[vedic-culture] Superior Quality of Ancient Indian Iron

[Guest guest]

Today I want to share some information with you on Ancient Indian Iron. This

information, though not too startling, is important. Sometimes it is the simple

everyday things in life, which can confirm truth.

Again and again we find India’s ancient Vedic culture to be extremely advanced

in many basic aspects of civilization. Yet somehow or another this information

is rarely known and even more rarely acted upon. In our present society, we are

overwhelmed by many problems, yet here in our past is a civilization that had

the solutions to many of these problems. It is humankind’s good fortune that

Vedic culture is a continuing cultural phenomenon. My hope is that by pointing

out various evidences confirming the amazing and scientific validity of Vedic

culture, people will not only be able to accept these truths, but begin to apply

them. Modern day civilization is dysfunctional and basically diseased and the

solution to our woes can be found in our World’s Ancient Vedic Heritage.

 

This information on Ancient Indian Iron is from an article by

S.C. Britton, which appeared in Nature magazine. It is a long article so I of

excerpted the most important parts.

 

ANCIENT INDIAN IRON

 

“It appears certain that iron was known in India at a very early date. Mention

of its production in ancient writings puts the earliest time of production

earlier than 1,000 BC. According to Herodotus, the Indian contingent of the

army of Xerxes were using iron for military purposes about 500 B.C. The

description of iron surgical instruments in an ancient medical work, the

excavation of iron weapons from burial sites and the presence to this day of

masses of iron like the pillars of Delhi and Dhar all indicate that the

production of iron steadily increased as the centuries passed.

The methods of production and qualities of Indian iron and steel seem to have

early excited the curiosity of the British conquerors and in 1795, Dr. George

Pearson published a paper on a kind of steel named ‘wootz’, then being

manufactured in Bombay (present day Mumbai.) The methods of analysis and

examination then available only allowed the vague conclusions that the metal was

very hard, had about 0.03 per cent carbon, and was believed to have been

produced by direct reduction of the ore. Dr. Buchanan’s “Travels in the South

of India”, published in 1807, describes the native Indian processes for iron and

steel production then employed, which were believed to be those handed down from

previous ages. Numerous other investigations have been made since that time,

which increase in thoroughness as methods of examination have improved.

THE DELHI PILLAR

The Delhi pillar has constantly aroused interest. Sir Alexander Cunningham, in

the “Archaeological Survey of India”, published during the years 1862-65,

reported the pillar as a solid shaft of wrought iron, upwards of sixteen inches

in diameter and twenty-two feet in length; he mentions the curious yellow color

of the upper part of the shaft, which at one time caused the belief that the

pillar was of bronze. Many observers have commented upon this appearance since

that time. Inscriptions made on the pillar are said still to be perfectly clear

and sharp, and these have allowed the approximate date of its erection to be

fixed as AD 310. (Some Vedic researchers believe it to be much older. VP)

There seems little doubt that the pillar was built up by welding together discs

of iron; it is said that the marks of welding can still plainly be seen. Sir

Robert Hadfield examined a small specimen of the pillar in 1911 and afterwards

was able to make a fairly detailed investigation of a larger piece. The

analysis showed the composition C, 0.08; Si, 0.046; Mn, 0; P, 0.114; N, 0.032;

Fe, 99.72; Cu and other elements, 0.034. Hadfield described the iron as an

excellent type of wrought iron entirely free from inclusions, BEING BETTER, FROM

THE POINT OF VIEW OF HOMOGENEITY AND PURITY, THAN THE BEST MODERN SWEDISH

CHARCOAL IRON.

 

THE DHAR PILLAR

The original Dhar pillar appears to have been approximately 50 feet long with an

average section of 104 square inches and a weight of about 7 tons, and, like the

Delhi pillar, it seems to have been constructed by welding together discs of

wrought iron. There are a number of holes in the pillar of about 1-1/4 in.

diameter and varying from 1-3/4 in. to 3 in. in depth, which Cousins suggests

were intended to hold tommy-bars for turning the mass whilst it was being

forged; the finding of the broken end of a bar jammed into one of the holes

lends some support to this idea. Sir Robert Hadfield has examined a specimen of

the pillar, and found it to be wrought iron having C, 0.02; P, 0.28; Fe, 99.6.

