Indus Script: Famous Mesopotamian Round Seal with Indus Signs Deciphered

by Sandira Segaran

After ninety years of research on Indus Script, which still remains undeciphered, there now seems to be a consensus amongst the scholars on the direction of writing as from right-to-left.
Almost all scholars agree that combination of signs in Indus inscriptions follow certain patterns; any particular sign is followed only by another sign belonging to a pre-defined set.
I have recently developed a software program to analyze the Indus inscriptions and to generate concordance tables satisfying pre-formulated criteria. After generating concordance tables relating to the juxtapositions of two or more Indus signs, I drew up a short list of inscriptions with unusual sign patterns. Those are mostly inscriptions found on seals excavated in near eastern sites. One of them is the famous Mesopotamian circular seal with Indus signs.
I have since discovered a possible interpretation to this inscription using Dravidian based phonetic syllables. It invokes the Sumerian Mother Goddess and Protector of Ur, Inanna.

36 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 7, 2014