Swastika Said - Oh! I am lost in Zinc!!!

[Guest guest]

Dear All, Earlier I wrote a small article about Swastika, which is present in the file section of the group at: Sreenadh%20OG/Swastika%20and%20Astrology.pdf Just get it and read it. Now just look at the looooooooooog article on Swastika by Kalyana Raman ji. Oh! I am lost in Zinc!!! Please help me to get out of it!! (Cries Swastika!) Just joking The article is informative. Love and regards,Sreenadh ================================================ (Taken from : http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/svastika ) Artcle by Kalyana Raman ji, the moderator of HinduCalendar group and a reputed scholar.

Svastika

 

 

 

 

 

Israel: history of the svastika

 

 

 

 

Israel: history of the svastika (Symbol of ancient Indian gold)May 8, 2008WONG:Last

week the people in Israel and around the world remembered those who

have been persecuted in the Jewish Holocaust during WWII. Millions of

people lost their lives in the name of the Nazi hook-cross. But this

symbol wasn't theirs to use.It was a distortion of the ancient swastika

symbol. Our Israeli team made a report. Let's take a look.STORY: The

Nazis who murdered tens of millions of people used the hook-cross as

their symbol. Thus many of those who survived and are alive today find

it difficult to accept this sign.[Dina Gordon, Holocaust Survivor]:"I

was born in Croatia during the Second World War and most of my family

members were taken to concentration camps of the Nazis and most of them

were murdered there. So of course for me the black symbol of the

swastika of the Nazis was always the symbol of the most evil thing, of

the greatest pain and greatest suffering."But the black hook-cross used by Hitler bears a totally different meaning from that of the ancient swastika symbol. [Dr. Brent Besch, German Priest, Jerusalem]:"We

are talking about a very ancient symbol called swastika. swastika stems

from an old Indian language. The first syllable "su" means "good, well"

and "asti" means "to be, being" and the "ka" is diminutive. So it means

a thing of good luck we can say. So this symbol means something good,

good luck symbol."The swastika symbol, which mostly appears as a golden sign, appeared in India 2,500 years ago.Because

of the way the hook-cross was used by Hitler, it is mainly associated,

until today, with Nazism and seen by many Israelis as a hatred symbol. [Gila Bakshy, Rehovot]"This symbol always shakes us, it brings us back to the past."[binyamin Marder, Rehovot]"For me, it's a symbol of murder, it isn't a human symbol."[batya Ofer, Rehovot]"When you see it, you feel threatened immediately."[shai Tirosh, Rehovot]"It will be good if there's any power that's able to reestablish the true meaning of this symbol."However,

the long history shows us that prior to this association, swastikas

were used across the centuries as a symbol of good luck.Remains

of ancient swastika symbols were unearthed in many archaeological

excavations around Israel, as well as around the world.Avshalom Yakobi discovered in 1974 the ruins of a synagogue dating back to 400 AD. [Avshalom Yakobi, Amateur Archaeologist]:"We

can see here in several places mosaic patterns in the form of swastika.

They appear all around and in the part where the synagogue was repaired

later. Every Jew who comes here can see those swastikas and read the

written explanations."Rabbi Shlomo Aviner is a renowned Jewish

religious leader in Israel. Rabbi Aviner is one of those who lost many

of his relatives in the Nazi death camps.[Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Head of Ateret Jeshiva]:"It

is well known that the swastika is an ancient symbol that belongs to

the Indians, and Hitler adopted it. So the problem isn't the swastika.

The problem is the cruelty of the Nazi's who murdered more than 6

million of our brothers." Hitler and the Nazi regime were

defeated in all the fronts except one: for decades the swastika symbol

which they have stolen and warped was considered in the west as

negative.NTD, Jerusalem, Israel.The

oldest attested appearance of svastika glyph is on Sarasvati

hieroglyphs (so-called Indus script epigraphs). Over 50 seals

containing the glyph have been found and its hieroglyph usage attested

together with other pictorial motifs. The decoding of the word sathiya

'svastika glyph' read rebus as sattva, jasta 'zinc' is detailed under

the section Mlecchitavikalpa: Svastika glyph as zinc on this section; the monograph to read/download.Svastika as symbol of health (ppt)(7 Nov. 2008) -- PunitAncient clay stamp seals and sealings of Srilanka -- Rajah M. WickremesingheEarly meaning (artha) of Svastika, as wealth (artha). Svastika in Sarasvati civilization: - The early meaning of svastika as a glyph (as wealth) Annex 1: Svastika and Endless-knot motifs Part 1 Part 2 Annex 2: Svastika seals Part 1 Part 2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika The early meaning of svastika as a glyph Abstract This

monograph reviews the evidence of the use of svastika as a glyph

throughout the ancient world for over 3 millennia. The conclusion is

that it connotes an object, a mineral - zinc (maybe, in its zinc oxide

form called calamine). Brass was an alloy of copper and zinc and

was known even before zinc was sublimated and discovered; by melting

copper with calamine, brass which was a relatively easy material to

cast (at a melting point of about 900 degrees C) with a yellow color

comparable to the color of gold was produced. This decipherment is

consistent with the occurrence of svastika glyph in the following

contexts: 1. together with an endless-knot glyph ( mer.ed

'iron'; rebus: mer.hao'twisted'); 2. together with the glyphs of a

tiger looking back and an elephant [(kol krammara 'alloy smith'; rebus:

kol 'tiger', krammara 'turning back'); (ib 'iron'; rebus:

ibha 'elephant')] 3. together with a drummer glyph 4. Syracuse coin

showing Arethusa at the center of a svastika 5. together with ducks in

a Cyprus artifact (shown in Annex 1) 6. spearhead from Germany (shown

in Annex 1) Depiction of four or five svastika glyphs is an

indication of the number of parts of zinc mixed with, say, eight

parts of copper to create different types of hard or soft brasses (high

brass has 35% zinc; low brass has 20% zinc), including arsenical

brasses or lead brasses. They are also combined with iron, silicon and

manganese to increase wear and tear resistance. An alloy called

Corinthian brass, an alloy of gold, silver and copper, was known in

ancient times. (In later technological developments, zinc is used to

galvanize steel to prevent corrosion). " Before the discovery of zinc

metal in India (made by the distillation route) sometime during the

fifth-fourth century BC, brass could be made, as in Lothal and

Atranjikhera, only by the cementation route in which one of the

following was smelted along with copper ore : zinc ore, sphalerite

concentrate or the roasted product, philosopher 's wool or zinc oxide.

