Author: TR Anantharaman
Publication: Hindustan Times
Date: January 26, 2007
Eminent Metallurgical engineer and former
rector of the Banaras Hindu University Prof TR Anatharaman said that ancient
India contributed a lot in the field of metallurgy.
He was delivering a lecture on 'Metallurgical
Marvels of Ancient India' on the third-day of four-day seminar on 'History
of Indian Science and Technology' at Swatantrata Bhawan in BHU here on Thursday.
Prof Anatharaman, also former director of
Institute of Technology (IT-BHU) and presently Chancellor of Ashram Atmadeep
(Gurgaon) said that recent historical studies and scientific researches have
thrown considerable new light on the status of metal extraction and working
in Indian sub-continent during the ancient period (1700BC to 1000 AD).
He said that the world-famous ancient Damascus
Swords had its origin in India.
"The Damascus Swords were fabricated
from Ultra-high Carbon Steel, known commercially as Wootz, was produced in
South India particularly in the state of Andhra Pradesh around 400 BC,"
he said.
"Fabrication of the Iron Pillar, seven-ton
heavy and seven meter tall at Delhi known for its amazing corrosion resistance
despite exposure to the Sun, wind, dust and rain in the open for more than
16 centuries is another metallurgical marvel of ancient India," he added.
Dr K Krishnan of Archaeology and Ancient History
Department at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (Vadodara) delivered
a lecture on 'Ceramic Technology: Its Beginning and Advancements in The Indian
Sub-Continent.' He said that ceramic technology develops with the emergence
of the first agricultural communities, designated by the cultural phase 'Neolithic',
which had a wide distribution in the sub-continent in space and time."
