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This monograph posits the presence of Meluhha artisans and seafaring merchants in Dilmun and failaka. This presence explains the decipherment of Dilmun seals, Barbar temple bronze bull's head and Failaka seals as Indus Script inscriptions constituting wealth-accounting ledgers, metalwork catalogues. Dilmun and Failaka seals are archives recording trade transactions with Meluhha (Sarasvati Civilization).

Dilmun finds mention in cuneiform texts as a trade partner and as a trading post of the Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilization trade route. The bronze bull's head found in Barbar Temple of Bahrein is paralleled by the artifacts of Early Dynastic Sumer as posited by Elisabeth CL During Caspers and also by the Indus Script rebus representation of ḍhangra ‘bull’ Rebus: ṭhakkura m. ʻ idol, deity (Pkt.); Mth. ṭhākur ʻ blacksmith.ʼ Thus, the deity venerated as the bull's head is a veneration of the ancestor blacksmith who has attained divinity; hence,  ṭhakkura m. ʻ idol, deity in Meluhha (Indian sprachbund, 'speech union'). Three temples were discovered in Barbar village, Bahrein, and the oldest is dated to 3000 BCE. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbar_Temple

Map with known natural distribution of softstone (adapted from David-Cuny, H, 2012, Introduction in: H. David-Cuny and I. Azpeitia (eds.) Failaka Seals catalogue Vol. 1, Al-Khidr, 13-27, Kuwaiti City, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, p. 19)

Stamp seal no. 693. Disc profile concave, grey steatite, while-glazed. On the reverse three lines and four circles. Dia. 25 mm. A leaping lion (?) with claws, wide-open toothed jaws and sigmoid tail, followed by an antelope. Above the scene a snake with wide-open toothless jaws. The scales of the snake are indicated with close incisions from both sides. Between the lion and the gazelle a palm front. Below the lion an angular figure -- probably a crescent. (Hojlund, Flemming et al, 2005, p.115). (s)phaṭa-, sphaṭā- a serpent's expanded hood, Pkt. phaḍā id. rebus: phaḍā, paṭṭaḍa 'metals manufactory'. dhāḷ'slanted stroke' rebus: dhāḷako 'large ingot'. ranku 'antelope' rebus: ranku 'tin'.kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter' PLUS panja 'feline paws' rebus: panja 'furnace, kiln'. kudi 'jump' rebus: kuṭhi 'smelter' 

The Bull's Head from Barbar Temple II, Baḥrain A Contact with Early Dynastic Sumer

Elisabeth C. L. During Caspers

East and West

Vol. 21, No. 3/4 (September-December 1971), pp. 217-223

Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/29755698

Add caption

See:Eric Olijdam and Helene David-Cuny, 2018, Dilmun-Meluhhan Relations Revisited in Light of Observations on Early Dilmun Seal Production during the City IIa-c Period (c. 2050-1800 BCE)In book: Walking with the Unicorn. Social Organization an Material Culture in Ancient South Asia. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer Felicitation Volume, Publisher: ISMEO / Archaeopress, pp. 406-432

https://www.academia.edu/36750743/Dilmun-Meluhhan_Relations_Revisited_in_Light_of_Observations_on_Early_Dilmun_Seal_Production_during_the_City_IIa-c_Period_c._2050-1800_BC_ Abstract. This contribution brings together information on several aspects of early seal ownership and seal production during theCity IIa-c period. It shows that seals were common objects and that ownership was not restricted to specific professionsor socio-economic segments of society. Seals were made in small workshops, alongside other items of jewellery andpersonal ornaments. They were carved from exotic raw materials that had to be imported. Softstone was the mostcommon and there is mounting evidence that suggests a specific type of steatite was preferred by the ancient seal-cutters. Surface treatments were applied in order to achieve the desired effect of a shiny white seal. This dictated the preference for dolomitic steatite and limited the scope of possible alternative materials. It is suggested that the pyrotechniques that were employed and the choices that were made by the ancient seal-cutters form a technological style highly reminiscent of that of  the Indus Civilization, including some of the important  ideological associations. Thisapproach and its tentative outcomes bolster the commonly accepted theory of a westward transmission of Harappan sealing technology, which has so far been based primarily on iconographic analysis.

Dilmun seal morphology

Figure 4. Eleven seals from the workshop area in Excavation 520 at Qal’at al

-Bahrain (Kjærum 1994: figs.1726, 1729, 1731– 2, 1734 – 5, 1737, 1739, 1741 – 43)

Circular seal, of steatite, from Bahrein, found at Lothal.A Stamp seal and its impression from the Harappan site of Lothal north of Bombay, of the type also found in the contemporary cultures of southern Iraq and the Persian Gulf Area. http://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/archaeology-in-india/

http://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/shipping-and-maritime-trade-of-the-indus-people/

1. An example of Indus script glyphs used in interaction areas is the transelamite cylinder-stamp seal from Jalalabad. Enrico Ascalone provides scores of seals demonstrating interaction with Indus civilization.

   
   

   
   

   After Fig. 1 Transelamite cylinder-stamp seal from Jalalabad. Source: Archaeological National Museum of Tehran, NMI 2698. In: (Enrico Ascalone, Cultural interactions among Mesopotamia, Elam, Transelam and Indus civilization. The evidence of a cylinder-stamp seal from Jalalabad (FARS) and its significance in the historical dynamics of south-eastern Iran, in: International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East 4, 2004, Berlin (4 ICAANE). Proceedings of the 4th International Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Volume 1, Berlin, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008, pp. 255-276). "The iconographical representation (Fig. 1) shows a composite being with Mesopotamian kaunakes flanked by dragon's heads, with naked torso and unfortunately a raised face while it left up the arms ending with dragon heads; in front of him are three figures with long clothes, one of them is knelled down with up arms, two are simply bowed. A Harappan or pseudo-Harappan inscription is located in the central upper part of seal, while a globe, two three-petals vegetable elements and a eight-pointd star are depicted in the last free-spaces of cylindrical surface. On the base is depicted a single icon representing a profile head with beard and horned hat...the epigraphic evidence is related to the Harappan inscriptions corpora as known in the Indus valley and in Harappan cylinder seals found in Mesopotamia and Susiana." (ibid., p. 255)

   
   

   Enrico Ascalone provides samples of seals comparable to Indus script glyphs (ibid., pp. 267 to 276); he also explains in his article, reasons he why he finds comparable glyphic elements across indus, elamite/iran interaction areas:

   Fig. 6f: Transelamite stamp seal from Tepe Giyan Source: Archaeological National Museum of Tehran, NMI 737/6

   The three-petals of tulip shown in above examples 6a, 6c, 6f, 7a, 7g may signify: tagara ‘tabernae montana’, ‘tulip’. Rebus: tagara ‘tin’. 

4.  
5. http://www.bible-history.com/sketches/assyria/assyrian_stone_altar.html “Amongst the ruins of Khorsaba were discovered two circular altars, which are so much like the Greek tripod…The altar is supposed by three lion’s paws. Round the upperpart is an inscription, in cuneiform characters, containing the name of the Korsabad king.” 

6. (Sir Austen Henry Layard, 1849, Nineveh and its remains: with an account of a visit to the Chaldaean christians of Kurdistan, and the Yezidis, or devil worshippers, and an enquiry into the manners and arts of the ancient Assyrians, Volume 2, J. Murray, 
7. p[.469-470) https://archive.org/details/ninevehitsremain02layaiala
8. The feline paws at the bottom of the altar should be noted. In Meluhha (mleccha), Stamp seal no. 693. Disc profile concave, grey steatite, while-glazed. On the reverse three lines and four circles. Dia. 25 mm. A leaping lion (?) with claws, wide-open toothed jaws and sigmoid tail, followed by an antelope. Above the scene a snake with wide-open toothless jaws. The scales of the snake are indicated with close incisions from both sides. Between the lion and the gazelle a palm front. Below the lion an angular figure -- probably a crescent. (Hojlund, Flemming et al, 2005, p.115) 
   
   
   Feline paws shown on the Khorsabad altar are also seen on the hieroglyphs of the Elamite spinner:
   Bas relief fragment, called the 'spinner'. Louvre.
   
   
   Technical description
   Bitumen
   J. de Morgan excavations
   Sb 2834
   Near Eastern Antiquities
   Sully wing
   Ground floor
   Iran in the Iron Age (14th––mid-6th century BC) and during the Neo-Elamite dynasties
   Room 11
   Display case 6 b: Susiana in the Neo-Elamite period (8th century–middle 6th century BC). Goldwork, sculpture, and glyptics.
9. Decoding of hieroglyphs on spinner bas-relief:
   
   
   panja 'feline paws' rebus; panja 'kiln, smelter' kātī ‘spinner’ (G.) Rebus: khati 'wheelwright' (H.) kāṭi = fireplace in the form of a long ditch (Ta.Skt.Vedic) kāṭya = being in a hole (VS. XVI.37); kāṭ a hole, depth (RV. i. 106.6) khāḍ a ditch, a trench; khāḍ o khaiyo several pits and ditches (G.) khaṇḍrun: ‘pit (furnace)’ (Santali)
10. Kur. kaṇḍō a stool. Malt. kanḍo stool, seat. (DEDR 1179) Rebus: kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar, furnace’ (Santali) kola ‘tiger, jackal’ (Kon.); rebus: kolami ‘smithy’ (Te.) Grapheme as a phonetic determinant of the depiction of woman, kola; rebus: kolami ‘smithy’ (Te.)kola ‘woman’ (Nahali); Rebus: kolami ‘smithy’ (Te.) 
    ayo ‘fish’ (Mu.); rebus: aya ‘metal’ (G.)
    bhaṭa ‘six’ (G.); rebus: bhaṭa ‘furnace’ (Santali)  viciṟi fan; bīsāle fan (as the one made of areca spathe). Koḍ. bi·j- (bi·ji-), (Mercara dialect) bi·d- (bi·di-) to wave (tr.); (wind) blows, (tree, cloth) waves; grind with grinding stones.  Cf. Skt. vīj-, vyaj- to fan; vījana-, vyajana- fanning, a fan; Turner, CDIAL, no. 12043 (DEDR 5450) Rebus: bica 'haematite, ferrite ore'. kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter' PLUS panja 'feline paws' rebus: panja 'furnace, kiln'.

Dotted circle is Indus Script hypertext

dhāv, dāya 'one in dice' + vaṭṭa 'circle' rebus धावड dhāvaḍa 'red ferrite ore smelter'

धाव (p. 250) dhāva m f A certain soft, red stone. Baboons are said to draw it from the bottom of brooks, and to besmear their faces with it.  धवड (p. 249) dhavaḍa m (Or धावड) A class or an individual of it. They are smelters of iron. धावड (p. 250) dhāvaḍa m A class or an individual of it. They are smelters of iron. धावडी (p. 250) dhāvaḍī a Relating to the class धावड. Hence 2 Composed of or relating to iron. 

A bow compass to draw smallest possible circles. Hope archaeologists discover this in Sarasvati civilization sites. The dotted circle signifies Sindhi. dhāī f. ʻ wisp of fibres' Hindi. dhāv 'throw of dice' rebus: dhāū, dhāv 'mineral'.

वृत्त [p= 1009,2] mfn. turned , set in motion (as a wheel) RV.; a circle; vr̥ttá ʻ turned ʼ RV., ʻ rounded ʼ ŚBr. 2. ʻ completed ʼ MaitrUp., ʻ passed, elapsed (of time) ʼ KauṣUp. 3. n. ʻ conduct, matter ʼ ŚBr., ʻ livelihood ʼ Hariv. [√vr̥t1] 1. Pa. vaṭṭa -- ʻ round ʼ, n. ʻ circle ʼ; Pk. vaṭṭa -- , vatta -- , vitta -- , vutta -- ʻ round ʼ; L. (Ju.) vaṭ m. ʻ anything twisted ʼ; Si. vaṭa ʻ round ʼ, vaṭa -- ya ʻ circle, girth (esp. of trees) ʼ; Md. va'ʻ round ʼ GS 58; -- Paš.ar. waṭṭəwīˊk, waḍḍawik ʻ kidney ʼ ( -- wĭ̄k vr̥kká -- ) IIFL iii 3, 192?(CDIAL 12069) வட்டம்போர் vaṭṭam-pōr, n. < வட்டு +. Dice-play; சூதுபோர். (தொல். எழுத். 418, இளம்பூ.)வட்டச்சொச்சவியாபாரம் vaṭṭa-c-cocca-viyāpāram, n. < id. + சொச்சம் +. Money-changer's trade; நாணயமாற்று முதலிய தொழில். Pond. வட்டமணியம் vaṭṭa-maṇiyam, n. < வட் டம் +. The office of revenue collection in a division; வட்டத்து ஊர்களில் வரிவசூலிக்கும் வேலை. (R. T.) వట్ట (p. 1123) vaṭṭa vaṭṭa. [Tel.] n. The bar that turns the centre post of a sugar mill. చెరుకుగానుగ రోటినడిమిరోకలికివేయు అడ్డమాను. వట్టకాయలు or వట్టలు vaṭṭa-kāyalu. n. plu. The testicles. వృషణములు, బీజములు. వట్టలుకొట్టు to castrate. lit: to strike the (bullock's) stones, (which are crushed with a mallet, not cut out.) వట్ర (p. 1123) vaṭra or వట్రన vaṭra. [from Skt. వర్తులము.] n. Roundness. నర్తులము, గుండ్రన. వట్ర. వట్రని or వట్రముగానుండే adj. Round. గుండ్రని. 

