Out of this material the famous Damascus sword-blades were made; and its use for so long a period is perhaps one of the most striking proofs of the ancient civilization of India.
The early history of iron in Britain is necessarily very obscure.

When the Romans invaded the country, the metal seems to have been already known to the tribes along the coast.

The natives had probably smelted it themselves in their rude bloomeries, or obtained it from the Phoenicians in small quantities in exchange for skins and food, or tin.
We must, however, regard the stories told of the ancient British chariots armed with swords or scythes as altogether apocryphal.

The existence of iron in sufficient quantity to be used for such a purpose is incompatible with contemporary facts, and unsupported by a single vestige remaining to our time.

The country was then mostly forest, and the roads did not as yet exist upon which chariots could be used; whilst iron was too scarce to be mounted as scythes upon chariots, when the warriors themselves wanted it for swords.