Advances in Metallurgy and Materials from Ancient Times

Ancient metallurgy was advanced in some ways. Not much is known about ancient metallurgy since most of the knowledge is lost due to various factors. There has been recent interest that has been kindled in ancient metallurgy. Western ideas crept in, in recent times and made the art of metallurgy more productive and profitable and now Metallurgy has changed to Materials Science. Evolution of Some of the ancient alloys, like Wootz steel are discussed. Their progress through the ages has been identified and advancements in furnaces are outlined. reviews the art of metallurgy and suggests how ancient arts could be blended with modern technology. The purpose of this paper is to rekindle interest in the ancient metallurgy and also supplement ancient ideas with modern ones. Terms like Nanotechnology are fairly new, but the concepts existed in ancient times in another form. Similarly, furnace technology has evolved from ancient times till now. It is felt that rekindling interest in ancient metallurgy will somehow help to blend these ancient technologies with modern technologies.