Rebus readings of m0352 hieroglyphs:

 m0352 cdefThe + glyph of Sibri evidence is comparable to the large-sized 'dot', dotted circles and + glyph shown on this Mohenjo-daro seal m0352 with dotted circles repeated on 5 sides A to F. Mohenjo-daro Seal m0352 shows dotted circles in the four corners of a fire-altar and at the centre of the altar together with four raised 'bun' ingot-type rounded features.

Rebus readings of m0352 hieroglyphs:

  dhātu 'layer, strand'; dhāv 'strand, string' Rebus: dhāu, dhātu 'ore'

1. Round dot like a blob -- . Glyph: raised large-sized dot -- (gōṭī ‘round pebble);goTa 'laterite (ferrite ore)

2. Dotted circle khaṇḍa ‘A piece, bit, fragment, portion’; kandi ‘bead’;

3. A + shaped structure where the glyphs  1 and 2 are infixed.  The + shaped structure is kaṇḍ  ‘a fire-altar’ (which is associated with glyphs 1 and 2)..

Rebus readings are: 1. khoṭ m. ʻalloyʼgoTa 'laterite (ferrite ore); 2. khaṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’; 3. kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar, consecrated fire’.

Four ‘round spot’; glyphs around the ‘dotted circle’ in the center of the composition: gōṭī  ‘round pebble; Rebus 1: goTa 'laterite (ferrite ore); Rebus 2:L. khoṭf ʻalloy, impurityʼ, °ṭā ʻalloyedʼ, awāṇ. khoṭā  ʻforgedʼ; P. khoṭ m. ʻbase, alloyʼ  M.khoṭā  ʻalloyedʼ (CDIAL 3931) Rebus 3: kōṭhī ] f (कोष्ट S) A granary, garner, storehouse, warehouse, treasury, factory, bank. khoṭā ʻalloyedʼ metal is produced from kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar’ yielding khaṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’. This word khaṇḍā is denoted by the dotted circles.

Stepped cross seals with Indus Script hieroglyphs

Hieroglyph: eruvai ‘kite’ Rebus: eruvai = copper (Ta.lex.) eraka, er-aka = any metal infusion (Ka.Tu.); erako molten cast (Tu.lex.) Rebus: eraka = copper (Ka.) eruvai = copper (Ta.); ere – a dark-red colour (Ka.)(DEDR 817). eraka, era, er-a = syn. erka, copper, weapons (Ka.) The central dot in the cross (which signifies a fire-altar) is: goTa ’round’ Rebus: khoT ‘ingot’. gaNDA ‘four’ rebus: kanda.’fire-altar’.khamba ‘wing’ rebus: kammaTa ‘mint’. (s)phaṭa-, sphaṭā- a serpent's expanded hood, Pkt. phaḍā id. rebus: phaḍā, paṭṭaḍa 'metals manufactory'.

Artifacts from Jiroft.

Ivory combs. Turkmenistan.


Ivory objects. Sarasvati Civilization

Tablets.Ivory objects. Mohenjo-daro.

Ivory rod, ivory plaques with dotted circles. Mohenjo-daro (Musee National De Arts Asiatiques, Guimet, 1988-1989, , Les cites oubliees de l’Indus Archeologie du Pakistan.] dhātu 'layer, strand'; dhāv 'strand, string' Rebus: dhāu, dhātu 'ore'. dATu 'cross' rebus: dhatu 'mineral'. Thus, the message signified by dotted circles and X hieroglyph refers to dhā̆vaḍ priest of 'iron-smelters'. The aquatic duck shown atop an ivory rod is:  karaṇḍa 'duck' (Sanskrit) karaṛa 'a very large aquatic bird' (Sindhi) Rebus: करडा [karaḍā] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi) Thus, the metalworker (smelter) works with hard alloys (using carburization process). Three dotted circles: kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge'. Thus working with minerals and hard alloys for smithy, forge

Button seal. Baror, Rajasthan.

Button tablet. Harappa. Dotted circles.

Dices and chips in bone, Roman time. Gallo-Roman Museum of Saint-Romain-en-Gal-Vienne. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mus%C3%A9e_GR_de_Saint-Romain-en-Gal_27_07_2011_13_Des_et_jetons.jpg

Indus Script hypertext/hieroglyph: Dotted circle: दाय 1 [p= 474,2] dāya n. game , play Pan5cad.; mfn. ( Pa1n2. 3-1 , 139 ; 141) giving , presenting (cf. शत- , गो-); m. handing over , delivery Mn. viii , 165 (Monier-Williams)

தாயம் tāyam :Number one in the game of dice; கவறுருட்ட விழும் ஒன்று என்னும் எண். Colloq. (Tamil)

rebus: dhāˊtu n. ʻ substance ʼ RV., m. ʻ element ʼ MBh., ʻ metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour) ʼ Mn., ʻ ashes of the dead ʼ lex., ʻ *strand of rope ʼ (cf. tridhāˊtu -- ʻ threefold ʼ RV., ayugdhātu -- ʻ having an uneven number of strands ʼ KātyŚr.). [√dhā]Pa. dhātu -- m. ʻ element, ashes of the dead, relic ʼ; KharI. dhatu ʻ relic ʼ; Pk. dhāu -- m. ʻ metal, red chalk ʼ; N. dhāu ʻ ore (esp. of copper) ʼ; Or. ḍhāu ʻ red chalk, red ochre ʼ (whence ḍhāuā ʻ reddish ʼ; M. dhāū, dhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ(whence dhā̆vaḍ m. ʻ a caste of iron -- smelters ʼ, dhāvḍī ʻ composed of or relating to iron ʼ); -- Si. dā ʻrelic ʼ; -- S. dhāī f. ʻ wisp of fibres added from time to time to a rope that is being twisted ʼ, L. dhāī˜ f.(CDIAL 6773)  धाव (p. 250) dhāva m f A certain soft, red stone. Baboons are said to draw it from the bottom of brooks, and to besmear their faces with it. धावड (p. 250) dhāvaḍa m A class or an individual of it. They are smelters of iron. In these parts they are Muhammadans. धावडी (p. 250) dhāvaḍī a Relating to the class धावड. Hence 2 Composed of or relating to iron. (Marathi).

PLUS

Hieroglyph: vaṭṭa 'circle'. 

Thus, together, the hypertext reads rebus dhā̆vaḍ 'smelter'

The dotted circle hypertexts link with 1. iron workers called धावड (p. 250) dhāvaḍa and 2. miners of  Mosonszentjános, Hungary; 3. Gonur Tepe metalworkers, metal traders and 4. the tradition of  अक्ष-- पटल [p= 3,2] n. court of law; depository of legal document Ra1jat. Thus, अक्ष on Indus Script Corpora signify documents, wealth accounting ledgers of metal work with three red ores. Akkha2 [Vedic akṣa, prob. to akṣi & Lat. oculus, "that which has eyes" i. e. a die; cp. also Lat. ālea game at dice (fr.* asclea?)] a die D i.6 (but expld at DA i.86 as ball -- game: guḷakīḷa); S i.149 = A v.171 = Sn 659 (appamatto ayaŋ kali yo akkhesu dhanaparājayo); J i.379 (kūṭ˚ a false player, sharper, cheat) anakkha one who is not a gambler J v.116 (C.: ajūtakara). Cp. also accha3.   -- dassa (cp. Sk. akṣadarśaka) one who looks at (i. e. examines) the dice, an umpire, a judge Vin iii.47; Miln 114, 327, 343 (dhamma -- nagare). -- dhutta one who has the vice of gambling D ii.348; iii.183; M iii.170; Sn 106 (+ itthidhutta & surādhutta). -- vāṭa fence round an arena for wrestling J iv.81. (? read akka -- ).

దాయము (p. 588) dāyamu dāyamu. [Skt.] n. Heritage. పంచుకొనదగినతంత్రిసొమ్ము. Kinship, heirsh జ్ఞాతిత్వము. A gift, ఈవి. దాయము, దాయలు or దాయాలు dāyamu. [Tel.] n. A certain game among girls. గవ్వలాట; గవ్వలు పాచికలు మొదలగువాని సంఖ్య. (Telugu)
ஏர்த்தாயம் ēr-t-tāyam , n. < id. +. Ploughing in season; பருவகாலத்துழவு. (W.)காணித்தாயவழக்கு kāṇi-t-tāya-vaḻakku, n. < id. +. Dispute between coparceners about hereditary land; பங்காளிகளின் நிலவழக்கு. (J.)தர்மதாயம் tarma-tāyam , n. < id. + dāya. Charitable inams; தருமத்துக்கு விடப்பட்ட மானியம். (G. Sm. D. I, ii, 55.)தாயம் tāyam 

 See the dotted circle hieroglyph on the bottom of the sacred device, sangaḍa

Kot Diji type seals with concentric circles from (a,b) Taraqai Qila (Trq-2 &3, after CISI 2: 414), (c,d) Harappa(H-638 after CISI 2: 304, H-1535 after CISI 3.1:211), and (e) Mohenjo-daro (M-1259, aftr CISI 2: 158). (From Fig. 7 Parpola, 2013).

Distribution of geometrical seals in Greater Indus Valley during the early and *Mature Harappan periods (c. 3000 - 2000 BCE). After Uesugi 2011, Development of the Inter-regional interaction system in the Indus valley and beyond: a hypothetical view towards the formation of the urban society' in: Cultural relagions betwen the Indus and the Iranian plateau during the 3rd millennium BCE, ed. Toshiki Osada & Michael Witzel. Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora 7. Pp. 359-380. Cambridge, MA: Dept of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University: fig.7

Dotted circles and three lines on the obverse of many Failaka/Dilmun seals are read rebus as hieroglyphs: 

Hieroglyph: ḍāv m. ʻdice-throwʼ rebus: dhāu 'ore'; dã̄u ʻtyingʼ, ḍāv m. ʻdice-throwʼ read rebus: dhāu 'ore' in the context of glosses: dhā̆vaḍ m. ʻa caste of iron -smelters', dhāvḍī ʻcomposed of or relating to ironʼ. Thus, three dotted circles signify: tri-dhāu, tri-dhātu 'three ores' (copper, tin, iron).

A (गोटा) gōṭā Spherical or spheroidal, pebble-form. (Marathi) Rebus: khoṭā ʻalloyedʼ (metal) (Marathi) खोट [khōṭa] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge (Marathi). P. khoṭ  m. ʻalloyʼ  (CDIAL 3931) goTa 'laterite ferrite ore'.

Circular seal, of steatite, from Bahrein, found at Lothal.A Stamp seal and its impression from the Harappan site of Lothal north of Bombay, of the type also found in the contemporary cultures of southern Iraq and the Persian Gulf Area. http://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/archaeology-in-india/

http://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/shipping-and-maritime-trade-of-the-indus-people/

See: 

Dotted circles, tulips and tin-bronze revolution of 4th millennium BCE documented in Harappa Script 

http://tinyurl.com/z3x7zev 

These powerful narratives are also validated -- archaeologically attested -- by the discovery of Mohenjo-daro priest wearing  (on his forehead and on the right shoulder) fillets of a dotted circle tied to a string and with a uttarīyam decorated with one, two, three dotted circles. The fillet is an Indus Script hypertext which reads: dhã̄i 'strand' PLUS vaṭa 'string' rebus: dhāvaḍ 'smelter'. The same dotted circles enseemble is also shown as a sacred hieroglyph on the bases of Śivalingas found in Mohenjo-dar. The dotted circles are painted with red pigment, the same way as Mosonszentjanos dice are painted with red iron oxide pigment.

वट [p= 914,3] m. (perhaps Prakrit for वृत , " surrounded , covered " ; cf. न्यग्-रोध) the Banyan or Indian fig. tree (Ficus Indica) MBh.Ka1v. &c RTL. 337 (also said to be n.); a pawn (in chess) L. (Monier-Williams) Ta. vaṭam cable, large rope, cord, bowstring, strands of a garland, chains of a necklace; vaṭi rope; vaṭṭi (-pp-, -tt-) to tie. Ma. vaṭam rope, a rope of cowhide (in plough), dancing rope, thick rope for dragging timber. Ka. vaṭa, vaṭara, vaṭi string, rope, tie. Te. vaṭi rope, cord. Go. (Mu.) vaṭiya strong rope made of paddy straw (Voc. 3150). Cf. 3184 Ta. tār̤vaṭam. / Cf. Skt. vaṭa- string, rope, tie; vaṭāraka-, vaṭākara-, varāṭaka- cord,string; Turner, CDIAL, no. 11212. (CDIAL 5220)vaṭa2 ʻ string ʼ lex. [Prob. ← Drav. Tam. vaṭam, Kan. vaṭi, vaṭara, &c. DED 4268] N. bariyo ʻ cord, rope ʼ; Bi. barah ʻ rope working irrigation lever ʼ, barhā ʻ thick well -- rope ʼ, Mth. barahā ʻ rope ʼ. (CDIAL 11212).

