Recently Discovered Iron Working Site in Vindhya-Kaimur Region, India

Abstract

The Vindhya-Kaimur hills in the heartland of India are rich in minerals, including iron ore. Our recent investigations revealed ethno-archaeological evidence of iron working. Excavations conducted at the site of Raipura (Lat. 24°40′40″ N; Longitude 82°58′20″ E) brought to light a workshop of iron smelting and smithy with furnaces, forges, finished iron objects, ore, slag and ingot belonging to different cultural periods datable to a period ranging from 17/1600 to 200 BCE. An iron working community known as Agaria still lives there. They carry the legacy of ancient Indian iron working as they can smelt iron in the age old method. Thus this region has a long history of iron technology spanning over more than 3000 years.