The traditions of making philosopher's wool and cementation brass could

have persisted even after the discovery of the distillation process of

making zinc… the distillation route of making zinc and alloying this

with molten copper was the only way of making high-zinc (more than 28%)

brass, such as the 4th century BC Taxila vase (34.34% zinc)" (Arun

Kumar Biswas, Zinc and related alloys, http://metalrg.iisc.ernet.in/~wootz/heritage/zn.html "References

to Zinc and brass are found in the lost text Philippica or Theopompus

(4th century BC), quoted in Strabo's Geography (XIII, 56): "There is a

stone near Andreida (north west Anatolia) which yields Iron when burnt.

After being treated in a furnace with a certain earth it yields

droplets of false silver. This added to copper, forms the so-called

mixture, which some call oreichalkos." This pertains probably to the

process of downward distillation of zinc ("droplets of false

silver") and its subsequent mixing with Copper to make

brass oreichalkos (arakuta in Kautilya's Arthasastra) described in

detail in the post-Christian era Sanskrit texts." http://www.vanderkrogt.net/elements/elem/zn.html Charaka Samhita has references to medicinal uses of zinc(300 BCE). A

remarkable account of the use of svastika in ancient periods and

conclusion that the glyph connoted an object is provided in: Thomas

Wilson, 1896, *The Svastika_. The earliest known symbol, and its

migrations; with observations on the migration of certain industries

in prehistoric times,*Washington DC, The Smithsonian Institution, US

National Museum, Washington DC. Elsewhere, the entire corpus of

Sarasvati hieroglyphs (Indus script epigraphs) has been deciphered as

related to the repertoire of a smith and smithy. Consistent with

this decipherment, the early meaning of svastika as a glyph

is presented as a hieroglyph, read rebus: satva, 'zinc' (Pkt.)*satavu,

satuvu, sattu* = pewter, zinc (Ka.) *dosta* = zinc (Santali) *jasta *=

zinc (Hindi) *jasada, yasada, yasadyaka, yasatva *= zinc (Jaina Pali).

Homonyms to denote the glyph are: *sathiya_** (H.), sa_thiyo (G.);

satthia, sotthia (Pkt.) = svastika_ ** sign.* * * *Many

hieroglyphs (including svastika and endless-knot motifs) become

metaphors of wealth as shown in the use on ashtamangala necklace and on

archways hoisted with s'rivatsa glyph. (Details provided in notes on

decipherment of Sarasvati hieroglyphs). Svasti which is derivable as

su + asti in Sanskrit grammar is explained as a metaphor for 'welfare,

auspiciousness' by the depiction of the glyph on temple doors, during

the historical periods. The rationale for using the glyph to connote

welfare is that zinc as an additive to create an alloy of copper called

brass, produced a metal which was 'as good as gold', that

precious metal called soma 'electrum'. * * * *That zinc

- represented by the hieroglyph, svastika -- was a traded commodity

together with other minerals is apparent from the finds of epigraphs

containing Sarasvati hieroglyphs at locations such as Altyn Depe. Swat,

Seistan. * * * The burden of this monograph is that

this 'object' was in fact, zinc, a commodity traded and used for

alloying with copper, to create brass. This alloy has

alchemical overtones as discussed in Kalyanaraman, 2006,

*Indian Alchemy: Soma in the Veda*, Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal. URLs: http://kalyan97.googlepages.com/svastika1.doc http://kalyan97.googlepages.com/svastika2.doc http://kalyan97.googlepages.com/annex1asvastika.doc http://kalyan97.googlepages.com/annex1bsvastika.doc http://kalyan97.googlepages.com/Annex2aSvastikaseals.doc http://kalyan97.googlepages.com/Annex2bSvastikaseals.doc Zinc and related alloys: the pioneering traditions in the ancient and medieval IndiaProfessor Arun Kumar Biswas The Asiatic Society 1, Park Street Calcutta 16INTRODUCTIONIndia

achieved the distinction of being the only country in the ancient and

the medieval world to produce pure zinc metal and high zinc-brass

alloys. The saga of zinc in ancient India has been established only

recently by a team of scholars from India (Hegde, Biswas) and England

(Craddock, Willies). The present author has recorded the current status

of our knowledge on the subject in a paper and in a book. This provides

a brief summary and also includes a hitherto unpublished material on

the Bidri alloy.The

earlier occurrence of zinc in man - made artifacts is in the form of

the copper alloy known as brass. Ever since the discovery of copper and

the alloying elements of tin, arsenic, lead, etc., different materials,

including zinc, were used to alloy and harden copper.The

earliest method of making brass was possibly the cementation process in

which finely divided copper fragments were intimately mixed with

roasted zinc ore (oxide) and reducing agent, such as charcoal, and

heated to 1000oC in a sealed crucible. Zinc vapour formed,

dissolved into the copper fragments yielding a poor quality brass, zinc

percentage of which could not be easily controlled.Fusion

of zinc with copper increases the strength, hardness and toughness of

the latter. When the alloy is composed of 10-18% zinc, it has a

pleasing golden yellow colour. It can also take very high polish and

glitter like gold. For this property, brass has been widely used for

casting statuary, covering temple roofs, fabricating vessels, etc.Reduction of zinc oxide around 1000oC is crucially important : below 950oC no zinc is produced. Zinc is obtained in the vapour form at this temperature, since its b.p. is 913oC.

With trace of oxygen, the zinc vapour would be reoxidised and hence the

successful operations in the past must have been done in closed

crucibles. If the temperature were higher than 1083o C

during brass-making, then copper would melt and flow down to the bottom

of the crucible forming a puddle there, exposing a very small surface

area of the metal for alloy formation.Brasses containing upto 36% zinc are known as a-

brasses, which undergo easy cold work. Brasses containing more than 46

% zinc are brittle. With zinc content between 36 and 46%, we have a+b brasses which are lighter, harder and more suitable for casting statuary.Werner

and Haedecke demonstrated experimentally that brass produced by the

cementation process could not contain more than 28% zinc. Brass

founders trying the cementation process have verified this observation.The

materials of antiquity containing more than 28% zinc in copper matrix

must have been prepared by mixing the two metals, which could have been

possible only after the discovery of zinc as a separate metal and its

preparation by a process such as distillation. The antiquity of brass

artifacts can, therefore, be divided into two eras, one preceding, and

the other following the discovery of zinc as a separate metal.BRASS BEFORE THE DISCOVERY OF ZINCWe

claim that the earliest artifact noted so far containing an appreciable

amount of zinc anywhere in the world is from India. Lothal (2200 1500

BC) showed one highly oxidised antiquity (No. 4189) which assayed :

