EVIDENCE OF ENGINEERING

AND
TECHNOLOGY CONCEPTS
IN
E

ANCIENT INDIA
Amitabha Ghosh
Honorary Scientist
Indian National Science Academy
New Delhi
Before any fruitful discussion on the
topic is started it is essential to first
have an accurate idea about true
meaning of the termsE
‘engineering’
and ‘technology’
This is so as these two terms are used
in a very loose andE
sometimes in a
very erroneous fashion
 Triumph of
science !

Failure of
technology ?
 Science

Engineering
E

Technology
Science from Latin ‘scientia’
“ knowledge, knowing
creation of new knowledge”
Example : Spontaneous and stimulated
emission of radiation

E
Engineering From Latin word
‘ingeniare’ meaning ‘to
innovate’, ‘to contrive’,
‘to devise’; such creations
directly from basic science.
E
It is also related to Latin
word ‘ingenium’ implying
cleverness.
Thus when the basic science of ‘stimulated
emission’ is employed for practical purpose we
get LASER as shown next
E
Once an extremely powerful coherent light
beam is produced through engineering its
application to various real life work like
E
manufacturing, communication, material
processing etc is the activity called
‘technology’
Technology This word originates from
the Greek word ‘technologia
meaning ‘systematic use of
craft, art etc’; it is also
related to Sanskrit word
‘taksan’ meaning carpenter;
in Greek also ‘tekton’ means
carpenter. In author’s view
perhaps the Sanskrit term
‘dakshata’ originates from
the same root.
Technology is developed making use of the
engineering product – a LASER beam.
Such technologies can be for different use
like drilling, cutting, welding etc.
E
THERE ARE MANY OTHER EXAMPLES
TO CLARIFY THE MATTER FURTHER
BUT IT IS HOPED THAT THE
DIFFERENCE AMONG THE
TERMINOLOGIES ARE
E CLARIFIED.

Our discussion can now start keeping

the above mentioned definitions IN
MIND.
IT SHOULD BE ALSO NOTED THAT FOR
TAKING THE BENEFITS OF
TECHNOLOGY TO THE COMMON
PEOPLE THE CONCEPT S OF

1.‘Standardization’ andE
2.‘Interchangeability’

ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. It is

necessary to search for the evidence
for these concepts also in ancient India.
WHAT IS INTENDED IS NOT TO
PRESENT A LONG LIST OF ARTIFACTS
AND GADGETS CREATED IN ANCIENT
INDIA. INSTEAD IT WILL BE BETTER
E
IF THE DISCUSSION IS AIMED AT
IDENTIFYING THE SPIRIT OF
‘ENGINEERING’ AND ‘TECHNOLOGY’
AS EVIDENCED FROM THE
CREATIONS OF ANCIENT INDIANS.
Ancient India period will be divided into
mainly three major parts as indicated
below:

1. Pre and proto - historic

E periods
2. Early historic period
3. Late historic period

Medieval and modern periods will not

be taken up in this talk
Another important point needs to be noted is
that in the history of mankind the application
for engineering principles received motivation
primarily through warfare.
Only in 1754 John Smeaton
suggested a separate branch
E
of engineering dedicated to
the welfare of the civilian
people and named that as
‘Civil Engineering’ to distinguish it from the
traditional ‘Military Engineering’.
As found in the writings of Megasthenis in his
description of India, as observed in the 3rd
century BC, it neither ever invaded a country
nor was it invaded by another.
So, although there had been internal fights and
wars it had less impact on the development of
the warfare technology.E That is why, perhaps,
the developments in philosophy, science and
literature were far more prominent.
Developing artifacts and mechanical
contrivances received less attention in India.
However, Civil Engineering and Metallurgy
developed very well.
Thus it is worthwhile to search for the concepts of
engineering and technology in the following fields:

1. Civil Engineering and Related Areas

- Town planning and architecture
- Building construction
- Transportation E
- Water management
- Public health
2. Manufacturing
- Metallurgy & materials
- Fabrication processes
3. Measurement & standardization
Town Planning and
E

Housing Concepts
 Major settlements of
Indus – Sarasvati
civilization 9000 BC
to 2000 BC

E
Major Towns in Proto Historic India
4th – 3rd Millennium BC

Mohenjo Daro 200 hectares 35,000 – 40,000

Harappa 150 hectares 25,000
Dholavira 100 hectares
E 12,000
Most remarkable evidence of town planning is
found in the Indus – Valley civilization! Most of
the major roads and streets were oriented along
the cardinal directions. The road widths were in
specific ratios and used standard widths. The
towns used be divided into a few sectors
E
according to their respective usages. Except one
all towns have been found to have fortifying
walls around them. In some cases the towns
were constructed over raised grounds. The
street widths were according to the following
ratio – 1:2:3:4, the smallest unit being 1.8 m.
E
E
 E

