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Wootz Steel

Type Object Region India Time c. 300–1800

Wootz is high-carbon steel smelted by crucible method in South India, suited for forging into Damascus-patterned blades due to internal carbide textu…

Timeline

  1. c. 300–500South India · IndiaArtisans sealed iron ore and carbon sources in clay crucibles, heating them for long periods to form high-carbon steel ingots; this method gradually standardized and was passed down in South Indian workshops.
  2. 1001–1010Kodumanal–Madurai corridor · Tamil NaduSouth Indian ports and inland workshops under the Chola Empire continuously exported steel ingots; Arab and Persian merchants called this steel the raw material for Damascus steel, transporting it by sea to West Asia for forging.
  3. c. 1200–1700Indian Ocean–Persian Gulf trade network · West AsiaWootz steel was forged into patterned blades in West Asia; European travelers and scholars gradually recorded its origin as India, making it a famous case of technological export in medieval metallurgical history.

Sources