70.7 % copper, 6.04 % zinc , 0.9% Fe and 6.04 % acid-soluble component

(probably carbonate, a product of atmospheric corrosion). The material

could have been prepared through smelting of zinc-bearing copper ore or

the cementation route described earlier. The raw materials might have

come from the Ahar-Zawar area. The Harappan site of Rosdi, also in

Gujarat, has yielded a few samples of chisel, celt, rod and bangle,

made of brass and assaying upto 1.54% zinc.Similar

materials might have been used for making the brass-bronze items of

Atranjikhera during the PGW era (1200-600) BC. One copper-based item

contained 11.68% Sn, 9.0% Pb and 6.28% Zinc, while another item assayed

20.72% Sn and 16.20% Zn. Both the samples contained traces of iron and

sulphur, indicating the possibility of chalcopyrite and

sphalerite-galena having been the source materials, which could easily

come from the Ahar-Zawar area. Most of the brass samples in ancient

India contained variable proportions of Zn, Sn and Pb (Table 1).Table 1 Analysis of Some Brass Object in Ancient IndiaS.NoDate & SiteObjectAnalysis %RemarksCuZnSnPb1.- 1500 BC LothalNo.4189 Copper Object70.706.04--Ref.52.Harappan RosdiChisel, Celt rod, bangle95.5 98.5Upto1.54Upto1.23Upto1.20Ref.63.1000 BCAtranjikheraNo.1No.270.9952.426.2816.2011.6820.729.009.77Ref.74.4th century BCTaxilaVase Bm215-28455.3934.344.253.08Ref.85.2nd century BCBangle73.7219.700.105.84Ref.86.2nd Century ADGujaratFemale figure carrying flower container Indo Parthian88.607.600.132.49Ref.6 pp.56-577.5th century ADGandhara Buddha68.5020.253.863.62Ref.138.6th century AD AkotaAmbika76.7016.321.614.04Ref.6, pp.104-1059.7th Century AD MahudiRishabhanatha66.0012.805.901.50Ref.6, p.6610.8th century AD KashmirShiva82.0017.001.00-Ref.1411.9th Century AD NalandaBuddha78.9515.150.743.03Ref.1512.11th century AD, W.TibetManjusri65.5030.400.301.70Ref.16We have drawn attention to the brass items of Lothal and Atranjikhera and their possible link with the 1260 + 160, 1136 + 160 BC and 1050+ 150 C-14 dates of the timber samples in the Rajpura Dariba silver-lead-zinc mine near Udaipur.During

the Harappan era, copper used to be alloyed with tin and arsenic; since

these were scarce commodities, alternative alloying elements had to be

looked for. Artisans in the Rajasthan-Gujarat region might have

stumbled on to zinc ore deposit as a new source of alloying element.Craddock

et al surveyed the evidences of early brass artifacts in the West. The

earliest brass artifacts known in the West come from excavations at the

Gordion Tomb in Phrygia, dating from the 8th and 7th centuries BC

onwards. These came after the Lothal and Atranjikhera traditions. From

the 7th Century BC, the Greeks commented upon brass or oreichalkos, but

always as an expensive, exotic metal not produced in Greece. There was

no zinc in the early Greek bronzes, Etruscan bronze of the 5th century

BC contained 11% zinc.ZINC METAL AND HIGH ZINC BRASSThe

earliest brass containing more than 28% zinc, which could be made only

after the isolation of pure zinc metal came from Taxila. Craddock

pointed out the overriding importance of the vase (BM 215-284)

excavated from the Bhir Mound at Taxila and dated to the 4th century

BC. This brass sample contains 34.34% zinc, 4.25 % Sn, 3.0 % Pb, 1.77%

Fe and 0.4% Nickel. This is very strong evidence for the availability

of metallic zinc in the 4th century BC. Possibly India was the first to

make this metal zinc (rasaka) by the distillation process, as practised

for the other metal mercury (rasa).There

are references to zinc and brass in the lost (4th century BC) text

Philippica or Theopompus, quoted by Strabo in his Geography :"There

is a stone near Andreida (north west Anatolia) which yields iron when

burnt. After being treated in a furnace with a certain earth it yields

droplets of false silver. This added to copper, forms the so-called

mixture, which some call oreichalkos" (Strabco, Geogrraphy, Book XIII,

Sec 56).The above

reference pertains probably to the process of downward distillation of

zinc ( droplets of false silver ) and its subsequent mixing with copper

to make brass oreichalkos (arakuta in Kautilya s Arthasastra) described

in detail in the post-Christian era Sanskrit texts.It

is quite possible that the zinc making technology travelled west from

India during 6th-5th centuries BC, as it did later again in the 18th

century AD. The pseudo-Aristotelian work On Marvellous Things Heard

mentioned :"They also

say that amongst the Indians the bronze is so bright, clean and free

from corrosion that it is indistinguishable from gold, but that amongst

the cups of Darius there is considerable number that could not be

distinguished from gold or bronze except by colour" (quoted by Craddock)The

Indian emphasis was on the gold-like brass and not on the zinc metal.

The Greeks, however, used zinc metal as such in a few cases. In the

course of the excavation of the Agora in Athens, a roll of sheet zinc

was found in a sealed deposit dating from the 3rd or 2nd century BC.

Analysis showed it to be nearly pure zinc with 1.3% lead, 0.06 % Fe and

0.005% Cu with traces of Mn, Mg, Sn, Ag and Sb (quotated by Craddock).

Although Needham and Forbes doubted the above evidence on the ground

that the pieces were beyond the contemporary technology . Craddock

certifies this to be genuine sample. It is quite possible that the

Greeks had carried the material or the technology which had existed in

Taxila as early as 4th century BC and possibly much earlier in

Rajasthan.MINING ARCHAEOLOGY AND SMELTING RELATED TO INDIAN ZINC OREThe

recent pioneering work on the zinc-lead-silver mining archaelogy in the

southern part of Rajasthan by Willies et al and the relevant C-14 dates

have firmly established India s primacy in non-ferrous ore mining in

the ancient world.The

ancient workings in the South Lode (100 m depth) of Rajpura-Dariba mine

(80 km north-east of Udaipur) have been C-14 dated as 1260 BC, 1050 BC

and the East Lode workings as 375 BC, 360 BC, 250 BC, 120 BC, 150 AD

etc. Thus, it is clear that the tradition of underground mining in

India goes back to the thirteenth century BC, if not earlier. The

earliest emphasis was possibly on copper ore; at Rajpura-Dariba, the

other targets were lead, silver and possibly zinc ore, which is

strongly suggested by the brass artifacts of Lothal and Atranjikhera.The

art of smelting zinc ore and recovery of zinc metal by distillation

must have been discovered before 4th century BC when Taxila produced

the brass vase containing 34.34 % zinc. This possibility is reinforced

by the facts of mining archaelogy. Starting from the 5th century BC, we

have many C-14 datings in Rajpura-Dariba, Rampura-Agucha (40 km south

of Ajmer) and most crucially, in the Zawar mine systems.Zawar (24o21' N, 73 o41'E)

