Page 27 - Lohgarh

Lohgarh : The Largest Fort of the World w 27

Food Grains
We have found evidence that there were great stores of food grains
and lentils in and around the Lohgarh Fort. These were preserved in big
clay drums. A few years back a big drum was found from a field in which
a lot of lentils were still there; and, this seemed to be a couple of hundred
years old.

Signs of Weapons Factory
A lot of scraps and fragments of iron and brass have been found in
various parts of the Fort. These scraps and fragments have been found
in an area of about two to two and a half kilometer. This can be seen
there even in the form of lumps and clogs. From this we make presume
that ores of iron and other metals etc. were brought here from the
mines and after melting them at a very high temperature and moulding
them in moulds and dies, weapons like swords, arrows, spears and even
barrels of guns were manufactured. It seems they had a system of
heating the metal ores and then cooling them in water or oil. The
weapons manufactured in this manner were very strong and could not
be broken easily. A lot of ores, scrap and fragments of brass too have
been found in this area which shows that the caps of brass too were
manufactured here, which were used for making bullets; and, probably
even barrels of guns might also have been manufactured here.
The Sikligars, who had been associated with the Sikhs since the
times of Guru Hargobind were experts on manufacturing weapons. It is
possible that there weapons might have been manufactured since the
time of Guru Hargobind. Even today, there are several Sikligar families
living in many villages around the Lohgarh Fort Zone.
Weapon industries & Sikh Armouries were also set up in the villages
of Bhawanpur,Vansantoor & Shahjadwala (In the present Yamuana Nagar
District). The Sikh Tandas brought iron and copper ores here from Orissa
mines. Damascened steel swords were fabricated here by Sikligars.
Production of toys

Fragments of broken toys of various types (e.g. Camels, elephants,