Arial Views of Mohenjo Daro

and Los Angeles
E
E
E
E
 E

Lothal Dock
In the early historic periods there was some
relics of such good planning. As seen from
the city plan of Sirkap near Taxila.
Excavated plan of Sirkap in Taxila

E
 Sirkap

E
 Sirkap

E
Houses

E
 E

Type of house in Indus Valley civilization

E

Houses used to have more than

one floor and most houses had
individual bathrooms!!
 A computer
generated street
scene of
Mohenjo Daro

E
A typical lane between houses with
More than one floors (Mohenjo Daro)

E
 Public Health Engineering

So far as advanced public health engineering

is concerned involving E planned drainage and
sewerage systems again one has to look
towards the Indus Sarasvati towns!!
The most amazing thing to notice is their
concept of sanitation and drainage. The
sewers and good water had separate
channels and in many cases the sewer was
through a covered terracotta pipe line!!
They also used the natural
E slopes for easy
flow and had strainers to separate the
solid waste.
The flow channels also avoided sharp
corners to ensure smooth and easy flow
and no accumulation of dirt
 E

Use of soak pit and interconnection Use of smooth bends

of domestic effluent with the main
line
 E

Drainage System
 E

Drainage System
 E

A soak pit jar for drainage system

 E

Typical bathrooms
Construction
E

Technology
Building construction concept was very
strong in ancient India. It was not in the
tradition to construct huge buildings.
Only at a later period massive temples
came into existence. From the proto
E
historic period use of mud bricks and
kiln fired bricks of standardized size
were used. Stone blocks were used where
available. Only at a much later period
rock – cut structures came into existence.
 E

Harappan Brick and ‘English Bond’

 E

Use of trapezoidal bricks to fit a Fortification guard wall - Kaushambi

circle
 E

Wonderful Brick Work. Notice the trapezoidal bricks for the circle
Bricks were of standard sizes. At most places
The bricks had a ratio 1:2:4. In some cases at
Kalibangan and Banawali the ratio was
1:2:3.

Timber also formed an important component

E
and locations where rock was easily available
rock cut pieces were used. Dholavira had
such constructions.

In the historical period most of the important

structures were temples. They were either
made of rock or were cut out of rock.
In the historical period major construction
work used to have a very competent and well
organized team consisting of the following:

Sthapati - The main architect conversant

engineering principles
Sutragrahin - Taking care of the work assigned
E
by the Sthapati
Takshaka - Taking care of curving and cutting
of stone
Vardhakin - Mason, carpenter who assembled
all pieces
In the 22nd chapter of Brahma Samhita there is
elaborate instructions how to make a large structure
earthquake resistant!
E
E
 E

Huge burnt out timber structure

remains of Pataliputra
 E

World’s largest monolithic temple complex: Kailash. The whole

complex was cut out of a single megalith of the size 280' x 160'x100'
by removing more than 220,000 tons of rock!!
E
E
 E

Brihadeshwar Temple Tanjavour

Built in 1010 AD using 60,000 tons
of stone blocks

E
 E

The joints were provided with extra material to reduce stress concentration
And failure. Similar care was taken in the design of columns to avoid buckling
 Water Management
Effective water management was very
important for the Indus valley
civilization, both for agricultural
purposes and for town
E use. Rain water
harvesting was very developed at towns
like Dholavira where rain fall was less
than adequate. Lothal’s dock is also an
excellent example.
 A Harappan town well
still being used! Almost
all houses had individual
wells as has been shown
in some slides.

E
E
Artist’s reconstruction

Sabarmati river

E
Warehouse
 E

Lothal Dock Yard and Warehose

 Rain Water Harvesting at
Dholavira
Dholavira shows the excellent example of
rain water harvesting.
E
It involved creating
suitable channels from collecting regions to
the storage channels in the town. Many
innovative methods were employed to
control the flow speed and minimize erosion
due to that
E
 E

One of the two rock – cut main storage reservoirs

at Dholavira
Suitable layers of bitumen and hardened
special clay used to be employed to
prevent loss of water. Inside the towns
and in many individual
E houses wells were
dug which were brick layered and in a
few cases stone layered. Sometimes the
depth of the wells used to be 15 to 20 m.
Largest man made lake in India –
Upper Lake, Bhopal. Created around
1010 AD by King Bhojpal