is about 30 km south-west from Udaipur, where the ancient mines

(earliest C-14 date obtained so far is 430 BC) are found, both opencast

and underground. Zawar Mala, Mochia and Balaria are some of the

specific mines in this area.The

host rock of the Zawar mines is sheared dolomite, the result of

metamorphism of sedimentary dolomites. The ore was geologically

deposited syngenetically as disseminated lenses within the dolomite

beds. Zinc occurs as sphalerite or as marmatite in which zinc sulphide

is in solid solution with iron sulphide. Also associated with the rock

are galena, hydrozincite, pyrite, silver, etc.Ancient

workings are found at outcrops on the ridge of Zawar Mala, and as deep

as the 470 m (above sea) levels of the modern Zawar Mala mine, some 120

m below surface. The upper parts accessible from there were a few tens

of metres below surface, isolated by a roof fall. At the surface, mine

openings occur at intervals of 50 m or so. Willies investigated one

mine of more commodious proportion Pratapkhan or Pratap s mine in

which Rana Pratap Singh, rival of Akbar, took refuge during 1595 1600

A.D. A flat room floored with phyllite slabs is inferred as Pratap s

refuge. The quarried materials used to feed a zinc smelter just below

the narrow valley.The earliest C-14 datings in the Zawar mines are 430 + 100 BC of the PRL 932 sample from the Zawar Mala mine and 380 + 50

BC of the BM 2381 sample from the Mochia mine. Similar datings from

Rajpura Dariba (e.g. 375 BC), Rampura Agucha (370 BC), etc. confirm

widespread underground mining of lead-zinc ores in the southern

Rajasthan during the fifth-fourth centuries BC onwards.Subsequent C-14 datings in the said mining area are : 250 BC, 200, 170, 140, 120 BC, 60 AD, 110AD, 150 AD.As

regards the recovery of zinc from the ore, the crucible

reduction/distillation method was put to large scale commercial

practice in the 13thcentury AD; this will be described

later. Indirect and circumstantial evidences suggest that distillation

method was in vogue much earlier, probably from the 4th century BC onwards, although not on a large scale, as we find in the 13th century AD context.In

this connection, we recall the evidence from Rampura Agucha. The

zinc-lead-silver ore at the site was selectively mined at least as

early as 370 and 250 BC. An appreciable amount of zinc must have been

separated from the zinc-rich ore (present-day ore in the site contains

13.5% zinc), as revealed from the low-zinc content slag. One sample of

slag assayed as low as 0.01% zinc. Near the slag dump area several

retort-like pieces were reported. When assembled, their appearance

suggested a cylinder approximately 20 cm long with walls 4-5 cm thick

and an innermost pipe-like feature with a coating dirty white material,

mainly zinc sulphate. They could be mistaken for tuyeres but for their

closed pointed ends. This is highly suggestive of a used retort. Along

with this, some thin walled tube-like object containing a thin coating

of blister type material was also found.It

is conceivable that the retorts were being used in the said context for

roasting zinc ore to obtain the light, white, smoky zinc oxide, which

the ancient Greeks called pompholyx or philosopher s wool. In the

modern zinc plant at Udaipur, roasting of zinc sulphide concentrate

produces not only zinc oxide (and sulphur dioxide gas) but also some

zinc sulphate, which was detected in the 4th-3rd century BC retort in Rampura Agucha.The

said retorts, already found sealed at one end, must have been closed or

sealed at the other and also to prevent the escape of smoky zinc oxide

into the atmosphere. The retorts were possibly modified to serve as

reduction distillation chambers (to produce metallic zinc), the final

version of which, notified in the 13th century AD context,

would be described later. Very significantly, Tiwari et al. noted that

the slag sample from Agucha containing only 0.01% zinc but as high as

9.30% lead, was attached to baked earthen materials which could be

part of the earthen appliance used for smelting . We suggest the

possibility that the earthen appliance was a zinc distillation retort.

Remains of zinc furnaces have been found at Sojat in Jodhpur also.BRASS AND ZINC IN ANCIENT INDIAWe

may now turn our attention to the antiquity of brass in ancient India.

Before the discovery of zinc metal in India (made by the distillation

route) sometime during the fifth-fourth century BC, brass could be

made, as in Lothal and Atranjikhera, only by the cementation route in

which one of the following was smelted along with copper ore : zinc

ore, sphalerite concentrate or the roasted product, philosopher s wool

or zinc oxide. The traditions of making philosophers wool and

cementation brass could have persisted even after the discovery of the

distillation process of making zinc. We invite attention of the readers

to the analysis of some Indian brass objects made before 4th century BC (Table I)As

we have indicated earlier, the distillation route of making zinc and

alloying this with molten copper was the only way of making high-zinc

(more than 28%) brass, such as the 4th century BC Taxila

vase (34.34% zinc). The said vase (BM 215-284), excavated from the Bhir

Mound site, was made before the Greek settlement in Sirkap.One

bangle from the second century BC Sirkap settlement assayed 19.70%

zinc. The Dharmarajika settlement of the post-Christian era produced

brass objects like bangle and pot with controlled compositions 77-79%

Cu, 12.88-13.07% Zn, 2.5-3.5% Sn and 3-6% Pb.Some

of the other early brass samples from ancient India have been reviewed

by Neogi and Ray, an extract of which is presented below :Brass articles of 1st century

BC or AD have been found on excavation of some ancient stupas. General

ventura executed operations for the examination of the stupas at

Manikyalaya in 1830. Three deposits were obtained, of which the third,

at a depth of 64 ft. consisted of a copper box enclosing a brass

cylindrical box cast and a beautifully turned on the lathe. The lid of

brass casket was found on cleansing to be inscribed. From the

inscriptions on the various articles of this deposit and the

accompanying Indo Scythian coins, the great tope at Manikyalaya has

been identified to be a mausoleum of the Indo-Scythian King Kanishka (1st century BC or AD).Another

inscribed brass urn of the same date as the former has been discovered

in a tope about 30 miles west of Kabul in Wardak district. This urn,

which in shape and size approaches closely the ordinary water-vessels

in use in India to this day, was originally thickly gilt and its

surface has in consequence remained well preserved.As

regards coins, both brass and bronze were used in ancient India for

coinage. Circular punch-marked brass coins of Dhanadeva and Aryavarma

of Ayodhya (c, 1st century BC) have been found. Brass coins

of kings of several other dynasties living at that time have also been

collected. From these archaeological and numismatic evidences it is

clear that brass was in common use in ancient India during the first

century BC. A small number of die-struck coins of the Pre-Gupta and

Gupta periods, including a piece attributed to Chandragupta II, are

considered to be made of brass.Table I features some of the typical brass objects in ancient India up to 11th century AD, before the advent of Muslims in the country.DISCOVERY OF THE MEDIEVAL ZINC SMELTING OUTFIT AT ZAWAR, NEAR UDAIPUR, RAJASTHANIn

