JOM

, Volume 50, Issue 3, pp 40–47 | Cite as

The decorative bell capital of the Delhi iron pillar

  • R. Balasubramaniam
Archaeotechnology Feature

Abstract

The design and construction of the decorative bell capital of the 1,600 year old Delhi iron pillar attests to the high degree of skill of the ancient Indian blacksmiths in working iron. Detailed visual observations clearly establish that the decorative bell capital is not a single piece of metal, but is composed of separate pieces that have been individually constructed by forge welding. A critical analysis of the fitting methodology of the Delhi iron pillar’s decorative top indicates that the individual pieces were fit around a cylindrical hollow iron shaft, which was connected to the main body of the pillar by means of an insert.

Keywords

Welding Corrosion Resistance Rough Region Ammonical Environ Hindu Temple 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© TMS 1998

Authors and Affiliations

  • R. Balasubramaniam
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Materials and Metallurgical EngineeringIndian Institute of TechnologyKanpurIndia

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