E
 Land and Water Transportation
Discovery of wheels was the most
revolutionary invention in land
transportation. The idea first came from
the experience gainedE from rolling
cylindrical logs. The next development
was making spoked wheels.
Water transport emerged mainly for long
distance travel and carrying heavy loads.
For land transportation invention of
wheels played the most revolutionary role.
Its first use in Indus – Sarasvati
civilization is evidenced through models
etc.
E

An attempt has been made in the next

slide to surmise how the concept of a
wheel was first achieved by the people of
Indus valley 5000 years ago
Observed motion of logs and stones

Bead manufacturing
Terracotta wheel
Serendipitous
observation

W
Fxr = fxR
r F r ˂˂ R
R f ˂˂ F
F = μxW
f
Mechanics behind wheel action
E

Water and land

transport during
the Indus valley
civilization
 E

Terracotta model wheels from Indus Valley sites.

Clearly these shows the the existence of spoked
wheels negating some earlier ideas.
 E

A model of ancient Indian boat

.

Ancient boats
and chariots
Making of chariots and ships was a major task
of the ancient carpenters beside making
buildings. The chariot makers were called
‘Rathakaar’ and wereE expected to possess
medhaa. Whereas the common carpenters, i.e.,
‘takshans’ were expected to possess dhairya.
The most beautiful
wheel of the world

E
E
E
Roads and Bridges in Ancient India
E
 Artist’s reconstruction

Original Harappan street

There is no evidence of any major bridges during the pre,
proto and early historical periods of India. May be the rivers
were too big for bridging by ancient methods. Another
important feature of ancient Indian constructions is the
absence of the concept of arches. The effect used to be
simulated by a stepped construction as shown below:

E
 Types of Roads in Ancient India
Indus – Sarasvati Civilization - Roads with brick
stone block layers

Early Historic Period - Rajpaths

E
and Banikpaths

Late Historic Period - Road network with guest

houses and horticulture
at 4.8 – 6.4 km intervals
 Major road network
in early historical
period in India

E
E

Remains of some ancient

Bridges in South India
E
Metallurgy and Materials Technology
Metallurgy is one area of engineering in which
ancient India made maximum progress. Copper
started being used around 5000 BC in India. Zinc
was the next metal that was discovered in the 3rd
millennium BC and IndiaE entered the bronze age
when tin was mixed with copper around the same
period. Contrary to the earlier belief iron was
discovered towards the middle of the 2nd
millennium BC! Ceramic technology was also very
well developed even during the Indus Valley
civilization.
 E

The remains of a hearth

containing ash 4500 yrs
old
E
 Iron pillar of Delhi is 25
feet high and 1700 years
old! But it has not been
subjected to any rusting.
That has remained a
mystery.

Wootz steel is another

E
major contribution of
India toward ferrous
metallurgy; it is a high
carbon (1 – 2%) crucible
steel developed in the 4th
century BC in south India.
It was very popular in
Europe and middle east
for making swords.
 Miscellaneous
iron objects
used in the 2nd
E millennium BC
till 8th century
BC.
E
Textile in Indus – Sarasvati Civilization
Textile technology was quite developed as evidenced through
many toys and figures. Indus valley cotton was the first in the
ancient world. Sewing needles made of bones have been
discovered.

E
 Measurement, Standardization and
Miscellaneous Fabrication Activities

A few scale pans made of copper, bronze and terracotta have been
found in Indus civilization sites. The successive weights form the
following series:
1,2,8/3,4,8,16,32,64,160,200,320,640,1600,3200,6400,8000,12800.
The unit weight is 0.857 gm
E

Scales found in
Mohenjo Daro
and Kalibangan
A terracotta hour glass has been found
in a Harappan site measuring 7 cm x 7
cm. The time for sand to pass through
was about 10 sec. Probably used to
E
measure heating time during some
production process.
 E

A plough

We still use this in our kitchens!!

The pictures shows some
objects which indicate
that the Indus valley
E
people had the turning
technology
E
E
E
An oil expeller in ancient India
This ancient temple wall relief has remained
unexplained. Are they observing through
telescopes??
Scene of a warfare with special weapons
Ancient water lifting
methods
Ancient grinders
What has been presented represents only
the tip of an iceberg. But it is known that
progress in science was more spectacular.
But even the very little evidence of the
ancient creations that has been unearthed
till now proves the existence of excellent
command on engineering and
technological concepts among ancient
Indians. If one only considers the
construction of Ellora temple one gets a
glimpse of the ‘Wonder that was India’ .
Thank You Very Much
For
Your Kind Patience