Indian steel: a forgotten commodity of the great trade routes

• Authors: Woźniak, Marek

Abstracts

EN

Among numerous exotic goods carried along ancient trade routes the so-called Seric iron is one of the most mysterious and least known. According to ancient sources, it was imported from a half-mythical land of Serica. New discoveries in southern India suggest it should be identified with the kingdom of Chera (in modern Tamilnadu) which existed between 300 BC and AD 300. This metal, one type of which was the patterned Damascene steel, was used mainly in the production of high-quality weapons. From about the 3rd century AD local production centers of crucible steel emerged also outside India.

Keywords

EN

Indian steel; crucible steel; wootz; Damascus steel; Serica country; Tamil metalurgy

• Publisher: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
• Journal: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 24(1)
• Pages: 709-726

Contributors

author

Woźniak, Marek

Identifiers

DOI

10.5604/01.3001.0010.0124