Buffalo grinding mortar, Bombay-Date: 1870-Photographer: Unknown

Photograph of a buffalo grinding mortar at Bombay in Maharashtra, taken by an unknown photographer in c. 1870, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. This image, of a buffalo pulling a large grindstone attached to a wooden arm, was probably a print shown at an international exhibition. The buildings in the background appear to be in the Fort area of Bombay. During the 19th century mills, like the one in this photograph, produced a mixture of sand lime and water needed to make the mortar used in building construction; modern mortar is made with cement as a replacement for lime.