See: https://tinyurl.com/y85goask Wealth of a nation...

Trefoil decorated bull; traces of red pigment remain inside the trefoils. Steatite statue fragment. Mohenjo-daro (Sd 767). After Ardeleanu-Jansen, 1989: 196, fig. 1; cf.  Parpola, 1994, p. 213. Trefoils painted on steatite beads. Harappa (After Vats. Pl. CXXXIII, Fig. 2) Trefoil on the shawl of the priest. Mohenjodaro. The discovery of the King Priest acclaimed by Sir John Marshall as “the finest piece of statuary that has been found at Moenjodaro….draped in an elaborate shawl with corded or rolled over edge, worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm. This shawl is decorated all over with a design of trefoils in relief interspersed occasionally with small circles, the interiors of which are filled with a red pigment “. Gold fillet with ‘standard device’ hieroglyph. Glyph ‘hole’: pottar, பொத்தல் pottal, n. < id. [Ka.poṭṭare, Ma. pottu, Tu.potre.] trika, a group of three (Skt.) The occurrence of a three-fold depiction on a trefoil may thus be a phonetic determinant, a suffix to potṛ  as in potṛka.

Rebus reading of the hieroglyph: potti ‘temple-priest’ (Ma.)  potr̥ "Purifier"'N. of one of the 16 officiating priests at a sacrifice (the assistant of the Brahman), यज्ञस्य शोधयिट्रि (Vedic) Rebus reading is: potri ‘priest’; poTri ‘worship, venerate’. Language is Meluhha (Mleccha) an integral component of Indian sprachbund (linguistic area or language union). The trefoil is decoded and read as: potr(i).

Steatite statue fragment; Mohenjodaro (Sd 767); trefoil-decorated bull; traces of red pigment remain inside the trefoils. After Ardeleanu-Jansen 1989: 196, fig. 1; Parpola, 1994, p. 213.

Role of dice in Bhāratīya Itihāsa, dotted circle Indus Script hypertexts on ivory game pieces of ANE miners 

https://tinyurl.com/y9oovmp8

Role of dice in Bhāratīya Itihāsa, dotted circle Indus Script hypertexts on ivory game pieces of ANE miners and a tribute to Dennys Frenez, István Koncz and Zsuzsanna Tóth for their brilliant archaeological insights and riveting, logically argued archeo-metallurgical analyses.

Mohenjo-daro (Ashmolean Museum), Harappa dice.. दाय 1 [p= 474,2] dāya n. game , play Pan5cad.; mfn. ( Pa1n2. 3-1 , 139 ; 141) giving , presenting (cf. शत- , गो-); m. handing over , delivery Mn. viii , 165 (Monier-Williams)

தாயம் tāyam :Number one in the game of dice; கவறுருட்ட விழும் ஒன்று என்னும் எண். Colloq. (Tamil)

Dotted circles, tulips on ivory combs signify dāntā 'ivory' rebus dhāˊtu 'ore of red colour' (Rigveda) tagaraka 'tulip' rebus tagara 'tin'

Discovery of tin-bronzes was momentous in progressing the Bronze Age Revolution of 4th millennium BCE. This discovery created hard alloys combining copper and tin. This discovery was also complemented by the discovery of writing systems to trade in the newly-produced hard alloys.The discovery found substitute hard alloys, to overcome the scarcity of naturally occurring arsenical copper or arsenical bronzes. The early hieroglyph signifiers of tin and copper on an ivory comb made by Meluhha artisans & seafaring merchants point to the contributions made by Bhāratam Janam (RV), ca. 3300 BCE to produce tin-bronzes. The abiding significance of the 'dotted circle' is noted in the continued use on early Punch-marked coins. 

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/10/vajra-six-angled-hypertext-of-punch.html Vajra षट्--कोण 'six-angled' hypertext of Punch-marked coins khambhaṛā 'fish-fin' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint'. A hypertext is orthographed with three arrows emanating from the dotted circle and three ‘twists’ emanating from the dotted circle, thus signifying six-armed semantic extensions. baṭa ‘six’ rebus:baṭa 'iron' bhaṭa ‘furnce’. kaṇḍa ‘arrow’ rebus: khaṇḍa ‘implements’  मेढा mēḍhā ‘twist’ rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ med ‘copper’ (Slavic languages) medha ‘yajna, dhanam, wealth’.  

Harappan male ornament styles. After Fig.6.7 in Kenoyer, JM, 1991, Ornament styles of the Indus valley tradition: evidence from recent excavations at Harappa, Pakistan in: Paleorient, vol. 17/2 -1991, p.93 Source: Marshall, 1931: Pl. CXVIII
http://a.harappa.com/sites/g/files/g65461/f/Kenoyer1992_Ornament%20Styles%20of%20the%20Indus%20Valley%20Tradition%20Ev.pdf

Clearly, the wearing a fillet on the shoulder and wearing a dress with trefoil hieroglyphs made the figure of some significance to the community.

"Inlaid bead. No. 53 (L445). (See also Pl. CLII,17) Steatite. An exceptionally fine bead. The interiors of the trefoils were probably filled in with either paste or colour. The former is the more probable, for in the base of each foil there is a small pitting that may been used for keying a coloured paste. The depth of the cutting is 0.05 inch. Level, 3 feet below surface. late Period. Found in Chamber 27, Block 4, L Area. The most interesting of these beads are those with the trefoil pattern, which also occurs on the robe worn by the statue pictured in Pl. XCVIII. The trefoils on both the beads and statue are irregular in shape and in this respect differ from the pattern as we ordinarily know it. (For another example of this ornamentation, see the bull illustrated in Jastrow, Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria, pl. liii, and the Sumerian bull from Warka shown in Evans, Palace of Minos, vol. ii, pt. 1, p.261, fig. 156. Sir Arthus Evans has justly compared the trefoil markings on this latter bull with the quatrefoil markings of Minoan 'rytons', and also with the star-crosses on Hathor's cow. Ibid., vol. i, p.513. Again, the same trefoil motif is perhaps represented on a painted sherd from Tchechme-Ali in the environs of Teheran. Mem. Del. en Perse, t.XX, p. 118, fig. 6)."(John Marshall, opcit., p.517)

Trefoil Decorated bead. Pl. CXLVI, 53 (Marshall, opcit.)

Hieroglyph-multiplex of dotted circles as 'beads': kandi 'bead' Rebus: kanda 'fire-altar' khaNDa 'metal implements'. Alternative: dotted circles as dice: dhāv, dāya 'one in dice' + vaṭṭa 'circle' rebus धावड dhāvaḍa 'red ferrite ore smelter'

Trefoil Hieroglyph-multiplex as three dotted circles: kolom 'three' Rebus: kole.l kanda 'temple fire-altar'. Alternative: kole.l धावड dhāvaḍa 'temple PLUS red ferrite ore smelter'.

(After Fig. 18.10 Parpola, 2015, p. 232) (a) Neo-Sumerian steatite bowl from Ur (U.239), bearing symbols of the sun, the moon (crucible), stars and trefoils (b) Fragmentary steatite statuette from Mohenjo-daro. After Ardeleanu-Jansen 1989-205, fig. 19 and 196, fig. 1

a. 

 koṭhārī ʻcrucibleʼ (Old Punjabi) rebus: kuṭhāru 'armourer' PLUS sun: arka 'sun' rebus: arka 'gold' eraka'moltencast copper'; [ mēḍha ] 'polar' star' rebus: mēḍhā, 'yajña, dhanam'

A finely polished pedestal. Dark red stone. Trefoils. (DK 4480, cf. Mackay 1938: I, 412 and II, pl. 107.35). National Museum, Karachi.

Hieroglyph: kolmo 'three' Rebus: kolimi 'smithy'; kolle 

'blacksmith'; kole.l 'smithy, temple' (Kota) Trefoil Hieroglyph-multiplex as three dotted circles: kolom 'three' Rebus: kole.l kanda 'temple fire-altar'. Alternative: kole.l धावड dhāvaḍa 'temple PLUS red ferrite ore smelter'.

Trefoils painted on steatite beads, Harappa (After Vats, Pl. CXXXIII, Fig.2)

Late Harappan Period dish or lid with perforation at edge for hanging or attaching to large jar. It shows a Blackbuck antelope with trefoil design made of combined circle-and-dot motifs, possibly representing stars. It is associated with burial pottery of the Cemetery H period, dating after 1900 BC. Credit Harappa.com

Hieroglyph markhor, ram: mēṇḍha2 m. ʻ ram ʼ, °aka -- , mēṇḍa -- 4, miṇḍha -- 2, °aka -- , mēṭha -- 2, mēṇḍhra -- , mēḍhra -- 2, °aka -- m. lex. 2. *mēṇṭha- (mēṭha -- m. lex.). 3. *mējjha -- . [r -- forms (which are not attested in NIA.) are due to further sanskritization of a loan -- word prob. of Austro -- as. origin (EWA ii 682 with lit.) and perh. related to the group s.v. bhēḍra -- ]1. Pa. meṇḍa -- m. ʻ ram ʼ, °aka -- ʻ made of a ram's horn (e.g. a bow) ʼ; Pk. meḍḍha -- , meṁḍha -- (°ḍhī -- f.), °ṁḍa -- , miṁḍha -- (°dhiā -- f.), °aga -- m. ʻ ram ʼ, Dm. Gaw. miṇ Kal.rumb. amŕn/aŕə ʻ sheep ʼ (a -- ?); Bshk. mināˊl ʻ ram ʼ; Tor. miṇḍ ʻ ram ʼ, miṇḍāˊl ʻ markhor ʼ; Chil. mindh*ll ʻ ram ʼ AO xviii 244 (dh!), Sv. yēṛo -- miṇ; Phal. miṇḍ, miṇ ʻ ram ʼ, miṇḍṓl m. ʻ yearling lamb, gimmer ʼ; P. mẽḍhā m.,°ḍhī f., ludh. mīḍḍhā, mī˜ḍhā m.; N. meṛho, meṛo ʻ ram for sacrifice ʼ; A. mersāg ʻ ram ʼ ( -- sāg < *chāgya -- ?), B. meṛā m., °ṛi f., Or. meṇḍhā, °ḍā m., °ḍhi f., H. meṛh, meṛhā, mẽḍhā m., G. mẽḍhɔ, M.mẽḍhā m., Si. mäḍayā.2. Pk. meṁṭhī -- f. ʻ sheep ʼ; H. meṭhā m. ʻ ram ʼ.3. H. mejhukā m. ʻ ram ʼ.A. also mer (phonet. mer) ʻ ram ʼ (CDIAL 10310). Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Munda.Ho.)

Trefoil Hieroglyph-multiplex as three dotted circles: kolom 'three' Rebus: kole.l kanda 'temple fire-altar'. Alternative: kole.l धावड dhāvaḍa 'temple PLUS red ferrite ore smelter'.

Trefoil inlay decorated on a bull calf. Uruk (W.16017) ca. 3000 BCE. kõdā 'young bull calf' Rebus: kõdā 'turner-joiner' (forge); kundaṇa 'fine gold'.

damkom = a bull calf (Santali) Rebus: damha = a fireplace; dumhe = to heap, to collect together (Santali)

Trefoil Hieroglyph-multiplex as three dotted circles: kolom 'three' Rebus: kole.l  kanda 'temple fire-altar'. Alternative: kole.l धावड dhāvaḍa 'temple PLUS red ferrite ore smelter'.

a. Symmetry of tigers, scorpions, lizards (KK Hall, Catalogue of Egyptian scarabs in the British Museum, Royal scarabs, British Museum, London, 1902)

 b. Seal with lion and antelope; c. Two crocodiles, two scorpions. (J. Ward, 1902, The sacred beetle a popular treatise on Egyptian scarabs in art and history, John Murray, London, 1902).Two seals of the Egyptian Museum Collection, Torino with bilateral and rotational symmetries.

From the Egyptian Museum of Torino. A cowroid seal with lentoid shape, like a cowrie shell. Dated to ca. 2200=2040 BCE.

Symmetries on seals parallel symmetries in patterns woven into textiles. Symmetries are orthographic rebus representations achieved by Indus Script Cipher with the underlying Meluhha words (of Indian sparchbund, 'speech union').