April 1980, the Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) sponsored a three-year

research project on recovery of zinc from the ancient slags which was

successfully conducted at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)

Kanpur by the present author. In 1982, HZL collaborated with British

Museum Research Laboratory (P.T.Craddock, Lyon Willies, etc.) and the

Department of Archaeology, M.S.University of Baroda (K.T.M.Hegde) on

archaeological investigations, and this led to the spectacular

discovery of the zinc distillation outfit, including furnaces and

retorts showing the production strategy, Craddock described the

exciting discovery."On

the third day of the excavation (December 1983), one of the Baroda team

(Hegde) spotted the corner of a refractory plate sticking out from a

heap of spent retorts beside a goat track in a valley on Zawar Mala

With mounting excitement we cleared a small area above and around it to

reveal first, the edges of furnace walls, and then the tops of retorts

still in situ."Extensive

archaeological and archaeo-material investigations followed : we now

present the summary of the results of the historical experiments

performed in two continents.ANCIENT RETORTS AND FURNACES AT ZAWARDuring

the 1983 excavations, two groups of furnaces were uncovered. A single

bank of seven furnaces upon Zawar Mala contained small retorts 20 cm

long and 10 cm in diameter. In old Zawar, there was a more extensive

arrangement of furnaces using a larger retorts (30-35 cm long and 10-15

cm diameter). In both groups, 36 retorts in a 6 x 6 arrangement were

contained within the truncated pyramid of each furnace. Thus, no less

than 252 retorts were fired simultaneously in a single bank. The

retorts were supported vertically on perforated bricks through which

the condenser tubes passed into the cooler zinc collectors

beneath.(Figs. 1-3).The

furnaces are in two parts consisting of a zinc vapour condensation

chamber at the bottom and a furnace chamber at the top. The two

chambers are separated by a perforated terracotta plate. The

condensation chamber measures 65 x 65 cm and 20 cm in height. The

perforated terracotta plate that separates the two chambers is a

composite unit made up of four equal segments of 35 cm2. It

is 4 cm thick, well-baked, and sturdy. Its perforations include

circular holes of two sizes : larger ones of 4 cm diameter each of

which is surrounded by a number of smaller holes of 2.5 cm diameter.

Within the furnace, the composite terracotta plate was found to be

supported on a ledge in the furnace walls on all four sides and a

single solid terracotta pillar placed below the junction of its four

segments.Up above the

perforated terracotta plate is the furnace chamber, in which 36 charged

retorts (Figs.1-2) were arranged, inverted vertically; it may be

presumed that 36 vessels were placed, one underneath each retort, to

collect the condensed zinc vapour. This arrangement of downward

distillation retort with the condensing unit underneath or

distillation per descensum , is precisely what had been described in

Rasaratnasamuccaya text (2,157-166, 9.48-50). The brinjal-like retorts

in Zawar (Fig.3) are also similar to the vrntakamusa described in

Rasaratnasamaccaya (10.22-23).It

appears that a cylindrical reed of 1.5 cm diameter was inserted into

the retort after it was charged and the funnel part was luted on it

(Fig.3); this is evident from the central hole which is preserved in

many retort residues. The reed helped to keep the charge within the

retort when it was inverted and placed in the furnace. When the furnace

was fired, the reed burnt away leaving behind a cylindrical flow

channel for the zinc vapour to flow freely out of the retort. The ore

must have been roasted before smelting.The

smelting charge must have included a small quantity of common salt (as

surmised from the chlorine and sodium contents in the retort residue)

and an adequately large quantity of carbonaceous matter, apart from the

calcined ore, and then rolled into pellets of 1 cm3 volume(

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya or RRS 2.163-164 refers to the gutikakrti pellets

containing sodium bicarbonate and borax). The charge (about 1.5 kg per

retort) was loaded into clay retorts fitted with funnel like condenser

tubes, as described before (Fig.3). These were indeed the

brinjal-shaped crucible or vrntakamusa, as described in RRS(2.157,

2.163, 10.23-24, etc.). On heating in the furnace, zinc oxide was

reduced by a carbonaceous matter to zinc vapour. The reducing blue

flame of carbon monoxide was observed to be substituted by white flame

of zinc vapour, indicating that reduction had taken place (bhavet bila

sita yadi RRS 2.159-160).Using

a scanning electron microscope and observing the vitrification textures

of the Zawar retort and clay materials, Freestone estimated that the

temperature reached in the Zawar zinc distillation furnace was of the

order of 1150-1200oC, and that this temperature was

maintained for 5 hours ore more. The highly endothermic reduction of

zinc oxide must have been achieved at a very low partial pressure of

oxygen (less than 10-20 atm) to prevent re-oxidation of the metal. Zinc vapour condensed in the tube, the temperature being around 500oC,

and collected in the vessels placed below. This kind of downward

distillation or tiryakpatana of zinc vapour, produced under a highly

reducing atmosphere, has been described in RRS (2.163-168, 10.48-50).A part of the zinc oxide was converted to well-identified silicate phases and thus could not be recovered as reduced metal.Freestone

et al. estimated that 200-500 g zinc was extracted per retort, or 7-18

kg per smelt of 36 retorts. Each retort weighs about 3 kg. Thus, the

debris of around 6 lakh tons of spent retorts corresponds to about 1

lakh ton of zinc, according to Freestone et al. which might have been

produced at Zawar during 13th-18th centuries AD. This has been indeed one of the most outstanding levels of industrial production in the medieval world.PHASE STUDIES ON ZAWAR SLAGS AT IIT, KANPURSix

lakh tons of spent retorts contain two lakh tons of residues within,

assaying about 3% zinc. Therefore, some 6000 tons of zinc metal remain

within the retort residue, and probably another 1000 tons in the lead

slag. Our research at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur,

sponsored by the Hindustan Zinc Limited, was directed towards the

recovery of zinc from these two kinds of slags. The first step in our

world was characterization of these residues, which turned out to be

very useful and relevant to the archaeo-metallurgical problem.The phases identified by X-ray and electron diffraction studies by Biswas et al. are summarized in Table 2.Table

2 - Phases Identified in Zawar Retort (Content), Wall and (Lead) Slag

by X-ray and Electron Diffraction Studies (Biswas et al.)SamplePhases identifiedX-ray diffraction Electron diffractionRetort contentZn2P2O7.5H2O Goslarite ZnSO4.7H2O Hemimorphite,Zn4(OH)2Si2O7H2O Esperite Ca2Pb (ZnSiO4)4 Sphalerite Zns, Chalcopyrite CuFeS2, larsenite, PbZnSiO4Zn2P2O7.5H2O, goslarite, hemimorphite, esperite,quartz. Mg2Al2Si4O18 Ca2ZnSi2O7, hardistonite or aurichalcite Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6 Retort WallGoslarite, hardistone, hemi- morphite, Zn2P2O7.5H2O aurichalcite, quartz,sphaleriteGoslarite, hemimorphite, willemite Zn2SiO4 hardistoneSlagQuartz, goslarite, Zn2P2O7.5H2O, hemimorphite Sphalerite, chalcopyrite, hardistoneHemimorphite, goslarite, hydrozincite, quartz. sphalerite

The results show that in the roasting operation prior to retort

distillation, a small part of sphalerite was not converted into oxide

and remained in the retort as ZnS and ZnSO4. The presence of goslarite or ZnSO4.7H2O

(hydrated at a later stage) was confirmed by the endothermic DTA peaks

apart from X-ray and electron diffraction studies. Some ZnO might have

remained unconverted in the retort to undergo atmospheric conversion to

basic carbonate at a later stage. While most of the ZnO was reduced to

metal, a part of it must have been converted at a high temperature to

phosphate and silicates from which the metal could not be recovered.

