Wootz was Invented in India

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“Wootz” steel is advanced form of Metallurgy thru carburization of iron. It is also called “urukku” “Uccha” “उच्चा” It was invented in “Tamil Nadu” in 5th cent. BCE There are evidences of earliest Iron smelting from 4200 YBP. #thread #archaeology

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The iron objects collected from two different sites, viz. Ambal in Tamil Nadu, dated mid-1st millennium BCE to 10th c. CE were made of high carbon steel, including the heat-treatment process.

Another High-carbon steel and ancient sword-making as observed in a double-edged sword from an Iron Age megalithic burial in Tamil Nadu, India

There are numerous early literary references to steel from India from Mediterranean sources including one from the time of Alexander (3rd c. BC) who was said to have been presented with 100 talents of Indian steel

A nail made of wootz steel dating 1st Century CE was found Pattanam. Out of India, no evidence belongs to a period earlier than 3-4th century CE. This confirms that this technology was exclusive to Indians.

Mu’allakāt poems of 6th century south Arabia, e.g.,the qasidas of ‘Antarah ibn Shaddād al-’Absī and of Tarafah ibn al-‘Abd , evoked the deathly effectiveness and resilience of blades made of Indian steel,and its white shining or exceptional pattern on those made of ‘wootz’

9th Century Al-Kindi, an AraBbic scholar devoted much space in his work to recognizing particular types of metals, their properties and quality. His detailed work, entitled ‘Risala-fi-gavahir-al Sujuf’, is first study of ‘fulad’ ‘फौलाद ‘

Wootz steel was highly prized across several regions of the world over nearly two millennia and the products made of this Indian steel came to be known as ‘Damascus sword’ Pic : Sword of Tipu Sultan made of Wootz Steel

Acc. to Vedic literature, copper and iron were also used frequently for economic purposes. ‘Ayas’ has been used for iron and copper The Atharvaveda divides it into 2. ‘Lohita ayas’ has been used for copper and ‘Śyāma ayas’ for iron

Arab Edrisi c. 1138? stated “that the Hindus excelled in the manufacture of iron. They have also workshops wherein are forged the most famous sabres in the world. It is impossible to find anything to surpass the edge that you get from Indian steel.’

French gem merchant, Tavernier, who travelled India in the 17th century on the steel industry in the ‘Kingdom of Golconda’ vowed by the kind of arms Indians made. Pic : Talwar/Shamshir 17th century

India produced 200,000 tonnes of high quality steel in c.1800 well before Britishers arrived. The smelting industry declined towards end of 19th century.

Father of alloy steels, Faraday failed to replicate the Wootz steel

c.1855, Lord Dalhousie made teak state property. The Forest Act 1865 was enacted and classified the forests as reserved By law, villagers could not take anything from these forests. An important ingredient for metallurgy may have been reason for decline in steel production.