The Brinell ball hardness varied considerably and irregularly over the material

the limits being 240 and 121; the fracture was brought and crystalline, showing

laminations.

 

ANCIENT SINHALESE IRON

Sir Robert Hadfield made the first thorough investigation of ancient Indian

steel in 1911-12. He was able to examine a number of ancient implements, which

had been excavated from the buried cities of Ceylon (Present Day Sri Lanka.)

Many such implements have been unearthed; they are very heavily rusted and

apparently continue to rust in the atmosphere of the Museum of Colombo, unless

very carefully protected. Nevertheless, the presence of a considerable quantity

of yet unchanged iron shows a marked resistance to corrosion. An ancient

Sinhalese chisel, dating back to the fifth century, was found to have the

percentage composition, iron, 99.3; phosphorus, 0.28; sulphur, 0.003; silicon,

0.12; no manganese and only traces of carbon with about 0.3 per cent of slag and

oxide inclusions. Examination of microsections led Hadfield to believe that the

chisel had been carburised, had originally been quenched, but had become

partially tempered during the long lapse of time. A nail and an ancient

billhook of similar age and origin showed a similar analysis. All the specimens

contained a large amount of slag in lumpy irregular form. The low sulphur

content was held to indicate that the metal was originally produced by charcoal

reduction of the ore. The microscopical examination suggested that the

specimens were rather similar to modern puddled iron, and this was further borne

out to some extent by mechanical tests.

 

THE IRON BEAMS AT KONARAK

Researchers Friend and Thornycroft have examined a specimen taken from one of

the beams. The presence of many cracks, containing slag inclusions, rendered

micrographical investigation difficult. The cracks were found to be bordered by

bands of ferrite, the grain boundaries being faintly discernible. Portions of

the specimen more distant from the cracks showed a fairly uniform structure,

typical of a mild steel containing rather less than 0.15 per cent carbon. The

metal was found to be very soft, having a Brinell hardness number of 72.

Analysis of a piece chosen as free from slag showed C, 0.110; Si, 0.100; S,

0.024; P, 0.015; Mn, a trace.

An attempt was made to compare the resistance to corrosion of the metal with

that of modern mild steel of unspecified composition. One weighed specimen of

each was exposed to alternate wetting by tap-water and drying for one year;

reweighing after removal of rust showed that the ancient iron had suffered a

loss amounting to 89 per cent of that of the modern steel. The specimens were

then exposed to the action of an artificial sea-water for a year and AGAIN THE

ANCIENT IRON LOST LESS WEIGHT THAN THE MODERN STEEL,losses being in the ratio

75: 100.

 

MISCELLANOEUS ANCIENT INDIAN IRON SPECIMENS

W. Rosenhain mentions ancient iron chains, which assisted pilgrims to climb

Adam’s Peak, Ceylon. These have been worn round and smooth, but are apparently

uncorroded. Rosenhain suggested that the links have corroded down to apparently

only a cinder surface protecting the iron below; specimens cut and brought to

London rusted as quickly as any other iron. Graves gives a list of 239 pieces

of iron ranging up to 17 feet long and up to 6 inches by 4 inches section used

in the construction of the Garden Temple at Puri.However, no further information

on these is available.

 

Iron swords and daggers of uncertain date have been unearthed from burial sites

in the district of Tinnevelly and specimens of third century iron have been

recovered from Buddha Gaya but no examination appears to have been made.

It seems possible that many specimens of iron exist in India of which the date

of manufacture cannot be established, but which may well be ancient, and there

are no doubt others of ascertainable date yet to be excavated from the earth.”

S. C. BRITTON

 

 

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