later call the crucible technique. In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in a crucible and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon. The first crucible steel was the wootz steel that originated in India before the beginning of the common era. Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe, China, the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the Middle East, where it became known as Damascus steel. Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India well before the common era. Zinc mines of Zawar, near Udaipur, Rajasthan, were active during 400 BCE. There are references of medicinal uses of zinc in the Charaka Samhita (300 BCE). The Rasaratna Samuccaya (800 CE) explains the existence of two types of ores for zinc metal, one of which is ideal for metal extraction while the other is used for medicinal purpose. The Periplus Maris Erythraei mentions weapons of Indian iron and steel being exported from India to Greece. Early Common Era—Early Modern Era The world's first iron pillar was the Iron pillar of Delhi—erected at the times of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–413). The swords manufactured in Indian workshops find written mention in the works of Muhammad al-Idrisi (flourished 1154). Indian Blades made of Damascus steel found their way into Persia. European scholars—during the 14th century—studied Indian casting and metallurgy technology. Indian metallurgy under the Mughal emperor Akbar (reign: 1556-1605) produced excellent small firearms. Gommans (2002) holds that Mughal handguns were stronger and more accurate than their European counterparts. Srivastava & Alam (2008) comment on Indian coinage of the Mughal Empire (established: April 21, 1526 - ended: September 21, 1857) during Akbar's regime: Statues of Nataraja and Vishnu were cast during the reign of the imperial Chola dynasty (200-1279) in the 9th century. The casting could involve a mixture of five metals: copper, zinc, tin, gold, and silver. Considered one of the most remarkable feats in metallurgy, the hollow, Seamless, celestial globe was invented in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman in 998 AH (1589-90 CE), and twenty other such globes were later produced in Lahore and Kashmir during the Mughal Empire. Before they were rediscovered in the 1980s, it was believed by modern metallurgists to be technically impossible to produce hollow, metal globes, without any seams, even with modern technology. These Mughal metallurgists pioneered the method of