Scarab is a representation of the image of a beetle. Scarabs are a gem hut, a common type of amulet, seal or ring bezel found in Egypt, Nubia and Syria from the 6th Dynasty until the Ptolemaih Period (2345-30 BC). The earliest were purely amulet and uninscribed: it was only during the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) that they were used as seals. The scarab seal is so called because it was made in the shape of the sacred scarab beetle (scarabaeus sacer), which was personified by Khepri, a sun god associated with resurrection. The flat underside of the scarab, carved in stone or moulded in faience or glass, was usually decorated with designs or inscriptions, sometimes incorporating a royal name. "Finely carved scarabs were used as seals; inscribed scarabs were issued to commemorate important events or buried with mummies. Lapis Luzauli was a mineral often used... Over the ages, they have been used to symbolise wealth, used as currency, fashion accessory and also to serve as a form of artistic expression. Precious metals and stones were used from very earl ages as a sign of wealth and opulence. Royalty have always used Scarabs as a means for securing and consolidating wealth and even to the present day, some of the most precious pieces of jewelry are antiques. Royal jewels rank among the most expensive and luxurious assets of all times. " https://www.gemrockauctions.com/fr/learn/did-you-know/what-is-the-meaning-of-scarab

Stamp seal. Dilmun.  http://www.uaeinteract.com Mirror symmetry is achieved in two parts flanking the crucible+Sun pictograph. The antelope looking backward is clearly influenced by the Indus Script orthography. Four of two pairs of almost identical aquatic birds are shown.

“One of the biggest surprises of the excavations at Saar has been the enormous amount of glyptic material present. We have now more than 80 round stamp seals made of chlorite steatite and 300-400 fragments of seal impressions, all in the local Early Dilmun style…The seals were apparently mainly used for economic purposes, implying that much of the Saar population was actively engaged in the exchange of goods, and perhaps in their manufacture. Because all the seals and seal impressions are in the native Early Dilmun style, it also shows that most of the commerce for which we have evidence was taking place within the Dilmun polity itself. The limited range of foreign goods for which we have evidence were probably redistributed from their port of entry.” -- Harriet Crawford (1997, ibid.)

The earliest evidence of impressing carved stones into clay to seal containers is from Syria dated to 7^th millennium BCE.During the Ubaid period, designs of geometric forms expanded to include animals and human images, snakes and birds.

Stamp seal from the region North Syria, Iraq (image redrawn from M. Schoyen, Seals, at www.schoyencollection.com/index.html), dated 5^th-4^thmillennium BCE. A standing male figure is seen between two horned quadrupeds back to back and head to tail. The rotational symmetry of the animals is two-fold.

Stamp seal from Susa (image redrawn from www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/sarasvati/lapis_lazuli.htm, at the Louvre Museum). Susa is the oldest known settlement of the world, founded ca. 4200 BCE; inhabited villages of Susa have been dated to 7000 BCE. The seal depicts two goat-antelopes head to tail, and an oval at the centre. The two antelopes seem to be running on the rim of the seal. (http://www.ijSciences.com Intl Journal of Sciences, Volume 2, Issue August 2013.) 

Indus writing in ancient Near East (Failaka seal readings) 

Dotted circles and three lines on the obverse of many Failaka/Dilmun seals are read rebus as hieroglyphs:

A (गोटा) gōṭā Spherical or spheroidal, pebble-form. (Marathi) Rebus: khoṭā ʻalloyedʼ (metal) (Marathi) खोट [khōṭa] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge (Marathi). P. khoṭ  m. ʻalloyʼ  (CDIAL 3931)

kolom ‘three’ (Mu.) Rebus: kolami ‘furnace, smithy’ (Telugu) 

Thus, the seals are intended to serve as metalware catalogs from the smithy/forge. Details of the alloyed metalware are provided by the hieroglyphs of Indus writing on the reverse of the seal.
Composition of two horned animals, sitting human playing a four-string musical instrument, a star and a moon.

The rebus reading of hieroglyphs are: తంబుర [tambura] or తంబురా tambura. [Tel. తంతి+బుర్ర.] n. A kind of stringed instrument like the guitar. A tambourine. Rebus: tam(b)ra 'copper' tambabica, copper-ore stones; samṛobica, stones containing gold (Mundari.lex.) tagara 'antelope'. Rebus 1: tagara 'tin' (ore) tagromi 'tin, metal alloy' (Kuwi)    Rebus 2: damgar 'merchant'. 

Thus the seal connotes a merchant of tin and copper.

 Inventory No. 8480. A seal from Dilmun, A seal from Dilmun, made of soft stone, classified as the 3rd largest seal in Failaka Island, decorated with human and zoomorphic figures. 0.16 X 4.8 cm. Site: the Ruler's Palace. 2nd millennium BCE, Dilmun civilization [NOTE: Many such seals of Failaka and Dilmun have been read rebus as Indus writing on blogposts.]

Hieroglyphs on this Dilmun seal are: star, tabernae montana flower, cock, two divided squares, two bulls, antelope, sprout (paddy plant), drinking (straw), stool, twig or tree branch. A person with upraised arm in front of the antelope. All these hieroglyphs are read rebus using lexemes (Meluhha, Mleccha) of Indiansprachbund.

meḍha ‘polar star’ (Marathi). Rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.Mu.)
ṭagara (tagara) fragrant wood (Pkt.Skt.).tagara 'antelope'. Rebus 1: tagara 'tin' (ore) tagromi 'tin, metal alloy' (Kuwi)    Rebus 2: damgar 'merchant'
kuṭi (-pp-, -tt-) to drink, inhale. Rebus: kuṭhi ‘smelting furnace’ (Santali) 

ḍangar ‘bull’; rebus: ḍangar ‘blacksmith’ (Hindi) dula 'pair' (Kashmiri). Rebus: dul 'cast metal' (Santali) Thus, a pair of bulls connote 'cast metal blacksmith'.

khaṇḍ ‘field, division’ (Skt.) Rebus 1: Ga. (Oll.) kanḍ, (S.) kanḍu (pl. kanḍkil) stone (ore). Rebus 2: kaṇḍ 'fire-altar' (Santali) Thus, the two divided squares connote furnace for stone (ore).

kolmo ‘paddy plant’ (Santali) Rebus: kolami ‘furnace, smithy’ (Telugu)

Kur. kaṇḍō a stool. Rebus: kaṇḍ 'fire-altar' (Santali)
Tu. aḍaru twig. Rebus: aduru 'native (unsmelted) metal' (Kannada) Alternative reading: కండె [kaṇḍe] kaṇḍe. [Tel.] n. A head or ear of millet or maize. Rebus 1: kaṇḍ 'fire-altar' (Santali) Rebus 2: khānḍa  ‘tools, pots and pans, metal-ware’.

eraka ‘upraised arm’ (Te.); eraka ‘copper’ (Te.) 

Thus, the Dilmun seal is a metalware catalog of damgar 'merchant' dealing with copper and tin.

The two divided squares attached to the straws of two vases in the following seal can also be read as hieroglyphs:

khaṇḍ ‘field, division’ (Skt.) Rebus 1: Ga. (Oll.) kanḍ, (S.) kanḍu (pl. kanḍkil) stone (ore). Rebus 2: kaṇḍ 'fire-altar' (Santali) Thus, the two divided squares connote furnace for stone (ore).

kuṭi (-pp-, -tt-) to drink, inhale. Rebus: kuṭhi ‘smelting furnace’ (Santali) 

ḍangā = small country boat, dug-out canoe (Or.); ḍõgā trough, canoe, ladle (H.)(CDIAL 5568). Rebus: ḍānro  term of contempt for a blacksmith (N.); ḍangar (H.) (CDIAL 5524)

Thus, a smelting furnace for stone (ore) is connoted by the seal of a blacksmith, ḍangar :

Stamp seal with a boat scene. Steatite. L. 2 cm. Gulf regio, Failaka, F6 758. Early Dilmun, ca. 2000-1800 BCE. Ntional Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, Kuwait National Museum, 1129 ADY. The subject is a nude male figure standing in the middle of a flat-bottomed boat, facing right. The man's arms are bent at the elbow, perpendicular to his torso. Beside him are two jars stand on the deck of the boat, each containing a long pole to which is attached a hatched square that perhaps represents a banner. Six square stamp seals from Failaka have been published...It is unlikely that the hatched squares represent sails, since the poles to which they are attached emerge from vases. The two diagonal lines on the body of the boat may represent the reed bundles from which these craft were buit. See Kjaerum 1983, seal nos. 192, 234, 254, 266, 335, 367. Source: Source: Joan Aruz et al., 2003, Art of the First cities: the third millennium BCE from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art (Pages 320, 322).See also: http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.in/2012/10/kuwaiti-slovak-archaeological-mission.html

Similar readings are suggested for all hieroglyphs on Failaka seals treating them as evidences of Indus writing in ancient Near East. The suggested rebus readings for specific hieroglyphs of Failaka seals (akin to Dilmun seal readings) are listed in the following section.

Note: 

What is shown like the phase of a moon may not denote a moon but the shape of a bun-ingot. ḍabu ‘an iron spoon’ (Santali) Rebus: ḍab, ḍhimba, ḍhompo ‘lump (ingot?)’. Alternative reading: mū̃h 'ingot'. Read together with the polar star, the rebus reading is: meḍ mū̃h 'iron ingot'. [meḍha ‘polar star’ (Marathi). meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.Mu.)] The antelope + divided square is read rebus: eraka tagara kaṇḍ 'tin furnace' (merchant, damgar). The upraised arm indicates eraka 'copper': eraka ‘upraised arm’ (Telugu); eraka ‘copper’ (Telugu) Thus, the seal denotes a merchant dealing in iron, tin and copper ingots.

Rebus readings of hieroglyphs on Failaka seals (akin to Dilmun seal readings):

తంబుర [tambura] or తంబురా tambura. [Tel. తంతి+బుర్ర.] n. A kind of stringed instrument like the guitar. A tambourine. Rebus: tam(b)ra 'copper' tambabica, copper-ore stones; samṛobica, stones containing gold (Mundari.lex.) 

Skt. kuṭī- intoxicating liquor. Ta. kuṭi (-pp-, -tt-) to drink, inhale; n. drinking, beverage (DEDR 1654). Rebus: kuṭhi‘smelting furnace’. 

kolmo ‘paddy plant’ (Santali); kolom = cutting, graft; to graft, engraft, prune; kolma hoṛo = a variety of the paddy plant (Desi)(Santali.) kolom ‘three’ (Mu.) Rebus: kolami ‘furnace, smithy’ (Telugu)

khaṇḍ ‘field, division’ (Skt.) Rebus: Ga. (Oll.) kanḍ, (S.) kanḍu (pl. kanḍkil) stone (DEDR 1298). खडा  (Marathi) is ‘metal, nodule, stone, lump’. kaṇi ‘stone’ (Kannada) with Tadbhava khaḍu.  khaḍu, kaṇ ‘stone/nodule (metal)’. Rebus: khaṇḍaran,  khaṇḍrun ‘pit furnace’ (Santali) kaṇḍ ‘furnace’ (Skt.) लोहकारकन्दुः f. a blacksmith's smelting furnace (Grierson Kashmiri lex.) [khaṇḍa] A piece, bit, fragment, portion.(Marathi) Rebus: khānḍa  ‘tools, pots and pans, metal-ware’.

Allographs: Kur. kaṇḍō a stool. Malt. kanḍo stool, seat. (DEDR 1179) खंड [ khaṇḍa ] A piece, bit, fragment, portion.(Marathi) khaṇḍ ‘ivory’ (H.) jaṇḍ khaṇḍ = ivory (Jaṭkī) khaṇḍ ī = ivory in rough (Jaṭkī) kandhi = a lump, a piece (Santali.lex.) kandi (pl. -l) beads, necklace (Pa.); kanti (pl. -l) bead, (pl.) necklace; kandit. bead (Ga.)(DEDR 1215). 

Ta. kaṇ eye, aperture, orifice, star of a peacock's tail. (DEDR 1159a) Rebus ‘brazier, bell-metal worker’: கன்னான் kaṉṉāṉ , n. < கன்¹. [M. kannān.] Brazier, bell-metal worker, one of the divisions of the Kammāḷa caste; செம்புகொட்டி. (திவா.)  కండె [ kaṇḍe ] kaṇḍe. [Tel.] n. A head or ear of millet or maize. జొన్నకంకి (Telugu) kã̄ṛ ʻstack of stalks of large milletʼ(Maithili) kã̄ḍ 2 काँड् m. a section, part in general; a cluster, bundle, multitude (Śiv. 32). kã̄ḍ 1 काँड् । काण्डः m. the stalk or stem of a reed, grass, or the like, straw. In the compound with dan 5 (p. 221a, l. 13) the word is spelt kāḍ. 

Ka. (Hav.) aḍaru twig; (Bark.) aḍïrï small and thin branch of a tree; (Gowda) aḍəri small branches. Tu. aḍaru twig.(DEDR 67) Rebus: aduru gan.iyinda tegadu karagade iruva aduru = ore taken from the mine and not subjected to melting in a furnace (Ka. Siddhānti Subrahmaṇya’ Śastri’s new interpretation of the AmarakoŚa, Bangalore, Vicaradarpana Press, 1872, p.330).

meḍha ‘polar star’ (Marathi). meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.Mu.) Allograph: meḍh ‘ram’.

satthiya ‘svastika glyph’; rebus: satthiya ‘pewter’.

