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Wootz steel
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<p>Wootz steel is a <a href="/facts/Crucible_steel/ThwscHH3">crucible steel</a> characterized by a pattern of bands and high carbon content. These bands are formed by sheets of microscopic <a href="/facts/Carbide/xfCMTjYJ">carbides</a> within a tempered <a href="/facts/Martensite/xpSt9mna">martensite</a> or <a href="/facts/Pearlite/JLfNQB8b">pearlite</a> matrix in higher-<a href="/facts/Carbon_steel/QGYURvFA">carbon steel</a>, or by <a href="/facts/Allotropes_of_iron/deRQ3dBM">ferrite</a> and pearlite banding in lower-carbon steels. It was a pioneering <a href="/facts/Steel_alloy/DR2tGHEH">steel alloy</a> developed in <a href="/facts/Southern_India/XqkE3NdU">southern India</a> in the mid-1st millennium BC and exported globally. </p>