Biswas et al. detected a number of zinc, calcium-zinc, lead-zinc,

calcium-lead-zinc and magnesium-aluminium silicates. Later, Freestone

et al. reported that lead slag contained iron, calcium-iron,

calcium-zinc, magnesium and calcium-magnesium silicates. The only

silicate phase that Freestone et al. could report in the retort residue

was CaMgSi2O6 or diopside.Biswas

et al obtained secondary electron images of retort residue samples and

found that the particles have a variety of morphology : plates, needles

and spheres. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis

showed characteristic peaks of many elements, the most prominent being

those of silicon and calcium. Scanning was done a fine electron probe

on the zinc-containing particles in the size range of 0.5 40 m m.Several of the small particles (0.5-8.0 m m)

show approximately constant values for the ratio of intensities

corresponding to the elements Si, Ca, Mg, Fe, Al, Zn, Pb, Mn, Na, K and

S (in decreasing order of occurrence), indicating that these particles

containing a few of the above elements are homogenous in nature. The

larger particles show wide variation in intensity ratios and hence

variation in the chemical composition of the grains from point to

point. Thus, the approximate size of the zinc containing and other

homogenous grains in the retort residue is in the range 0.5-8.0 m m.The

size of the particles in the lead slag sample was found to be lower

than that in the retort residue. The size of the zinc-containing grains

was estimated to be in the range 0.5-6.0 m m. m m,

by carrying out point to point analysis. The X-ray spectrum showed the

presence of titanium apart from the other elements noted in the retort

residue.The work at IIT

Kanpur was directed primarily towards the recovery of zinc from the

siliceous retort residue and slag at Zawar. We found that the

non-silicate phase, such as hydrozincite Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6 could

be easily leached by acid. A special fast leaching technique, making

use of the water-starved nature of the silicate-sulphuric acid system,

could recover more than 80% of the zinc contained in the silicate

phases, such as hemimorphite Zn4(OH)2Si2O7H2O, willemite Zn2SiO4 etc.The

characterization work done at IIT, Kanpur, has established the

existence of complex zinc phosphate-silicate phases in the slag which

could have been produced only by the above 1000oC pyrometallurgical smelting process. This corroborates the conclusions reached by Craddock et al.The

large scale manufacture and widespread use of zinc and brass in

medieval India need to be fully chronicled. Table 3 records a few brass

icons of India for the period 1350-1752 AD; the high zinc content,

sometimes in the range 35-40%, in these icons is particularly not

worthy. Item No.9 in Table 3 is dated 1752 AD five years before the

War of Plassey, and eight years before the Zawar production was slowed

down on account of the Maratha invasions. During the medieval period,

the Moghuls had used brass (as well as bronze) for manufacturing guns

and artisans of Bidar (83 km from Hyderabad) used high zinc (84%) brass

or bidri alloy for ornamentation over it by gold or silver ware.Table 3 - Brass Icons in India (1350-1752 AD)S.No.Site ItemElemental percentagesImpuritiesCuSnZnPbFe1.Medieval Gujarat 1350 ADPeriod Ambika68.41.618.59.5-Fe, Ag, Bi2.Gujarat, 1480 ADModel Temple with four doors 10 x 24.5 cm68.60.228.91.6-Fe, Mg, Bi3.Gujarat 1485 ADVishnu-Narayana58.90.536.82.1-Fe, Al, Ag, Si, Mg, Bi4.Rajasthan 15-16 ADRajput Prince on Horse72.90.421.82.71.0Al ).3, Ag, Mg5.Gujarat 1554 ADKal Bhairava76.71.213.86.31.5Al, Mg6.Gujarat 17 ADChauri-Bearer58.31.535.52.3-Fe, Ni, Al, Ag, Cd, Si, Mg7.Rajasthan 17 ADDipalakshmi Rajput Girl58.80.933.24.50.8Al 1.6, Mg8.Gujarat 18 ADDipalakshmi52.81.139.92.9-Fe, Al9.Gujarat 1752 ADTirthankara-Seated62.3-36.00.5-Fe, Ag, Bi10.NepalSadakasari Lokesvara Form of Avalokitesvara60.52.7535.32.37-Fe, Ni, As, AuThe

etymology of the words denoting zinc became clearer. Madanapala

Nirghantu of 1374 AD mentioned yasadam vangasadrsam or the zinc metal

(yasada) like tin (Table 4). Yasada means that which gives yasa or

fame; the connection was clear in so far as zinc was known to produce

the famous gold-like yellow alloy of brass (vide 2nd century

AD text Rasaratnakara 1.3). The European word zinc was probably

derived from yasada; the Sanskrit word became jast (Abdul Fazl) and

dasta in several Indian languages.In

1597, Libavius (AD 1545-1616) received Indian zinc, which he called

Indian or Malabar lead . He was uncertain what it was. Although

Paracelsus (1616 AD) is generally credited to have given the name

zinc to the metal, large scale export of the metal from India to the

West started later in 17th century, and according to Roscoe,

the identification of zinc as the metal from blende or calamine was

accomplished by Homberg in 1695.Table 4 Some Literature on Zinc PeriodTopics1374 ADMadanapala

Nighantu refers to Yasam vangasadrsam (zinc tin like) : Yasada

means that which gives yasa or fame, converts copper into yellow

gold-like brass1597 ADLibavius receives a sample and calls it Indian or Malabar lead1616 ADParacelsus calls it zinc from Yasada, in several Indian languages : dasta1695 ADHomberg identifies Indian zinc as the same metal from European calamineBefore 1730 ADAn Englishman transmitted Zawar technology to the West identity not known1730 ADWilliam

Champion s experiment at Warmley near Bristol; patent in 1738. Cost of

metal £ 260 a ton, whereas calamine cost only £ 6 a ton1743 ADChampion

starts manufacturing zinc by distillation per descensum process

notoriously close to the Zawar process (Morgan and Craddock)1751 ADPostlewayt

s Disctionary of Trade and Commerce admits ignorance about zinc

technology. India continues making high Zn brass statues1800-1820 ADZawar zinc industry devastated by famine and Marhatta invasion1886 ADV.Ball quotes Beckmann s History of Inventions (Bohn s Edition, ii.p.32) : "An Englishman went to India in the 17th century

to discover the process used there in the manufacture of zinc, and

returned with an account of distillation per descensum. I have not yet

been able to identify this Englishman". BIDRI AND OTHER ART WORKS IN PRE-MODERN INDIAIn

pre-modern India several traditions of art works based on metals,

alloys, gems and stones flourished and became internationally famous.