Skt. kuṭī- intoxicating liquor. (DEDR 1654) Ta. kuṭi (-pp-, -tt-) to drink, inhale; n. drinking, beverage,drunkenness; kuṭiyaṉ drunkard. Rebus: kuṭi= smelter furnace (Santali)

gaṇḍ 'four'. kaṇḍ 'bit'. Rebus: kaṇḍ 'fire-altar'. kolmo 'three'. Rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'.

tagara 'antelope'; rebus 1: tagara 'tin'; rebus 2: tamkāru, damgar 'merchant' (Akkadian)

The bamboo-shoot is tã̄bā read rebus: tamba 'copper'.

B. Or. bichā 'scorpion', Mth. bīch (CDIAL 12081) Rebus: meṛed-bica = iron stone ore, in contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Mu.lex.) 

bica, bica-diri (Sad. bicā; Or. bicī) stone ore; meṛeḍ bica, stones containing iron; tambabica, copper-ore stones; samṛobica, stones containing gold (Mundari.lex.)

kamḍa, khamḍa 'copulation' (Santali) Rebus:kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire altar, consecrated fire’.

mūxā  ‘frog’. Rebus: mũh ‘(copper) ingot’ (Santali) mũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced at one time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed like a four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end (Santali) Allographs: mũhe ‘face’ (Santali) मोख [ mōkha ] . Add:--3 Sprout or shoot. (Marathi) Kuwi (Su.) mṛogla shoot of bamboo; (P.) moko sprout (DEDR 4997) Tu. mugiyuni to close, contract, shut up; muguru sprout, shoot, bud; tender, delicate; muguruni, mukuruni to bud, sprout; muggè, moggè flower-bud, germ; (BRR; Bhattacharya, non-brahmin informant) mukkè bud. Kor. (O.) mūke flower-bud. (DEDR 4893)

pajhar. = to sprout from a root (Santali) Rebus: pasra ‘smithy’ (Santali)

ḍangar ‘bull’; rebus: ḍangar ‘blacksmith’ (Hindi)

ḍumgara ‘mountain’ (Pkt.)(CDIAL 5423). Rebus: damgar ‘merchant’.

kangha (IL 1333) kãgherā comb-maker (H.) Rebus: kangar ‘portable furnace’ 

गोदा [ gōdā ] m A circular brand or mark made by actual cautery (Marathi) गोटा [ gōṭā ] m A roundish stone or pebble. 2 A marble (of stone, lac, wood &c.) 2 A marble. 3 A large lifting stone. Used in trials of strength among the Athletæ. 4 A stone in temples described at length underउचला 5 fig. A term for a round, fleshy, well-filled body. 6 A lump of silver: as obtained by melting down lace or fringe. गोटुळा or गोटोळा [ gōṭuḷā or gōṭōḷā ] a (गोटा) Spherical or spheroidal, pebble-form. (Marathi) Allographs: Ta. kōṭu (in cpds. kōṭṭu-) horn, tusk, branch of tree, cluster, bunch, coil of hair, line, diagram, bank of stream or pool (DEDR 2200) Koḍ. ko·ḷi fowl. Tu. kōri, (B-K. also) kōḷi id. Te. kōḍi id. Nk. (Ch.) gogoḍi, gogoṛi cock (< Go.). Go. (Tr.) gōgōṛi, (Ph.)gugoṛī, (Y.) ghogṛi, (Mu. Ma. S. Ko.) gogoṛ id. (Voc. 1184).  Cf. Apabhraṃśa (Jasaharacariu) koḍi- id., fowl. (DEDR 2248). Rebus: khoṭ ‘alloy’ (Marathi). खोट [ khōṭa ] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge (Marathi). P. khoṭ m. ʻalloyʼ  M.khoṭā ʻalloyedʼ, (CDIAL 3931)    Rebus: khoṭ ‘alloy’ (Marathi). खोट [ khōṭa ] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge (Marathi). P. khoṭ m. ʻalloyʼ M.khoṭā ʻalloyedʼ, (CDIAL 3931)

தமரூசி tamar-ūci, n. < தமர்² +. 1. See தமர்², 2. 2. Bits of a brace; தமரில் மாட்டும் ஆணி. தமர்² tamar , n. [M. tamar.] 1. Hole, as in a plank, commonly bored or cut; கருவியால் அமைத்த துளை. தமரிடு கருவியாம் (திருவிளை. மாணிக்க. 61). 2. Gimlet, spring awl, boring instrument; துளையிடுங் கருவி. Ta. tamar hole in a plank, commonly bored or cut; gimlet, spring awl, boring instrument; tavar (-v-, -nt-) to bore a hole; n. hole in a board. Ma. tamar hole made by a gimlet; a borer, gimlet, drill. ? Ko. tav- (tavd-) to butt with both horns, gore. Tu. tamirů gimlet. Te. tamire, (VPK) tagire the pin in the middle of a yoke. (DEDR 3078) 

āˊrā f. ʻ shoemaker's awl ʼ RV. Pa. Pk. ārā -- f. ʻ awl ʼ; Ash. arċūˊċ ʻ needle ʼ; K. örü f. ʻ shoemaker's awl ʼ, S. āra f., L. ār f.; P. ār f. ʻ awl, point of a goad ʼ; N. āro ʻ awl ʼ; A. āl ʻ sharp point, spur ʼ; B. ārā ʻ awl ʼ, Or. āra, āri, Bi. ār, araī, aruā, (Patna) arauā ʻ spike at the end of a driving stick ʼ, Mth. aruā, (SETirhut) ār ʻ cobbler's awl ʼ; H. ār f. ʻ awl, goad ʼ, ārī f. ʻ awl ʼ, araī ʻ goad ʼ, ārā m. ʻ shoemaker's awl or knife ʼ; G. M. ār f. ʻ pointed iron spike ʼ; M. ārī, arī ʻ cobbler's awl ʼ.Addenda: āˊrā -- : S.kcch. ār f. ʻpointed iron spikeʼ.(CDIAL 1313) Rebus: ताम्रिकः  A brazier coppersmith (Sanskrit)

ayo ‘fish’(Mu.); ayas ‘iron’ (Skt.) Rebus: ayas ‘metal’

ḍato ‘claws or pincers (chelae) of crabs’; ḍaṭom, ḍiṭom to seize with the claws or pincers, as crabs, scorpions; ḍaṭkop = to pinch, nip (only of crabs) (Santali) Rebus: dhātu ‘mineral’ (Vedic); dhatu ‘a mineral, metal’ (Santali)

Allographs:

1.    aru m. ʻ sun ʼ lex. Kho. yor Morgenstierne NTS ii 276 with ? <-> Whence y -- ? (CDIAL 612)

2.    aru(m), eru(m), harum "branch, frond " of date palm (Akkadian) Akkadian aru/eru may be equivalent of the Hebrew 'rh 'eagle'. The concise dictionary of Akkadian (Jeremy A. Black, 2000) notes: eru, aru, also ru 'eagle'. aru 'granary, storehouse' OA, jB lex.  aru(m) 'warrior'.

Rebus: eraka, era, er-a = syn. erka, copper, weapons (Ka.) eruvai ‘copper’ (Ta.); ere dark red (Ka.)(DEDR 446). 

eraka, er-aka = any metal infusion (Ka.Tu.) Tu. eraka molten, cast (as metal); eraguni to melt (DEDR 866)

Ta. kara-tāḷam palmyra palm. Ka. kara-tāḷa fan-palm, Corypha umbraculifera  Lin. Tu. karatāḷa cadjan. Te. (B.) kara-tāḷamu the small-leaved palm tree.(DEDR 1270). karukku teeth of a saw or sickle, jagged edge of palmyra leaf-stalk, sharpness (Ta.) Ka. garasu. / Cf. Skt. karaṭa- a low, unruly, difficult person; karkara- hard, firm; karkaśa- rough, harsh, hard; krakaca-, karapattra- saw; khara- hard, harsh, rough, sharp-edged; kharu- harsh, cruel; Pali kakaca- saw; khara- rough; saw; Pkt.karakaya- saw; Apabhraṃśa (Jasaharacariu) karaḍa- hard. Cf. esp. Turner, CDIAL, no. 2819. Cf. also Skt. karavāla- sword (for second element, cf. 5376 Ta. vāḷ). (DEDR 1265) Allograph: Ta. karaṭi, karuṭi, keruṭi fencing, school or gymnasium where wrestling and fencing are taught. Ka. garaḍi, garuḍi fencing school. Tu.garaḍi, garoḍi id. Te. gariḍi, gariḍī id., fencing.(DEDR 1262)

Ko. meṭ- (mec-) to trample on, tread on; meṭ sole of foot, footstep, footprint (DEDR 5057). Allograph: meḍ ‘dance’ (Santali). mēḍamu. A fight, battle, యుద్ధము. మేడము పొడుచు mēdamu-poḍuṭsu. v. n. To fight a battle. M. meḍhā m. ʻ curl, snarl, twist or tangle in cord or thread ʼ (CDIAL 10312) మేడెము [ mēḍemu ] or మేడియము mēḍemu. [Tel.] n. A spear or dagger. ఈటె, బాకు. mēḍha The polar star. (Marathi)

 Rebus: meḍ, mẽṛhẽt 'iron'(Mu.Ho.) 

ḍabe, ḍabea ‘large horns, with a sweeping upward curve, applied to buffaloes’ (Santali) Rebus: ḍab, ḍhimba, ḍhompo ‘lump (ingot?)’, clot, make a lump or clot, coagulate, fuse, melt together (Santali)

See:

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/05/indus-writing-on-gold-disc-kuwait.html Indus writing on gold disc, Kuwait Museum al-Sabah collection: An Indus metalware catalog

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/05/see-httpbharatkalyan97.html Indus writing in ancient Near East (Dilmun seal readings)

Stamp seal with figures and animals. Steatite. Early Dilmun, ca. 2000-1800 BCE. Dia. 2.9 cm. Gulf region, Bahrain, Karrana, Bahrain National Museum, Manama

Stamp seal from Al-Khidr.

Designs of stamp seals from Al-Khidr are composed of characteristic Early Dilmun stamp seal motifs. This stamp seal depicts human and half-human-half-animal horned figures, monkeys, serpents and birds on either side of a central motif of a standard and a podium at the bottom (drawing of stamp seal impression).On the obverse of Dilmun seals from Al-Khidr are depicted human or divine figures, half human-half animal creatures, animal figures (such as gazelles, bulls, scorpions, and snakes), celestial bodies (star or sun and moon), sometimes drinking scenes and also other activities (playing musical instruments). Composition of these motifs varies from formal (with ordering the figures and symbols to clear scenes) to chaotic.   Seals with rotating designs usually bear pure plant, animal or geometric motifs. 

 Until now only one single seaal has been discovered (in 2004) which comes from a non-Dilmun cultural environment. It is a cylinder seal with a cuneiform inscription that refers to "Ab-gina, sailor from a huge ship, the son of Ur-Abba" (F. Rahman). This seal provides further evidence of the existing contacts between Dilmun and ancient Mesopotamia at the end of the 3rd- beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE.
A minor fragment of a globularly shaped metal sheet may represent a fragment of a vessel. Blades are technologically more demanding than awls and fish-hooks. A few complete pieces and some major fragments seem to represent knives and perhaps razors.Metal awls are made from thin copper rods of circular or rectangular section. Most of them have both ends pointed. A handful of pieces have simple handles from bird and mammal bones. These awls may have been used for various purposes. Large amounts of shells at the site may indicate that the awls could have served to open and take out the flesh from the shells of bivalves and gastropods.
Two tanged arrowheads have been found. From among other utensils, needles with eyes and a pair of tweezers have been uncovered. Collection of copper fish-hooks.Besides vessels, steatite was used for the production of stamp seals and small personal ornaments (pendants). Sherds of broken vessels were further used also as tools (e.g. polishers).Typical globular bowl with incised decoration (dotted-circles).Small carnelian bead (pointing to link with Gujarat as the possible source of carnelian).Net sinker (left) and limestone lid (above). The local limestone was also used for the production of working slabs, grinders and grindstones (below).Pearls were recovered from heavy residue fractions of the soil samples processed by water flotation. They almost exclusively occur in contexts dominated by mother-of-pearl shells.Stamp seal cut from shell nacre layers (above). Pendant made from a strombus shell (left). Semi-product made from an oyster shell (right).

Source. http://www.kuwaitarchaeology.org/gallery/al-khidr-finds-2.html Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission

http://darmuseum.org.kw/dai/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/loans-from-the-kuwait-national-museum/

Failaka Island is located approximately 20 km northeast of Kuwait City. The island has a shallow surface measuring 12 km in length and 6 km width. The island proved to be an ideal location for human settlements, because of the wealth of natural resources, including harbours, fresh water, and fertile soil. It was also a strategic maritime commercial route that linked the northern side of the Gulf to the southern side. Studies show that traces of human settlement can be found on Failaka dating back to as early as the end of the 3rd millennium BC and extended through most of the 20th century CE.

Failaka was first known as Agarum, the land of Enzak, the great god of Dilmun civilisation according to Sumerian cuneiform texts found on the island. Dilmun was the leading commercial hub for its powerful neighbours in their need to exchange processed goods for raw materials. Sailing the Arabian Gulf was by far the most convenient trade route at a time as transportation over land meant a much longer and more hazardous journey. As part of Dilmun, Failaka became a hub for the activities which radiated around Dilmun (Bahrain) from the end of the 3rd millennium to the mid-1st millennium BCE.

