Iron making in historical perspective
NAYANJOT LAHIRI
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A comprehensive study of the history of iron technology in India from ancient and medieval periods
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IRON TECHNOLOGY AND ITS LEGACY IN INDIA: Vibha Tripathi;
MARVELS OF INDIAN IRON THROUGH THE AGES: R. Balasubramaniam; Both the books pub. by Rupa & Co., 7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002.
Iron technology has been a loaded term in the history of early India to the extent that this used to be considered as the harbinger of revolutionary transformations in agriculture, in artisanal production, and in the management of ancient economies. Today, as a consequence of new data from excavations as also old data cited in critiques of this notion, it would be fair to say that however much this appeals to those who imagine a neatly ordered succession of events working
in tandem with technological change, the idea that the inception of iron technology marked a major watershed, simply does not stand to historical scrutiny.
The data through which this shift has come about are extensively cited in Vibha Tripathi’s Iron Technology and Its Legacy in India. The possibility of iron being a by-product of copper technology is clearly demonstrated by its presence, as she points out, in many Bronze Age cultures including in Mesopotamia, Egypt and India. The presence of iron as a major element in Harappan copper objects shows that India’s first civilisation had a technology that was capable of producing metallic iron. In fact, although the book fails to point this out, there are also occasional iron objects of Harappan vintage—at Allahadino in Sind and at Lothal in Gujarat. That there were multiple centres of iron technology in India, incidentally, has been well brought out, especially the importance of the middle Ganga plains and its fringes, where Rakesh Tewari’s work has so impressively established an early centre of iron smelting and production.
Wider ambit
The book’s ambit is much wider than the early archaeological presence of iron, and includes chapters on British India and the present surviving traces of indigenous iron workers in areas like Surguja in central India and the Netarhat plateau in Jharkhand. Not many, for instance, are aware that the traditional smelters of Chhota Nagpur practise an ancient process of iron making, in which a sintered lumpy sponge iron is repeatedly hammered and beaten to give shape to implements. Equally fascinating are details about the royal interest in iron. Tushratta, the king of Mitanni, is known to have sent to his counterpart in Egypt, a dagger with an iron blade set in a gold and lapis lazuli handle while Quintius Curtius records that Alexander received as tribute in northwest India, a hundred talents of Indian steel in the form of ingots, along with gold dust and other items. King Bhoja of Dhar even wrote a treatise, Yutikalpataru, on iron manufacturing.
Focus on objects
R. Balasubramaniam’s Marvels of Indian Iron Through the Ages is as broad based in its chronological spread as Tripathi’s book. Unlike Tripathi, though, Balasubramaniam chooses to only focus on renowned objects or categories of objects of India. Taking us through a journey that begins with the monumental iron pillars at Delhi and Dhar, and beams in Orissa temples, a breathtaking array of structural elements and objects are showcased. The author’s command over and knowledge of these objects, and those of wootz steel as also a range of cannons—bronze and iron ones—evoke enormous admiration. Among India’s large collection of massive forged welded iron cannons is the Thanjavur cannon manufactured in the 17th century during the reign of Raghunatha Nayak. This weighs 20.6 tonnes, and is regarded as among the most massive anywhere in the world. Composite iron-bronze cannons also came to be manufactured from the 17th century onwards. The idea was to strengthen wrought iron cannon barrels by casting them over with bronze, and was unique in the annals of cannon technology. Unfortunately, as he points out, in spite of numerous cannons scattered across the forts of India, there is hardly any technical literature on how they were fabricated, the details of gun carriages handling large cannons, the procedure adopted for firing cannons, or the differences in cannon technology of different ruling powers.
In comparison, the technical aspects of Deccani wootz steel—used for the manufacture of the famed Damascus blades—are much better understood. The reason seems to be fairly evident. The idea was to try and duplicate it. Consequently, George Pearson’s experiment in the Royal Society in 1795 and David Mushet’s analysis in 1804 ensured that the process came to be fairly well understood. However, no Indian metallurgists have seriously investigated wootz manufacture nor have archaeological sites where such steel was produced, been the focus of serious investigation.
Questions
Surely, to merely harp on the ‘glorious global’ reputation of Indian iron and steel, is unlikely to carry knowledge forward. Are there crucibles and furnaces at early archaeological sites in South India that can throw light on the antiquity of steel making in India? Were specific bodies of iron ore used for making large objects? Can a national laboratory undertake to date at least a few hundred abandoned mine shafts, so that something specific can be said about mining technology in ancient and medieval India? These two books force all those interested in the history of technology to ask such questions. Maybe, at some point in time, national pride will be expressed not merely by talking about the greatness of Indian technology but by undertaking a comprehensive analytical investigation of it.
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