Nancee Sukovaty

How Iron Was Made Nancee Sukovaty

Iron is an important metal that has influenced the march of civilization over at least 5000 years and it has been in the service of man from the dawn of time. The ancient scriptures and legends have extensive references to the use of iron. The discovery of iron dates back to as early as 1200 BC. The first form of iron known to ancient man was wrought iron. The Iron Age in India is denoted as the Indus Valley Civilization.
The author presents in this monograph: the distribution of iron ore, the iron age in the Tamil Nadu area, literary references to iron, the iron and steel production centers, the types of furnaces that were in use, and the techniques employed to produce iron and wootz steel employing crucible process by ancient and post-medieval communities of South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, and most importantly metallurgical study of the iron objects found during excavation at these sites.
This monograph illustrated with a map, ten-line drawings which include two graphs, twelve tables, and 102 multicolor photographs in 40 pages is bound to be useful to archaeologists, metallurgists, historians, and the general public interested in the development of metallurgical science in India.
Contents of the Book
1: Introduction
1.1: Previous Research on Early Indian Iron
1.2: Distribution of Iron Ore in Tamilnadu
1.3: Iron Age Culture in Tamilnadu
1.4: Literary References to Iron Industry
2: Pre - Industrial Iron and Steel Industry
2.1: Iron and Steel Production Centres in Ancient Period
2.2: Furnace Technology: Techniques, Types, and Methods
2.3: Steel - Developments in Production Techniques
2.4: Production of wootz Steel by Crucible Process
3: Metallurgical Studies of Iron Objects of the Iron Age
3.1: Typology of the Objects from Iron Age Sites in Tamilnadu
3.2: Gutter
3.3: Mallappadi
3.4: Kodumanal
3.5: Kanchipuram
3.6: Mel-Siruvalur
3.7: Explored Sites
4: Summary