The cities of Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Harappan people from the Indus Valley, the inhabitants of Magan and the Iranian hinterland have left many archaeological traces of their encounters on Failaka Island. More speculative is the ongoing debate among academics on whether Failaka might be the mythical Eden: the place where Sumerian hero Gilgamesh almost unraveled the secret of immortality; the paradise later described in the Bible.

As a result of changes in the balance of political powers in the region towards the end of the 2nd millennium BCE and beginning of 1st millennium BCE, the importance of Failaka began to decline.

Studies indicate that Alexander the Great received reports from missions sent to explore the Arabian shoreline of the Gulf. The reports referenced two islands, one located approximately 120 stadia (almost 19 km) from an estuary; the second island located a complete day and night sailing journey with proper climate conditions. As the historian Aryan stated, “Alexander the Great ordered that the nearer island be named “Ikaros” (now Failaka) and the distant island as “Tylos” (now the Kingdom of Bahrain). Ikaros was described by the explorers as an island covered with rich vegetation and a shelter for numerous wild animals, considered sacred by the inhabitants who dedicate them to their local goddess.

After the collapse of the great empires in western Asia (Greek, Persian, Roman), the first centuries of the Christian era brought new settlers to Failaka. The island became a secure home for a Christian community, possibly Nestorian, until the 9th century CE. At Al- Qusur, in the centre of the island, archaeologists have uncovered two churches, built at an undetermined date, around which a large settlement grew. Its name may have changed again at that time, to Ramatha.

Failaka was continuously inhabited throughout the Islamic period until the 1990s. Excavations on the Island began in 1958 and continue today. Many archaeological expeditions have worked on Failaka and it is considered one of the key sources of knowledge about civilisations emerging from within the Gulf region.

Brochure at http://darmuseum.org.kw/dai/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Loans-From-KNM-Brochure.pdfFailaka geography 

The Dilmun temple on Failaka, Kuwait 

Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Volume 23, Issue 2, pages 165–173, November 2012

Failaka (also transcribed as Failakah or Faylakah, and locally known by the names Feileche, Feiliche or Feliche), in antiquity known as Ikaros was mentioned by the Geographer Strabo in ca. 25 AD and later by Arrian. It is the second biggest offshore island of Kuwait situated at the entrance to Kuwait Bay ca. 16 – 17 km far from Ras Al-Ardh in Salmiya and ca. 12 km from Ras As-Sabbiya. It blocks access to the Bay opposite the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates (Shatt Al-Arab). Failaka has attracted the attention of researchers since 1957 when Danish archaeologists first had the opportunity to study material from the island received from a member of the British political representation to Kuwait. According to the results of up-to-date archaeological research, the ancient history of Failaka goes back to the beginning of the second millennium BC – to the Bronze Age when the Dilmun cultural phenomenon occupied the western shoreline and islands of the Arabian Gulf.

The Dilmun monuments are the most significant antiquities of the history of Failaka and Kuwait. Major Bronze Age sites on Failaka are located on its south-west (Tell Sa’ad/F3; F6; G3), north-west (Al-Khidr) and north-east (Al-Awazim) coasts, one perhaps even being located in the south-east (Al-Sed Al-Aaliy/Matitah) part of the island [6,14]. During the Bronze Age the temple of the god Inzak, tutelary god of Dilmun, existed on Failaka as it is mentioned in the cuneiform and Proto-Aramaic inscriptions on vessel fragments, Dilmun stamp seals and slabs from excavations [5]. In F6, the French excavations revealed buildings interpreted as a tower temple and palace [8].

After the most flourishing Early Dilmun period (first third of the second millennium BC), Failaka remained settled until the mid second millennium, during the so-called Kassite period [13].

There is no significant evidence for the habitation of Failaka during later periods; from the Iron Age only a single jar-burial is known [7].

Another peak in the history of Failaka was the Hellenistic period when the travellers of Alexander the Great reached the island [3,9]. The Seleucids built a fort at the south-western edge of the island (Tell Sa’id/F5) and occupied also its surroundings for buildings of different purposes (F4; B6), using the ruins and suitable location of the Bronze Age Dilmun settlement. Within F5 a temple was unearthed and an important commemorative monument was found – a stone slab with an inscription mentioning Ikaros, the first historically documented name of Failaka that was given to the island by command of Alexander himself [4,9,11]. Another Hellenistic site (Tell Al-Khazneh) is situated around 0.5 km north-north-east of the archaeological sites at Tell Sa’ad wa Sa’id. This site is known as the discovery spot of the so-called Soteles stone – classical Greek dedication slab with an inscription in Greek of an Athenian Soteles and his companions to the Greek gods [2,15]. With the collapse of the Seleucid power, the Hellenistic sites at F5, F4, B6 and Tell Al-Khazneh were probably abandoned, even though F5 and B6 could have been resettled even in the post-Seleucid era during the 1st century BC [10,12,16]. From the following historical epochs, the Late Pre-Islamic Period is important for Failaka. During the 5th/6th – 7th/8th cent. AD [1] a large village existed in the middle of the island, in the location known as Al-Qusur. An agriculturally suitable area of ca. 5 km2 was settled during that time. Al-Qusur was first described and excavated by the Italian mission in 1976 [14], in 1989 the French mission discovered and excavated a church in the centre of the village [1]. This formed the focal part of a Nestorian Christian community which lived on the island. In 2006, KSAM resumed activities here and began detailed mapping and survey of the southern and south-western parts of the settlement. The inhabitants of Al-Qusur lived in farmsteads, each with a habitation and activity area. Around 140 such units have been recognized within the whole village.

The situation in the Gulf probably changed after the Early Islamic Period and from the strategic point of view it became more convenient to establish settlements not within the interior of the island but on the shoreline as it is shown by the location of the Middle and Late Islamic Period site of Al-Quraniya. Such a strategy is retained until the modern era when the northern, western and southern shorelines of the island remained or became settled in the locations Al-Quraniya, Al-Zor, Kharaib Al-Dasht, Umm Al-Dakhan, Al-Subahiya and elsewhere [14].

Referencies
[1] Bernard, V. - Callot, O. - Salles, J.-F. 1999: Al-Qusur church at Failaka, State of Kuwait, 1989. Original report translated to Arabic by Khaloud Al-Salem.
[2] Bibby, G. 1969: Looking for Dilmun. New York, 200
[3] Bibby, G. 1969: Looking for Dilmun. New York, 248 sqq.
[4] Bibby, G. 1969: Looking for Dilmun. New York, 248, 251
[5] Bibby, G. 1969: Looking for Dilmun. New York, 254, 332
[6] Callot, O. - Calvet, Y. 1999: Preliminary report on the topographical mission at Failaka, Kuwait (February 26 - March 25 1999). Unpublished report, NCCAL.
[7] Calvet, Y. - Pic, M. 1986: Un nouveau batiment de l'age du bronze sur le tell F6. In: Calvet, Y. - Salles, J.-F. (sous la dir.): Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1984 - 1985. Lyon - Paris, 13-87.
[8] Calvet, Y. - Pic, M. 1990: Un temple-tour de l'age du bronze a Failaka. In: Calvet, Y. - Gachet, J. (sous la dir.): Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1986 - 1988. Lyon - Paris, 103-122.
[9] Calvet, Y. 1984: Ikaros: Testimonia. In: Salles, J.-F. (sous la dir.): Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1983. Lyon - Paris, 21-29.
[10] Caubet, A. - Salles, J.-F. 1984: Le sanctuaire hellénistique (B6). In: Salles, J.-F. (sous la dir.): Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1983. Lyon - Paris, 73-156.
[11] Gachet, J. - Salles, J.-F. 1986: Chantier F5: Rapport préliminaire, 1985. In: Calvet, Y. - Salles, J.-F. (sous la dir.): Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1984 - 1985. Lyon - Paris, 297-333.
[12] Gachet, J. 1990: Un habitat du IIe siecle av. J.-C. dans la fortresse de Failaka. In: Calvet, Y. - Gachet, J. (sous la dir.): Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1986 - 1988. Lyon - Paris, 167-208.
[13] Højlund, F. 1987 : Failaka/Dilmun. The Second Millenium Settlements. Volume 2. The Bronze Age Pottery. Aaarhus - Kuwait.
[14] Patitucci, S. - Uggeri, G. 1984: Failakah. Insediamenti Islamici. Ricerche e scavi nel Kuwait. Rome.
[15] Salles, J.-F. 1986: Les Fouilles de Tell Khazneh. In: Calvet, Y. - Salles, J.-F. (sous la dir.): Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1984 - 1985. Lyon - Paris, 107.
[16] Salles, J.-F. 1990: Questioning the BI-ware. In: Calvet, Y. - Gachet, J. (sous la dir.): Failaka. Fouilles Françaises 1986 - 1988. Lyon - Paris, 303-334.


Research

Peter Barta and Lucia Benediková

The main focus of the Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission (KSAM) activity is the Bronze Age site of Al-Khidr on the Failaka island. In the early 2nd millennium BC Failaka belonged to the Dilmun culture spread throughout the west coast of Arabian Gulf (east Saudi Arabia up to Kuwait and the adjacent islands). With its centre on the Island of Bahrain (The City of Qala’at al-Bahrain), Dilmun is thought to have played a significant role in the sea trade between the south Mesopotamian city states, the Arabian Peninsula and civilization of the Indus valley (Mohenjo-Daro) from the late 3rd until the first half of the 2nd millennium BC.

Al-Khidr is an inconspicuous, low settlement mound in the northwest of Failaka that has been known to yield the red-ridged Dilmun pottery for at least past 50 years ([1], p. 195-212). The mound stretches along the west shore of the shallow Al-Khidr bay, which offers still waters in almost northernmost outpost of the island swept by Shamal, the principal wind of Failaka. This natural harbour is in several works suggested to have served as a port in the past (e.g. [2]) and as such is known also among the elders of the island.
The investigations of the Dilmun settlement at Al-Khidr have been carried out since 2004. Beyond excavation, the project encompasses mapping, geophysics, environmental archaeology (archaeobotany, archaeozoology, physical anthropology), GIS and digital archaeology, conservation and restoration.

The main research tasks are:

to find out the extent, development and spatial organization of the settlement,
to establish the chronology of the settlement,
to collect evidence concerning the palaeo­environment and resources of the settlement,
to elucidate the role of the site (a port?) within the Early Dilmun world on Failaka and beyond (within the Gulf region),

to trace distinctive features of the settlement and its inhabitants,
to establish a plan for the conservation and restoration of uncovered finds and in situ remains.

The Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission has also been active in surveying Failaka and in processing the obtained data for future presentation of archaeological and environmentally sites of interest. These activities were triggered by the planned governmental development project that will definitely change the character of the island and threaten known and unknown archaeological sites.

Selected archaeological sites on Failaka (Al-Quraniya, Al-Qusur, Al-Zor, F6, and Al-Awazim) were mapped and surveyed with the help of a GPS and total station. Topographic plans were prepared, the sites were photographed and surface finds were collected and catalogised. Geophysical prospection was carried out at these sites and they were also partially investigated from the point of view of environmental studies (building up of reference collections of plant macro- and micro-remains as well as animal bones) and ethnoarchaeology.

References
[1] Bibby, G. 1969: Looking for Dilmun. Alfred Knopf, New York.
[2] Patitucci, S. – Uggeri, G. 1984: Failakah. Insediamenti Islamici. Ricerche e scavi nel Kuwait. Rome.

http://www.kuwaitarchaeology.org/research.html

Failaka (also Failakah, Faylakah, locally Feileche / Feiliche / Feliche), in antiquity known as Ikaros mentioned by Geographer Strabo in ca. 25 AD and later by Arrian, is situated at the entrance to Kuwait Bay ca. 16 – 17 km far from Ras Al-Ardh in Salmiya and ca. 12 km from Ras As-Sabbiya; and blocks access to the Bay opposite the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates (Shatt Al-Arab)...

The Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission to Failaka (KSAM) was established following an original idea of Mr Shehab A. H. Shehab, Department of Museums and Antiquities Director, National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters (NCCAL), State of Kuwait. His visit to the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) Institute of Archaeology in May 2004 resulted in the agreement for a five year scientific programme signed between the National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters, State of Kuwait, and the Institute of Archaeology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Republic, in September 2004 in Nitra. The KSAM project could have not materialized and would not have taken its present shape if not for the constant and generous support of the NCCAL presided by Secretary General Mr Bader S. A. Al-Rifai, and the kindest, expeditious and effective role of Mr Shehab A. H. Shehab. Regarding the prolific and smooth cooperation with NCCAL, the help of the Secretary General Assistant for Antiquities and Museums and Engineering Affairs Sector, Mr Ali Al-Youha, must be pointed out. Without him the documentation and preliminary conservation of the site as it is being realized would hardly be possible.

KSAM has been designed as a joint Kuwaiti-Slovak multidisciplinary research project fostering international cooperation and ties between young-generation researchers. The KSAM project was developed and has been elaborated and steered by Ms Lucia Benediková and Mr Peter Barta.

