Actually, wootz steel had trace amounts of vanadium and molybdenum in it (which weren't even discovered and named by scientists until centuries later) due to the ore from which it was smelted. Then a particular crucible firing process and low-temperature forging were used to create carbide banding. The pattern is literally carbides suspended in the steel matrix, making the steel much more wear resistant than normal steel of the time. Modern steels are cleaner, more consistent, and possess a finer carbide structure which surpasses the qualities of wootz in virtually all ways save for visual appeal.
Since "damascus steel" can be used to describe both wootz and pattern-welded steel, it's common to confuse the two. Wootz was better than pattern welded steel, but neither compare to modern metals and heat treatments.
