Iron Pillar

Iron Pillar of Delhi, situated inside the Qutub Complex, allures everyone with its mysterious iron built that has not rusted since its construction that was more than 1600 years back. In spite of being placed in open air, Iron pillar still stands sturdy, presenting an excellent example of scientific and engineering advancement in ancient India. It has become world’s one of the oldest mysteries that archaeologists and materials scientists are still trying to solve.

Iron Pillar stands majestically with a height of 24 feet. It is placed in front of the Quwwatul Mosque in Qutb Complex. Iron pillar is made up of 6 tons of 98% wrought iron, which is also attributed to be one of the reasons for why this pillar hasn’t rusted.

There used to be a popular practice where visitors would try to circle the iron pillar with their back at the pillar while trying to make their hands meet. It was believed that doing it would bring good luck to the person doing it. However, due to this popular practice lower part of the Iron pillar bore a slight amount of discoloration. Iron pillar is said to have a protective layer of passive rust on the iron which prevented rusting of the pillar; this layer was getting washed out because of visitor’s constant touch and movements. Hence, to avoid further damage to the pillar’s lower section, a fence was built around it in the year 1997.