Many of these traditions started in ancient India and continue

vigorously in modern India.Bidri

ware, the sleek and smooth dark coloured metalwork with intricate

eye-catching designs on its glossy surface, is famous all over the

world. This metalwork as well as the technique to produce it are found

in India alone.Bidri is

an alloy which contains 76 to 98 % (normally in the neighbourhood of 95

%) zinc, 2 to 10 % copper, upto 8 %. lead, 1 to 5% tin and trace of

iron (vide Table 5). Occasionally high percentage (19.9) of lead and

(11.4) tin have been noted. However mostly it is high zinc low copper

alloy. Up to 1 % copper in the zinc forms the terminal solid solution h ; above 1 % copper the Î phase

precipitates at the grain boundaries in this phase field. The usual

yellow brass may contain not more than 40-50 % zinc, often less; copper

constitutes the remainder or the predominant phase. Thus brass and

bidri represent the two opposite ends of the zinc- copper phase diagram.The

Bidri ware s surface is first made smooth and a solution of copper

sulphate applied to it to darken it temporarily for engraving. The

engraving tools cut the intricate but delicate tapestry of design into

the metal which is then lighter in colour than the darkened surface and

enables the pattern to be seen clearly. Table 5 Results of Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Analysis of Birdi Ware (Taken from La Nilece et al) Victoria & Albert MuseumAcquisition nos.DescriptionPercentage by weight contentZincCopper Lead TinIron2539-1883 I.S.Huqqa91.23.22.91.20.21578-1904Huqqa98.03.31.40.10.245-1905Huqqa88.23.02.90.70.5I.S. 46 1977Weight92.64.71.45.70.11479 1904Ewert89.34.80.8< 0.10.8I.S. 10 1973Bowl92.13.61.40.30.102942 (I.S.)Huqqa84.63.31.00.10.5I.S.131 1958Pan box95.03.11.50.10.1I.S. 181 1965Huqqa76.110.18.211.40.6I.S. 31 1976Bottle98.62.61.00.41.2857 1874Huqqa92.13.60.80.60.4I.S. 17 1 1970Pan box81.32.02.0< 0.10.502949Bottle83.82.56.6< 0.10.202949Bottle93.22.41.10.10.2855 1874Huqqa99.22.60.40.20.602941 (I.S.)Basin91.22.82.10.10.2I.S. 4 1977Huqqa83.63.70.8< 0.10.6I.S. 19 1978Huqqa85.34.63.01.3< 0.1120 1886Bottle86.75.31.90.20.1I.M. 224 1921Bottle91.73.60.70.70.72066 1883Box79.62.719.90.10.51402 1903Huqqa95.32.71.13.00.5I.S. 11 1973Vessel97.63.41.8< 0.10.1I.S. 39 1976Huqqa89.23.40.50.70.7I.S. 19 - 1980Huqqa80.63.67.36.40.9856 - 1874Huqqa77.44.40.90.40.1The

piece is then handed over to the inlayer. The inlay may be of silver,

brass or occasionally gold. The final stage after the inlay has been

burnished, is to blacken the surface of the piece so that the inlay

stands out. This is done by applying a paste of ammonium chloride,

potassium nitrate, sodium chloride, copper sulphate and mud which

darkens the body by producing a characteristic black patina while

having no effect on the inlay. The paste is later washed off and

finally oil is rubbed into the piece to deepen the blackness of the

patina. The result is a lustrous dense black body to contrast with the

shining lining white (silver) or yellow (brass or gold).REPLICATION EXPERIMENTS AND CHEMICAL HYPOTHESISLa

Niece and Martin performed some replication experiments to show that

the black colour of the patina was due to copper. The recipe for

blackening the bidri metal has the main constituents in a warm solution

of potassium nitrate (one part) often substituted by well-urinated

soil, and ammonium chloride (four parts).In

a replication experiment a clean pure zinc sheet was immersed in the

above solution, when a pale grey patina of zinc oxide and chloride was

produced. When the experiment was repeated with the addition of copper

sulphate, a reasonably good but superficial black patina formed almost

instantaneously. Again only zinc oxide and chloride were the main

crystalline products. XRD analysis identified Zn5(OH)8Cl12H2O,ZnO and Cu2O

(cuprite) as the crystalline phases. None of these explains the

blackness of the patina which was amorphous and contained copper.Similar

experiments were performed with a specially prepared alloy of zinc

containing 3 % copper. When this alloy was dipped in a warm solution of

potassium nitrate and ammonium chloride, it turned as deep black

instantly and the patina was even and adhered well to the metal

surface. This was found to be non-crystalline. Scanning electron

microscopy showed the patina to be about 10 m m thick assaying 30 % copper as a contrast to 3% in the bulk. Zinc and chlorine were the other elements detected.La

niece and Martin have postulated that ammonium chloride preferentially

dissolves the zinc from bidri and the resulting copper-enriched surface

or the copper-rich Î phase precipitate gets

oxidised by potassium nitrate producing the black colour. The use of

clay does not seem to be crucially important. It could merely serve as

a source of alkali nitrate and as a poultice to absorb the unwanted

zinc chloride formed during the process. The matt black patina is

easily damaged by the standard cleaning techniques designed to remove

the white decomposition products from the zinc.HISTORY OF THE ART TRADITIONThe

mystery of the black patina is not yet fully solved. The inventors of

the tradition did not have any ideal about the underlying scientific

principles; they merely hit upon the arts and crafts aspect of the

process.The craft of

bidriware is a kind of damascene work which has defined by sir George

Birdwood as the art of encrusting one metal on another, not in crustae ,

which are soldered or wedged, but in the form of wire, which by

undercutting and hammering, is thoroughly incorporated into the metal

which it is intended to ornament. The original tradition at Damascus

was to encrust gold wire, and sometimes silver wire, on the surface of

iron, steel or bronze.A

group of the damascene craftsmen moved from Syria or Iraq to india.

Some of them were at Ajmer in Rajastan and hit upon the idea that

damascening could be done on the base of high zinc low copper alloy.

