1. The Early Iron Age (Second half of 2nd mill. BC - 7/600 BC) : The main culture of this stage are: III.1.1 The Painted Grey Ware Culture 1.2 The Black-and-Red Ware bearing Cultures (of Mid and Lower Ganga Plain) 1.3 The Megalithic Culture (of South India) The chronological framework and the utilization pattern with an impact on culture will be evaluated at the above stages. III.2 The Middle Iron Age (7/600-100 BC) 2.1 The Northern Black Polished Ware Culture The emergence of cities vis--vis iron. III.3 The Late Iron Age (100 BC/AD-5/600 AD) Culmination of technology and the golden age of iron technology in the Indian History. III.4 Conclusion and Discussion

Chapter-IV
IV. Growth of Metallurgy The status of metallurgical development at the three stages will be examined at length in this chapter. IV.1 The Bloomery iron - smelting and forging IV.2 From wrought iron to steel 2a. Carburization - accidental and/or deliberate 2b. Quenching and tempering ;lamination IV.3 Crucible iron or wootz steel A high quality steel with famous watering pattern was produced from around the early centuries of the Christian era in certain parts of India.The swords produced with this steel have been famous all over the world as Damascus steel perhaps because this was the centre from where they were being exported to different parts of the world.They had excellent qualities like malleability ductility and durability of edge.Mostly preserved in collections in Middle East, experts in metallurgical sciences have tried to understand the processes without much success.We need to focus on this masterly craft of the Indian artisans. Following issues related to the wootz or so called Damascus steel need to be taken up for a detailed examination: 3.1 Metallurgical processes - smelting, forging, steeling 3.2 Furnaces, forges and crucibles

3.3 Transportation and distribution mechanism 3.4 Conclusion and Discussion

V. Literary Evidence on Iron

India has a rich literary tradition stretching over several millennia. Though primarily socio-religious in nature, it does contain information on the present subject albeit sparsely. On closer look it is possible to glean through for information on (a) techno-typological know-how (b) utilization pattern (c) value perception of metals (d) class biases, if any. The literary sources may be classified as under: V.1 Brahmanical texts a. Vedic literature b. Dharmashastra and Sutra literature (including Panini) c. The Epics d. The Arthasatra e. Nitisastras and texts on polity. V.2 The Buddhist and Jain Texts a. The main texts b. The Commentries V.3 The Stratigraphy and chronology of the selected texts Note : It may not be possible to take up all the available texts for obvious reasons. But the archaeological evidence wherever possible may be substantiated with information from literary sources. V.4 Conclusion and Discussion

VI. The Ethnological Evidence: The Model of understanding technology

VI.1 Pre-industrial Iron working in India (India had a rich tradition of iron working before the British period. The nature of the working and the mechanics of production and distribution will be examined in this section). VI.2 End of a Tradition : The teeming cottage industry of iron working comes almost to a grinding halt during the British period. What were the causes of the same? Did it die for good? Such questions need to be addressed to while dealing with the status of ethnological evidence on iron. VI.3 Survival : Iron working survived in some remote parts of the country against all odds. It has been preserved by some ethnic groups. We propose to underline their working. 3.1 Ore selection and mining 3.2 Beneficiation 3.3 Smelting-forging and smithy 3.4 Tools, implements and settings 3.5 Furnaces, forges, tuyeres, slags etc.

VI.4. Revival of Indigenous iron technology : Problems and Prospects It may be worth examining whether there is a possibility of reviving this craft today. Is prospects will be examined for: 4.1 Economic viability (?) 4.2 Future prospects of revival 4.3 Conclusion and Discussion

Ch.VII. Conclusion
VII.1 Socio-economic Implication of Use of Iron through The Ages 2. Technology adaptation and productivity 3. Iron and urbanization of Ganga Plains 4. Conclusion - Cultural dynamics. To view a copy of the author's cv, please click here.