Research Paper
A Scientific Analysis of Early Iron Age Metal Objects from the Excavations at Pachkhed, District Yavatmal, Maharashtra, India
Authors: Prabash Sahu, Sushant Begade & Himanshu M. Mahajan
Year: 2026, Volume: 17, Page/Article: 43-56, DOI: https://doi.org/10.47509/AA.2026.v17i.03
Abstract
This study presents a comprehensive archaeometallurgical analysis of selected metal artefacts excavated from the Early Iron Age levels at the site of Pachkhed, District Yavatmal, Maharashtra, India. Through a multi-analytical approach employing X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), we investigate the compositional, microstructural and mineralogical characteristics of an iron nail and a bronze bowl. The results confirm deliberate alloying practices, with the bronze object showing a Cu-Sn alloy composition (Sn ~51.77%, Cu ~37.59%) and the iron artefact dominated by ferric compounds, indicative of low-carbon wrought iron with significant surface oxidation. Stratigraphic and contextual data suggest long-term occupation at Pachkhed from the Early Iron Age through the late Medieval period. This study contributes to the growing corpus of metallurgical research in South Asia, situating Pachkhed within broader technological trajectories of protohistoric Deccan metallurgy.
Keywords: Archaeometallurgy, Early Iron Age, SEM-EDS, XRD, XRF, Deccan Metallurgy, Pachkhed.
A Scientific Analysis of Early Iron Age Metal Obj