Zawar in Rajastan was the major zinc production center in the medieval

world. the said craftsmen moved down south during the 15th century A.D.

and settled at Bidar (17 o55 N and 77o3 E) near Hyderabad. when the art flourished in that place for centuries, it became known as Bidriware crafts.The

earliest known craftsmen like Abdullah-bin-khaiser and his pupil

Sivanna worked at Bijapur. Historical evidences indicate that the

beautiful articles presented to Alauddin Bahamani II (1434-1457 A.D.)

on the occasion of his coronation impressed him very much, and he

invited the craftsmen of Bijapur to settle at Bidar itself. The workers

used to prepare beautiful huqqa base, ewer bowl, pan box, basin,

bottle, slabchis, cot legs etc. The varieties of workmanship of the

design consisted of tarakashi (inlay of wire), taihnishan (inlay of

sheet) zaranishan (low relief, inlay levels with surrounding area),

zarabuland (high relief, for examples silver over a lead pad, aftabi

(design in overlaid sheet) etc.The

russian traveller Althanasins Nikitin, who visited Bidar during

1470-1474 A.D., took with him some of the early Bidriware specimens for

presentation to the Russian Emperor. A large number of articles of

Bidriware were made for presentation to the prince of Wales when he

visited India in 1875. These now adorn the collection of the Victoria

and Albert Museum which has published a comprehensive bibliography and

illustrated catalogue on the subject. Bidar and Hyderabad museums also

have beautiful collections of this kind of ware.Mahmud

has given some details about this craft under specific heading such as

raw materials, tools, implements, process of production, preparation of

alloy, mould making, casting (such as goblet ) etc. The manufacture of

Bidriware has been carried on under a system of division of labour. The

moulder prepares the alloyed metal, casts the vessel and turns it to

its proper shape by his lathe. The carver engraves the patterns on the

surface of the vessel, and the inlayer designs the patterns, inlays the

ornament of gold, silver or brass, and finally polishes the article. In

the pre-modern India there have been four seats of Bidriware

manufacture: Bidar, Lucknow, Purnea (Bihar) and Murshidabad (Bengal ).REFERENCEBiswas,

Arun Kumar . The primacy of India in Ancient Brass and Zinc

Metallurgy.Indian Journal of History of Science , 28,(4), 1993, pp.

309-330Biswas, Arun Kumar and

Biswas, Sulekha; Minerals and Metals in Ancient India, 2 Volumes, U.K.

Print world ( P ) Ltd. 1996. Chapter 18 in Vol .1 ( pp. 351-384 ) is

entitled : Antiquity of Zinc and Brass in Ancient IndiaWerner.O., Spektralanaivusche and Metallurgische Untersuchangen an Indischen Bronzen. Lerden.. Brill.,1972.Haedecke.K, Glerchgewichtsverhailtnisse bei der Messingherstellung nach de Galmerverfahren. Erzmetall. 26, 229-233.1973.Rao.S.R.

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R.C., Excavations at Atranjkhera - Earlv Civilisation of the Upper

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1983. p. 497Marshall.J., Taxila. 3 Volumes. Cambridge.1951Farnsworth.

M., Smith. C.S., and Rodda. J.L., Metallographic Examination of a

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126-129. 1949Tiwari .R.K., and

Kavdia N.K., Ancient Mining activity around Agucha Village.Bhilwara

District, Rajastan. Man & Envir . 8, 81-87, 1984Neogi.P., Copper in Ancient India,1917 reprinted in 1979 by Janaki Prakashan,Patna.10-42.History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, edited by P.Ray, Indian Chemical Society, Calcutta, pp.94-95, 1956Lo Bue, E.Statuary Metals in Tibet, in Reference 21, p.38Werner, O., Spectro-chemical Analysis of Antique and Modern Bronzes, Material Prufung.7 (12). 463-470, 1965Lal, B.B., An Examination of some Metal Images from Nalanda, Anc. India, 12, 53-57,1956Schroeder, U. Von., Indo-Tibetan Bronzes. Visual Dharma Publications Ltd., Hong Kong 1981Biswas,

A.K., Biswas, S. and Chakraborty, N.A., Archaeo-material studies in

India and Literary Evidences in Historical Archaeology of India, edited

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P.T., The Composition of Copper alloys used by the Greek, Ertuscan and

Roman Civilization The Origins and Early use of brass, J.Archaeol.

Sci., 5, 1978, pp. 1-16Craddock,

P.T. et al, Hellenistic Copper-Base Coinage and the Origins of Brass,

in Scientific Studies in Numismatics edited by W.A. Oddy, Occasional

Paper No.18, British Museum, 1980, pp. 53-64Craddock

P.T., The Copper Alloys of Tibet and their Background, in Aspects of

Tibetan Metallurgy, Occasional Paper no.15, British Museum, 1981,

pp.1-31Biswas, Arun Kumar, Annual

Reports to Hindustan Zinc Limited, Udaipur. Studies on Recovery of Zinc

form Floation Tailings and Ancient Slags. Indian Institute of

Technology, Kanpur, 1981-84Biswas,

Arun Kumar, Gangopadhyaa, A. and Ramachandran, T.R., Phase Studies on

Zinc Residues of Ancient Indian Origin, Trans. Indian Inst. Metals, 37

(3), June 1984, pp. 234-241Craddock,

P.T., Goat Path Discovery Unlocks Secrets of Medieval Zinc. IAMS

Newletter, No.6, Institute of Archaelogy, London, 1984Freestone,

I.C., Craddock,P.T., Gurjar, L.K.Hegde, K.T.M. and Paliwal, H.V.,

Analytical Approaches to the Interpretation of Medieval Zinc Smelting

Debris from Zawar, Rajasthan, J.Archaeol. Chem., 3, December 1985,

pp.1-12Hegde, K.T.M., Craddock, P.T., and Sonavane, V.H., Zinc Distillation in Ancient India, Proceedings of the 24th International Archaeometry Symposium, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1986, pp. 249-258Hegde,

K.T.M., An Introduction to Ancient Indian Metallurgy, Geological

Society of India, Bangalore, 1991. A special chapter on Zinc and Brass

Production in Ancient India , pp. 56-83Mahmud,

Sayed Jafar, Metal Technology in Medieval India, Daya Publishing House,

Delhi, 1988. Chapter 14 (pp.115-126) is devoted to Bidri Metallurgy Gairola, T.R., Bidri Ware, Ancient India, 12, 1956, pp. 116-123Agarwal ,O.P., Bidri, Museum XXVII, 1975, p.193Stronge, S., Bidri Ware, Inlaid Metal work from India, Victoria and Albert museum, London, 1985La Niece, S. and Martin, G., The technical Examination of Bidri Ware, Studies in Conservation, 32, 1987, pp.97-101

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