ARCHAEOMETALLURGY · MATERIALS · AI-BASED 3D RECONSTRUCTION
Archaeometallurgy Arm of the Department of
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli
Materials characterisation.
Process–microstructure analysis.
AI-assisted 3D reconstruction.
ABOUT MAYON PADAI
National Education Policy (NEP2020) in Section 11 – Towards a More Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education – recommends that:
‘A holistic and multidisciplinary education, as described so beautifully in India’s past, is indeed what is needed for the education of India to lead the country into the 21st century and the fourth industrial revolution. Even engineering institutions, such as IITs and NITs (added for inclusivity), will move towards more holistic and multidisciplinary education with more arts and humanities.’
Rarely does a technical course or research area offer an opportunity to involve arts and/or humanities. However, archaeometallurgy is an exception. Realising this foundational intersection and the vision emphasised in our NEP2020, the archaeometallurgical wing referred to as MAYON PADAI is formed. This group is associated with the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, and is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of ancient metallurgical technologies, archaeological materials, technological heritage, and digital reconstruction. Attempts are made to bring together expertise from metallurgy, materials science, archaeology, scientific characterization, artificial intelligence, computational modelling, and 3D reconstruction.
OUR VISION
Exclusively through the facts generated by the comprehensive analysis of artefacts, MAYON PADAI envisions advancing the understanding of ancient technologies and offering its insights to current progress.
MAYON PADAI intends to coordinate with various archaeological operations across our NATION and provide complete support in the thorough analysis of the excavated artefacts, including composition, microstructure, morphology, and manufacturing evidence. We combine interdisciplinary analysis and computational methods to interpret production technologies and reconstruct plausible forms of incomplete artefacts.
OUR RESEARCH
Experimental evidence.
Computational interpretation.
PROCESS ANALYSIS
Ferrous and non-ferrous systems: evaluating evidence of smelting, refining, casting, forging and alloying.
MATERIALS CHARACTERISATION
Composition, phases, microstructure and porosity: investigating relationships between material features and processing.
COMPUTATIONAL METHODS
Computer vision, geometric analysis and AI-assisted modelling to analyse features and estimate plausible missing geometry.
Reconstruction protocol: distinguish measured geometry, scientific interpretation and hypothesised features; validate against available evidence.
OUR TEAM
Assistant Professor
Coordinator
Assistant Professor
Characterisation Lead
Research Scholar
Metallurgical Analysis of Non-Ferrous Artefacts
Research Scholar
Metallurgical Analysis of Ferrous Artefacts
Research Scholar
AI-Based 3D Reconstruction of Archaeological Artefacts
M.S scholar(part time)
Material Characterization
RESEARCH COLLABORATOR
Indian Archaeologist
Retired Professor of Maritime History and Marine Archaeology
Former Coordinator, Centre for Indian Ocean Studies, Tamil University, Thanjavur
Contributing archaeological context and comparative evidence to the interpretation of manufacturing technologies and material culture.
GALLERY
On 24 October 2026, the Mayon Padai team, along with B.Tech and M.Tech students and PhD scholars from the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, participated in a heritage walk organised by Tamil Mandram. The visit covered the ancient burial site at Sengalur, the rock-cut temples, and the Jain heritage site at Malaiyadipatti.
Understanding Our History through Archaeometallurgy
