Hyderabad: Telangana as well as Hyderabad have a treasure trove of medieval period cannons scattered across its forts. However, they are neglected.
This was highlighted during a session titled ‘Deccan Cannons – The Neglected Beauties’ at Potti Sriramulu Telugu University (PSTU) on Monday, the occasion of World Heritage Day. The session was conducted by archaeo-metallurgist and chairman, Bhavan’s New Science College, Dr S. Jaikishan.
He had worked on a project to catalogue all existing forge-welded iron cannons in deccan forts and record the condition of the forts.
Dr Jaikishan said such cannons were the greatest examples of Indian
blacksmithy, technological maturity and were mainly found in the deccan region. “I have found only one or two cannons per state in North India. Most of them are in the deccan, and many are still in their original locations.”
He highlighted the fact that none of the cannons had rusted in spite of being centuries-old. He said the technology used to make forge-welded cannons was an indigenous one and not used anywhere else in the world.
Superintending archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (Hyderabad circle) Dr Smitha S. Kumar, who also attended the session, said the session was an eye opener for departments like the ASI. The issue faced by the department to better preserve such cannons was that most forts housing the cannons were encroached upon, and the cannons were in the middle of settlements, she said.
“To lift or move a cannon, we usually have to remove one or two houses too. We are also working with a lot of limitations, like shortage of staff. I suggest universities and colleges can adopt unprotected cannons and not wait for government departments to take action,” Dr Kumar said.