As for the Slovak side, the mission has been working under the auspices of the SAS Institute of Archaeology. Thanks to Mr Karol Pieta, SAS Institute of Archaeology scientific secretary and Slovak team director, the mission has been able to take advantage of the presence of specialists in environmental archaeology and geo-disciplines that strongly cross-fertilize archaeological research. Apart from senior archaeologists and academicians, the fieldwork has very much benefited from the presence of graduates and undergraduates in archaeology and neighbouring disciplines coming from Kuwait (National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters, State of Kuwait), Slovakia (Institute of Archaeology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Nitra, and from the Department of Archaeology, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra) and Turkey (Prehistoric Section, Istanbul University). For analyses of particular material groups that require a special approach KSAM cooperates with Kuwaiti (KISR and KOC), German, Czech, Belgian, British, Polish and Turkish laboratories and specialists. In their laboratories steatites, bitumens, metals, mortars, obsidians, archaeobotanical and archaeozoological material have been analysed and investigated.

Four excavation seasons have taken place on Al-Khidr – in 2004, 2006, 2007 and by mid April 2008 the last field work season came to ist end. From 2009 onwards the material studies are scheduled that shall be concluded by a publication of the results.
Thanks to the really warm and cordial welcome of the mission by the National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters our stay in Kuwait became and remains extraordinarily pleasant and unforgettable.

Source: http://www.kuwaitarchaeology.org/index.html

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2013/06/indus-writing-on-dilmun-type-seals.html

Dilmun and Arabian Gulf seals Source: https://www.academia.edu/28814924/Dilmun_And_Arabian_Gulf_Seals_Bibliographie_1932_-_2016_with_introduction_in_Arabic_

Seals from the ancient maritime kingdom of Dilmun, believed to have stretched from Kuwait to Qatar

NEW NATIONAL MUSEUM

Two kings of the shadowy ancient civilisation of Dilmun have been named for the first time. Discoveries on the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf include recently deciphered texts that refer to a ruler named Yagli-El, the son of Rimum.

The inscriptions were discovered on stone vessels in a Bronze Age tomb dating to about 1700BC, and take the written history of the Kingdom of Bahrain back several millennia, according to the country’s culture and antiquities authority. They were written in the cuneiform script of Mesopotamia and in the Akkadian language, testifying to Dilmun’s strong links with what is now Iraq at the head of the Gulf, and the kings seem to have been of Amorite origin. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pot-fragments-seal-the-deal-on-naming-lost-kings-of-commerce-5j3hdqbm3

Mount Mashu

The sun god Shamash rising between Mashu's Twin Peaks.

To the Sumerians, Mashu was a sacred mountain. Its name means "twin" in Akkadian, and thus was it portrayed on Babylonian cylinder seals - a twin-peaked mountain, described by poets as both the seat of the gods, and the underworld .

Mashu is found in three episodes of the Gilgamesh cycle which date between the third and second millennia B.C. Mashu was located in a forest in the "land of the Living", where the names of the famous are written. It is alluded to in the episode Gilgamesh and Humbaba. In this story, Gilgamesh and his friend, Enkidu, travel to the Cedar (or Pine) Forest which is ruled over by a demonic monster named Humbaba.

While their motives for going to the Forest included gaining renown, it is also clear that they wanted the timber it contained. Humbaba, who had been appointed by the god Enlil to guard the Forest, is depicted as a one-eyed giant with the powers of a storm and breath of fire, perhaps the personification of a volcano. It is only with the help of another god, and a magically forged weapon that Gilgamesh triumphs over Humbaba.

But before his battle, Gilgamesh and Enkidu gaze in awe at the mountain called "the mountain of cedars, the dwelling-place of the gods and the throne of Ishtar". They climb onto the mountain, sacrifice cereals to it, and, in response, the mountain sends them puzzling dreams about their futures.]

Ea stands in his watery home the Apsu

Enki walks out of the water to the land attended by his messenger, Isimud

who is readily identifiable by his two faces looking in opposite directions (duality)

---

Enki stands with the Gods and the Initiate

http://www.crystalinks.com/dilmun.html

https://advertisingandromcumagun.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/ceramist-nabih-saleh-bahrain/

A sample product of ceramist nabih saleh +9739453585 :
delmon seal (kingdom of bahrain)
“drinking men” two deities drink through long tubes toward their mouth, and amid them from the top there is a stick holds three half-moon with open ends where a sun can be seen. Ritual objects indicate the religious character of the scene.
Source: karranah, state of bahrain type: late delmon civilization (2000 to 1600 BCE)

Bronze bull-head. Discovered at Saar. Bahrein.

I suggest that this bronze sculpture is signifier of a zebu read rebus in Indus Script Meluhha (Indian sprachbund, 'speech union'): poḷa'zebu'  पोळ pōḷa m A bull dedicated to the gods, marked with a trident and discus, and set at large (Marathi) rebus: poḷa'magnetite ferrite ore' .

 Copper ? Bull's head. c. 20 cm. high  After Fig. 3 in: During Caspers, Elizabeth C.L., 1971, The bull's head from Barbar temple II, Bahrain, a contact with early dynastic Sumer, East and West, Vol. 21, No.3/4, September-December 1971, p.217. The curved style of the horns becomes a way of decorating the crowns of eminent persons on Sumerian, Elamite and Mesopotamian cylinder seals.

ḍhangra ‘bull’ Rebus: ṭhakkura m. ʻ idol, deity (cf. ḍhakkārī -- ), ʼ lex., ʻ title ʼ Rājat. [Dis- cussion with lit. by W. Wüst RM 3, 13 ff. Prob. orig. a tribal name EWA i 459, which Wüst considers nonAryan borrowing ofśākvará -- : very doubtful] Pk. ṭhakkura -- m. ʻ Rajput, chief man of a village ʼ; Kho. (Lor.) takur ʻ barber ʼ (= ṭ° ← Ind.?), Sh. ṭhăkŭr m.; K. ṭhôkur m. ʻ idol ʼ ( ← Ind.?); S. ṭhakuru m. ʻ fakir, term of address between fathers of a husband and wife ʼ; P. ṭhākar m. ʻ landholder ʼ, ludh. ṭhaukar m. ʻ lord ʼ; Ku. ṭhākur m. ʻ master, title of a Rajput ʼ; N. ṭhākur ʻ term of address from slave to master ʼ (f. ṭhakurāni), ṭhakuri ʻ a clan of Chetris ʼ (f. ṭhakurni); A.ṭhākur ʻ a Brahman ʼ, ṭhākurānī ʻ goddess ʼ; B. ṭhākurāni, ṭhākrān, °run ʻ honoured lady, goddess ʼ; Or. ṭhākura ʻ term of address to a Brahman, god, idol ʼ, ṭhākurāṇī ʻ goddess ʼ; Bi. ṭhākur ʻ barber ʼ; Mth.ṭhākur ʻ blacksmith ʼ; Bhoj. Aw.lakh. ṭhākur ʻ lord, master ʼ; H. ṭhākur m. ʻ master, landlord, god, idol ʼ, ṭhākurāin, ṭhā̆kurānī f. ʻ mistress, goddess ʼ; G. ṭhākor, °kar m. ʻ member of a clan of Rajputs ʼ, ṭhakrāṇī f. ʻ his wife ʼ, ṭhākor ʻ god, idol ʼ; M. ṭhākur m. ʻ jungle tribe in North Konkan, family priest, god, idol ʼ; Si. mald. "tacourou"ʻ title added to names of noblemen ʼ (HJ 915) prob. ← Ind.Garh. ṭhākur ʻ master ʼ; A. ṭhākur also ʻ idol ʼ AFD 205.(CDIAL 5488)

About 400 seals and seal impressions of Saar, Bahrain are Indus Script signifiers of metalwork catalogues, wealth accounting ledgers.

See: 

Dilmun seals of Saar (12) with Indus Script hieroglyphs signify metalwork catalogues 

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/hfznzjl

Sarasvati civilization was a trading partner with Bahrain from 2800 to 1500 BCE.

Meluhha merchant settlements are attested in cuneiform texts in Elam and in Mesopotamia.  Thanks to Eric Olijdam who has provided an insightful monograph brilliantly collating a number of related artifacts from Ancient Near East. Some of these artifacts signify metalwork catalogues using Indus Script cipher and should be added to the Indus Script Corpora which is catalogus catalogorum of Bronze Age documented by seafaring Meluhha merchants along the Maritime Tin Route.

Circular seal of Bahrain found at Lothal. miṇḍāl 'markhor' (Tōrwālī) meḍho a ram, a sheep (Gujarati)(CDIAL 10120) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Munda.Ho.) gaNDa 'four' rebus: khaNDa 'implements' dhAtu 'strand' rebus: dhAtu 'mineral' tri-dhAtu 'three strands' rebus: tri-dhAtu 'three minerals' ALSO, dhAvaD 'strands' rebus: dhAvad 'smelter'. Thus, the seal signifies implements out of smelter for iron minerals. See: http://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/shipping-and-maritime-trade-of-the-indus-people/ (Includes article of SR Rao).

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/ant-twisted-rope-and-other-meluhha.html  Twisted rope, ant and other Meluhha hieroglyphs on Ancient Near East and Indian sea

Most of the seals from Saar are made from steatite. Seals were used to seal goods intended for seafaring trade.

Dilmun seal. Afghanistan (Sarianidi 1986a: drawing on . 231). After Fig. 14 in Eric Olijdam opcit. 

barad, balad 'bull' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin' (Marathi) dula ‘pair’ Rebus: dul ‘cast metal’. kolom 'three' Rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' Hieroglyph: dotted circles: pottal 'hole' Rebus: pota 'metal casting. పోత (p. 0823) [ pōta ] pōta. [Tel. from పోయు.] n. Pouring, పోయుట. Casting, as of melted metal. పోత pōta. adj. Molten, cast in metal. పోతచెంబు a metal bottle or jug, which has been cast not hammered.(Telugu) Hieroglyphs: dotted circle and three strands on the knob of the seal: dhāˊtu *strand of rope ʼ (cf. tridhāˊtu -- ʻ threefold ʼ RV., ayugdhātu -- ʻ having an uneven number of strands ʼ KātyŚr.)  S. dhāī f. ʻ wisp of fibres added from time to time to a rope that is being twisted ʼ, L. dhāī˜ f.(CDIAL 6773 ) Rebus: dhāˊtu n. ʻ substance ʼ RV., m. ʻ element ʼ MBh., ʻ metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour) ʼ Mn.Pk. dhāu -- m. ʻ metal, red chalk ʼ; N. dhāu ʻ ore (esp. of copper) ʼ; Or. ḍhāu ʻ red chalk, red ochre ʼ (whence ḍhāuā ʻ reddish ʼ; M. dhāū, dhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ (whence dhā̆vaḍ m. ʻ a caste of iron -- smelters ʼ, dhāvḍī ʻ composed of or relating to iron ʼ)(CDIAL 6773).

Unprovenanced Harappan-style cylinder seal impression; Museedu Louvre; cf. Corbiau, 1936, An Indo-Sumerian cylinder, Iraq 3, 100-3, p. 101, Fig.1; De ClercqColl.; burnt white agate; De Clercqand Menant, 1888, No. 26; Collon, 1987, Fig. 614. A hero grasping two tigers and a buffalo-and-leaf-horned person, seated on a stool with hoofed legs, surrounded by a snake and a fish on either side, a pair of water buffaloes. Another person stands and fights two tigers and is surrounded by trees, a markhor goat and a vulture above a rhinoceros. Text 9905 

Hieroglyphs on the cylinder seal impression are: buffalo, tiger, rice-plant, eagle, ram, hooded snake, fish pair, round object (circle), crucible, twigs as part of hair-style of the seated person.

kula 'hooded snake' Rebus: kol 'working in iron'; kolle 'blacksmith' kolhe 'smelter'

dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'

The bunch of twigs = kūdī,kūṭī (Samskritam)kūdī (also written as kūṭī in manuscripts) occurs in the Atharvaveda (AV 5.19.12) and KauśikaSūtra (Bloomsfield'sed.n, xliv. cf. Bloomsfield, American Journal of Philology, 11, 355; 12,416; Roth, Festgrussan Bohtlingk, 98) denotes it as a twig. This is identified as that of Badarī, the jujube tied to the body of the dead to efface their traces. (See Vedic Index, I, p. 177). Rebus: kuThi 'smelter'

Hieroglyph multiplexes of the hypertext of the cylinder seal from a Near Eastern Source can be identified: aquatic bird, rhinoceros, buffalo, buffalo horn, crucible, markhor, antelope, hoofed stool, fish, tree, tree branch, twig, roundish stone, tiger, rice plant.

Hieroglyph components on the head-gear of the person on cylinder seal impression are: twig, crucible, buffalo horns: kuThI 'badari ziziphus jojoba' twig Rebus: kuThi 'smelter'; koThAri 'crucible' Rebus: koThAri 'treasurer'; tattAru 'buffalo horn' Rebus: ṭhã̄ṭhāro 'brassworker'.

