Metal column in the courtyard of the mosque, the Qutub Minar is one of the most mysterious historic attractions of India. It is often called the eighth wonder of the world and visiting card of Delhi. The ancient Hindus clearly possessed the art of metallurgy some secrets. And the evidence is that Delhi column, which more than fifteen centuries resists rust...

The creation of an unknown architect

The origin of iron columns is uncertain. Some historians say that it was cast in 895 BC by order of Maharaja Dhabi, the ruler of Delhi. Muslim historians claim that it was brought from the Northern Muslim countries. There are versions which ascribes the creation of a pillar of the Emperor Chandragupta II or Raja Nangpala.

To unravel the mystery of birth" helped some of the inscriptions made on a column with cutters. The earliest of them placed at a height of two meters from the ground. Six lines in Sanskrit form the conditional rectangle, the length of which 85 centimeters, width - 27, and the height of the characters in the label - from 0.8 to 1.3 centimeters. First letters were filled with silver and illuminated in the dark, the moon was shining...

The inscription - epitaph to the king Chandragupta II, who died in 413 year. Column, as stated in the text, erected in memory of the king on the mountain called Stop Vishnu and devoted to God. Features of the alphabet and shape of the letters say that the column was originally in Allahabad, East of India.

Historians could only find a mountain called Stop Vishnu. And it was discovered. It turns out that the column once stood before Vishnu-askim the temple was decorated with top image is the Holy bird Garuda. In the area were discovered and other similar columns, but they were made of stone, not of iron.

But why is this iron column does not rust?

Can't be!

Disbelief in the possibilities of the ancient civilizations leads to the birth of cosmic theories of the origin of earth's wonders.

Iron pillar in and around Delhi has not escaped this fate. It does not rust, it is one and a half thousand years is as new. Can't be!

Then post made from the remains of the alien ship, and as you know, everything that is somehow connected with them, are not automatically require further evidence.

Another version says that the column forged though on Earth, but still it is a heavenly stranger - iron meteorite, which, as is known, practically does not corrode in normal conditions.

There are those who seriously argues about hidden inside artifact miniature nuclear reactor that supposedly protects the casing from rust.

They also say that the column has healing properties: it is necessary to embrace her, and you will have happiness and healing for all diseases. However, skeptics joke that if this column was brought to Russia, I found out another alien property. If the frost of minus 40 degrees naked Hindu her hug, Yes, and will LIBNET stainless surface, it will draw it to yourself and don't let go a very long time. The more that this artifact in our latitudes is unlikely to be caught. That does not rust, does not require treatment. If so, you and expenditure article "about preservation of the masterpiece" drank fail.

There are dozens of fantastic versions of occurrence of the Delhi pillar, but if you come down to earth, any unusual phenomenon can be found in mundane explanation.

Forgotten technology

This will have to look at history and see what was the India one and a half thousand years ago in the era Gupta.

Indians those times knew many metals. They were able to gold-plate and to metal-plate decoration, making the alloys of precious metals. Besides gold and silver, they knew iron, copper, lead, tin and "not deciphered" is still a metal called Vicente. In the ancient written monuments of India

- Vedas - mentioned bronze, and iron, judging by recent archaeological excavations have been known in the X century BC.

About the smelting of iron reads the Brahmans

- sacred books, approximately related to the IX-VI centuries BC. Thus, by the time of the column metallurgy in India had a glorious history, and iron has become so common that it was used for production of ploughs. Just the vast majority of products of the Indian metallurgy has not survived to our day: they were destroyed by corrosion is the mortal enemy of metals.

Famous Indian scientist, the author of many works devoted to prehistoric metallurgy in India, Sub-barara suggested that the column was manufactured in South India about a thousand years before our era. Even then, the Indian master grasped the secrets of melting of pure iron, which is valued higher than gold and precious stones. Their conclusion scientist is based on found by archaeologists in these places, metal household articles with iron content up to 95 percent. In favour of its assumption is the fact that the country has found another metal column, larger than the famous Delhi. It also cast from almost pure iron. In addition, metal beams of overlappings ancient Hindu temples Konark and Puri in Orissa made of 99% iron.

Not by chance that in those days India is world-famous for its iron and steel products, and Persians had even existed saying: "In India steel to carry," which is similar in meaning with the Russian saying: "Go to Tula with the samovar".

At the end of the last century column interested and metallurgists. Since then, a number of its analysis; the results are not classified, but, alas, hardly known. Historians do not read articles on metallurgy and metallurgists prefer not to interfere in disputes among historians.

Managed to establish, that the column is made not of iron, and low-carbon steel, very clean sulphur and unacceptable contaminated by phosphorus", with the same carbon content, like running very modern steel - 15 (high-strength alloy steel with improved corrosion resistance). In addition, the column was not solid. Lumps of iron, weighing 20 to 30 kg were welded together forging: on the column remained hammer blows and welding line.

And, finally, that the artifact is not subject to corrosion, is a myth. Not without reason in the 1960 years of XX century, the post was subjected to cleaning. It is unlikely that it laundered only bird droppings.

The Swedish field guessed to conduct a simple survey. He dug up the earth at the foot of the pillar and looked at the part that is not visible to historians and ufologists. The underground part has been covered centimeter layer of rust from corrosion ulcers to ten centimetres deep.

The same Swede sawed off from column a few pieces and took one of them on the ocean, the other in Sweden. Samples are corroded with remarkable speed. It turned out that the creators of the legends helped dry and warm climate of Northern India. Research on the corrosion of metals, held recently in different points of the Earth, Picasa-whether that Delhi is the second in the world after Khartoum passivity of the atmosphere. Even unstable zinc in almost Delhi is not oxidized.

A number of hypotheses suggests that the ancient metallurgists, wittingly or unwittingly, have created a special protective film. In particular, provide that the manufacture of the convoy she was treated with superheated steam, and thus made blueing steel. There is a version that in the smelting "eye"as it was in ancient times, can be a very large variations in the quality of the metal.

One such exception and could become the pillar. Especially because it is not unique. It is also not succumbed corrosion of iron ten-length twenty centimeters in diameter that were used in the construction of the temple in Konarak.