Iron In Kumaun Goes Back To First Millennium BC
by D.P. Agrawal and Manikant Shah
The discovery and the use of iron by man was an epoch making event, which gave a fillip to his progress. The discovery of iron was perhaps associated with copper smelting, as it was collected by accident when the furnace temperature reached above 1500º C. It is also acknowledged that the use of meteoric iron was not unknown to the ancient civilizations.
Now since, in India, many centers of iron technology have been identified, no single source of influence or independent center of iron technology can be identified. On the other hand, the second urbanization of the Ganga – Yamuna Doab must have required considerable quantities of iron. The question is: could Kumaun be the source of this iron.
This requires that we have a closer look at the early evidence of iron technology in Kumaun. Lets examine the various components of this evidence.
1. Literary and folklore evidence
2. Archeological evidence
3. Distribution of iron bearing mineral resources
4. Metallurgical traditions
As an example of the literary evidence, in relation to the use of iron in the Kumaun region, may be cited the widespread use of words as prefixes / suffixes in the local dialects and languages, relating to iron. These words point to the importance of iron metallurgy in Kumaun. Words like Lo, Lu, Loha, etc. are directly related to iron. The word Agar, on the other hand, relates to mines and mining activities. Place names related to iron are Lohaghat, Loharkhet, Lob, Lukhani, and Assurchula etc. The word Asur has direct reference to the iron using tribes spread over a wide area in north India, like Bihar. The Asur folklore tradition is very strong in Kumaun and an early King Banasur is associated with the old iron site of Lohaghat.
The Himalayan Gazetteer (Atkinson ) mentions a legend popular amongst the ironworkers on the borderland of Garhwal, which relates Kalia Lohar, whose ancestors forged the armaments for the Pandavas of the Mahabharat. As a mark of respect to the legendry hero the workers to this day set aside five pieces of coal before they begin work on iron. The legend may point to the antiquity of iron technology in the region.
Atkinson also mentions the appointment of various officers, mineralogical surveyors and experts by the British Government to assess the commercial viability of extracting the ores from the mines of Kumaun. Atkinson refers to an order issued by the British Government to A. Laidlaw, a mineralogical surveyor, in which mention is made that the government was already aware of the considerable quantity of iron and copper ores present in the Kumaun area. The Government was even concerned, it is pointed out, “about the injury to the articles of British imports once the iron works were begun there.” The Government even launched a company by the name of ‘Kumaun Iron Works’.
The clinching evidence, however, comes form the extensive remains of iron working sites, slag found at these sites, mention of iron and iron mines in the old copper plates, ancient iron objects such as the massive trident at the Gopeshwar temple and a live tradition of mining in the area all point to a rich tradition of iron metallurgy in the region. Agrawal and Kharakwal have detailed such evidence of early iron metallurgy in Central Himalayas (1998), including the references to iron mineral occurrences in Kumaun. They have also C-14 dated an iron metallurgy site, Uleni, near Pithoragarh, to c. 1000BC (PRL-1648, 1022-826 BC, calibrated value).
Distribution of iron minerals in Kumaun region
Vibha Tripathi (2001) in her recent book – The Age of Iron in South Asia – writes that the northernmost parts of Kumaun – Garhwal Himalayas have hematite and limonite ores in the Tertiary and the earlier sedimentary deposits, especially at Chamoli, Nainital and Almora region. She also speculates that the early inhabitants of the Upper Ganga Plain must have exploited these deposits. She further reports that in Nainital District iron ore of all grades is found near Lusgiani and hematite occurs near Khairna. Almora also has hematite of red and brown variety and has recently yielded megaliths and iron working remains. Atkinson in his Gazetteer says that iron mines were in Agar patti of Ramgarh pargana and the principal mines were Lusgiani, Nathuakhan ,Gulla and Satbunga, Patti Lakhanpur in Chaugarkha pargana, patti Darun, the mines Digatia and Thiratoli, Rangor patti at Jalal and Digarhia. Patti Kharahi at Lob.Patti Giwar in pargana Pali at Chiteli, Simelkhet , Gudi , Bailgaon , Mahakhauri and Tilwara.
Copper metallurgical traditions in Kumaun continue to this day. Iron works, as reported by Atkinson, may have been continued till the beginning of 20th Century, when the British finally dismantled them. The metallurgical traditions today are practiced by the lower castes in Kumaun, though Atkinson points out that the economic or social status of these castes in the past was not so low as it is now.
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