 This hieroglyph multiplex ligatures head of an antelope to a snake: nAga 'snake' Rebus: nAga 'lead' ranku 'antelope' Rebus: ranku 'tin'.  tuttināgamu is a Prakritam gloss meaning 'pewter, zinc'. A comparable alloy may be indicated by the hieroglyph-multiplex of antelope-snake: rankunAga, perhaps a type of zinc or lead alloy.

Two fish hieroglyphs flank the hoofed legs of the stool or platform signify: warehouse of cast metal alloy metal implements: 

Hieroglyph: kaṇḍō a stool Rebus: kanda 'implements'

Hieroglyph: maṇḍā 'raised platform, stool' Rebus: maṇḍā 'warehouse'.

dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'

ayo 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron' (Gujarati) ayas 'metal' (Rigveda)

barad, barat 'ox' Rebus: भरत (p. 603) [ bharata ] n A factitious metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c.(Marathi). 

This mkultiplx is flanked by 1. kolom 'rice plant' Rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge'; 2. kuTi 'tree' Rebus: kuThi 'smeter'. Thus the message is that the warehouse of cast metal alloy metal implements is complemented by a smelter and a smithy/forge -- part of the metalwork repertoire.

The hieroglyph-multiplex of a woman thwarting two rearing tigers is also signified on other seals and tablets to signify:

Hieroglyph: kola 'woman' Rebus: kol 'working in iron'

dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal' PLUS kola 'tiger' Rebus: kolle 'blacksmith'; kolhe 'smeter'; kole.l 'smithy, forge'. The kolmo 'rice-plant' Rebus kolimi 'smithy, forge' is a semantic determinant of the cipher: smithy with smelter.

The bottom register of the cylinder seal impression lists the products: smithy/forge forged iron, alloy castings (laterite PLUS spelter), hard alloy implements.

goTa 'roundish stone' Rebus: gota 'laterite'

dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal' PLUS rã̄go 'buffalo' Rebus: rāṅgā 'zinc alloy, spelter, pewter'. Thus, cast spelter PLUS laterite.

markhor PLUS tail

miṇḍāl 'markhor' (Tōrwālī) meḍho a ram, a sheep (Gujarati)(CDIAL 10120) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Munda.Ho.) koṭe meṛed = forged iron, in contrast to dul meṛed, cast iron (Mundari) PLUS Kur. xolā tail. Malt. qoli id. (DEDR 2135) Rebus: kol 'working in iron' Ta. kol working in iron, blacksmith; kollaṉ blacksmith. Ma. kollan blacksmith, artificer. Ko. kole·l smithy, temple in Kota village. 

Rhinoceros PLUS aquatic bird or eagle

Hieroglyhph: kāṇṭā 'rhinoceros. gaṇḍá m. ʻ rhinoceros ʼ Rebus: kāṇḍa 'tools, pots and pans and metal-ware' (Gujarati)

karaṛa 'large aquatic bird' (Sindhi) Rebus: karaḍā 'hardalloy of metals' (Marathi) Alternative: eruvai 'kite, eagle' Rebus: eruvai 'copper (red)'

Two water-buffalos flanks a hieroglyph: something round, like a seed. Hieroglyph: rã̄go 'buffalo' Rebus: rāṅgā 'zinc alloy, spelter, pewter'. What does the hieroglyph 'something round' signify? I suggest that it signifies goTa 'laterite (ferrous ore)'.

All these hieroglyhphs/hieroglyph-multiplexes are read as metalwork catalogue items in Prakritam which had tadbhava, tatsama identified in Samskritam in Indian sprachbund (speech union).

Cylinder seal-impressed jar from the 'Temple Tower', Failaka (F88.2270, Kuwait National Museum no. 5827)(Photograph by courtesy of Missio Archeologique Francaise au Kuweit; drawing after Calvet 1996: Fig. 3. After Fig. 2 in Eric Olijdam opcit.)

Hieroglyphs on this seal impression are: safflower, eagle, bull calf.

Hieroglyph: karaḍā 'safflower'.करडी [ karaḍī ] f (See करडई) Safflower: also its seed. Rebus: karaḍa 'hard alloy' of arka 'copper'. Rebus: fire-god: @B27990.  #16671. Remo <karandi>E155  {N} ``^fire-^god''.(Munda).

kōḍe, kōḍiya. [Tel.] n. A bullcalf. Rebus: koḍ artisan’s workshop (Kuwi) kunda ‘turner’ kundār turner (Assamese) 

eruvai 'eagle, a kind of kite' Rebus: eruvai 'copper'

The cylinder seal impression may be a message about the contents of the storage jar: 

copper-iron hard alloy workshop.

Thanks to Eric Olijdam who has provided an insightful monograph brilliantly collating a number of related artifacts from Ancient Near East. (Eric Olijdam, 2008, A possible central Asian origin for seal-impressed jar from the 'Temple Tower' at Failaka, in: Eric Olijdam and Richard H. Spoor, eds., 2008, Intercultural relations between south and southwest Asia, Studies in commemoration of ECL During Caspers (1934-1996), Society for Arabian Studies Monographs No. 7 [eds. D. Kennet & St J. Simpson], BAR International Series 1826 pp. 268-287). 
https://www.academia.edu/403945/A_Possible_Central_Asian_Origin_for_the_Seal-Impressed_Jar_from_the_Temple_Tower_at_Failaka In this monograph, Eric Olijdam has provided remarkable evidences for mercantile and intercultural connections in a remarkably interactive civilizational area of the Bronze Age covering the Persian (Arab) Gulf, Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) and in my view, also Meluhha since some artifacts cited seem to signify Indus Script hieroglyphs since the links of Persian Gulf sites with Meluhha are well attested by a cylinder seal impression signifying hieroglyphs: elephant, rhinoceros, crocodile (gharial):

Tell AsmarCylinder seal modern impression [elephant, rhinoceros and gharial (alligator) on the upper register] bibliography and image source: Frankfort, Henri: Stratified Cylinder Seals from the Diyala Region. Oriental Institute Publications 72. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, no. 642. Museum Number: IM14674 3.4 cm. high. Glazed steatite. ca. 2250 - 2200 BCE. ibha 'elephant' Rebus: ib 'iron' (Santali). karibha 'trunk of elephant' (Pali) Rebus: karba 'iron' (Tulu) kāṇḍā 'rhinoceros' Rebus: khāṇḍa ‘tools, pots and pans, and metal-ware’. karā 'crocodile'(Telugu) Rebus: khār 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri)

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/09/seafaring-meluhha-artisans-use-indus.html

Seals in Dilmun Society - Universiteit Leiden

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/.../ba-2011-sophietews.pdf?...1

by S Tews - ‎2012

Steatite Dilmun Seal from Saar (Crawford 2001,58) 

Decoration beside the natural volute of the shell: miṇḍāl 'markhor' (Tōrwālī) meḍho a ram, a sheep (Gujarati)(CDIAL 10120) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Munda.Ho.) sippi 'snail' rebus: s'ilpi,sippi 'sculptor, artificer, artisan'. 

sippi 'snail' rebus: s'ilpi,sippi 'sculptor, artificer, artisan'. 

 meD 'dance' meTTu 'dance step' allograph: miṇḍāl 'markhor' (Tōrwālī) meḍho a ram, a sheep (Gujarati)(CDIAL 10120) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Munda.Ho.) barad, balad, 'ox' rebus: bharat 'alloy of pewter, copper, tin'

kolmo 'rice plant' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' karNaka 'spread legs' rebus: karNI 'Supercargo'. Thus, seal of a merchant responsible for cargo from smithy, forge.

  [ karaḍū or ṅkaraḍēṃ ] n A kid. कराडूं (p. 137) [ karāḍūṃ ] n (Commonly करडूं ) A kid. (Marathi) Rebus: करडा (p. 137) [ karaḍā ] 'hard alloy' PLUS kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge'. Thus seal of an artisan working with hard alloy smithy/forge.

dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting' [ karaḍū or ṅkaraḍēṃ ] n A kid. कराडूं (p. 137) [ karāḍūṃ ] n (Commonly करडूं ) A kid. (Marathi) Rebus: करडा (p. 137) [ karaḍā ] 'hard alloy' PLUS hieroglyph: twig: kūdī,kūṭī (Samskritam)kūdī (also written as kūṭī in manuscripts) occurs in the Atharvaveda (AV 5.19.12) and KauśikaSūtra (Bloomsfield'sed.n, xliv. cf. Bloomsfield, American Journal of Philology, 11, 355; 12,416; Roth, Festgrussan Bohtlingk, 98) denotes it as a twig. This is identified as that of Badarī, the jujube tied to the body of the dead to efface their traces. (See Vedic Index, I, p. 177). Rebus: kuThi 'smelter'. Thus the seal signifies a smelter for hard alloy.

gaNDa 'four' rebus: khaNDa 'implements'  ḍato = claws of crab (Santali); dhātu = mineral (Skt.). Thus, metal ore implements.

[ karaḍū or ṅkaraḍēṃ ] n A kid. कराडूं (p. 137) [ karāḍūṃ ] n (Commonly करडूं ) A kid. (Marathi) Rebus: करडा (p. 137) [ karaḍā ] 'hard alloy' PLUS kuDi 'drink' rebus: kuThi 'smelter' kANDa 'water' rebus: khaNDa 'implements' karaḍā 'safflower'.करडी [ karaḍī ] f (See करडई) Safflower: also its seed. Rebus: karaḍa 'hard alloy' of arka 'copper'. Rebus: fire-god: @B27990.  #16671. Remo <karandi>E155  {N} ``^fire-^god''.(Munda). Thus, smelter for hard alloy and implements.

कमठ [p= 252,1] m. ( Un2. i , 102) a tortoise BhP. Pan5cat. &c rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage' krammara 'turn back' rebus: kamar 'artisan, smith' PLUS [ karaḍū or ṅkaraḍēṃ ] n A kid. कराडूं (p. 137) [ karāḍūṃ ] n (Commonly करडूं ) A kid. (Marathi) Rebus: करडा (p. 137) [ karaḍā ] 'hard alloy' kaNDA 'arrow' rebus:khaNDa 'implements' Thus, artisan working with hard alloy and implements in a mint, coinage, a coiner.

karNaka 'spreadlegs' rebus: karNI 'Supercargo' krammara 'turn back' rebus: kamar 'artisan, smith' PLUS [ karaḍū or ṅkaraḍēṃ ] n A kid. कराडूं (p. 137) [ karāḍūṃ ] n (Commonly करडूं ) A kid. (Marathi) Rebus: करडा (p. 137) [ karaḍā ] 'hard alloy' कमठ [p= 252,1] m. ( Un2. i , 102) a tortoise BhP. Pan5cat. &c rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'. Thus, artisan working with hard alloy and implements in a mint, coinage, a coiner. He is also Supercago responsible for cargo of shipment on a seafaring vessel.

See: 

Dilmun seal, 3 men in a boat kolom 'three' rebus kolimi 'smithy, forge' meD 'dance-step two men holding ingot dul mẽṛhẽt 'cast iron' muh 'ingot'. 

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/hmbnjgf

Thanks to Vidale et al for the focus on 3 seals from Dilmun. I suggest that the narratives are NOT related to slave trade but signifiers of cargo of tin and copper for smithy/forge. This suggestion is based on Meluhha hypertext readings of Harappa Script hieroglyphs.

Vidale, Frenez & David-Cuny 2016 - Three men in a boat. The seal of a Dilmunite slave trader? in: Seminar for Arabian Studies, British Museum, London

https://www.academia.edu/29296660/Vidale_Frenez_and_David-Cuny_2016_-_Three_men_in_a_boat._The_seal_of_a_Dilmunite_slave_trader_

Four horizontal lines across the lower legs of the two human figures are a hieroglyph: gaṇḍa 'four' rebus:kaṇḍa 'implements'.

The large step of the third person with a leg above the stern is a signifier of a dance step: meḍ 'step, dance step' rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' med 'copper' (Slavic languages).

The oval object held by the two seated persons could be an ingot. Two is a hieroglyph: dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting'. Thus, what is held by the two is dul mẽṛhẽt 'cast iron' mũh 'ingot'.

Santali glosses

An Early Dilmun Period (2000-1900 B.C.) stamp seal from Saar, Bahrain.(Courtesy of London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition and Robert Killick. ṛanku, ranku = fornication, adultery (Telugu); rebus: ranku 'tin' (Santali) kamaṭha 'turtle' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint, coiner,coinage'. kāṇḍa, kã̄ṛ ʻstalk, arrow ʼ(CDIAL 3023).Rebus: kāṇḍa,'implements'  Thus, the seal message: tin,mint implements.

S. Kalyanaraman, D. Litt.

Sarasvati Research Centre 15 Jan. 2019

TRIANGULAR STAMP SEALS FROM ARABIAN GULF, ONCE AGAIN

E.C.L. During Caspers

Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies

Vol. 24, Proceedings of the Twenty Seventh SEMINAR FOR ARABIAN STUDIES held at London on 22-24 July 1993 (1994), pp. 97-114 (18 pages)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41223411

Dilmun revisited: excavations at Saar, Bahrain