https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus

See: Ancient maritime trade from India. Druids' Gundestrup cauldron with Indus Script Hypertexts metalwork wealth ledgers https://tinyurl.com/y7zjczbu 

In the Indus Script tradition, elephant and boar are associated with the iconographies of Ganesa and Varaha. Ganesa signifies the leader of the gana or metalwork artisan guilds. ibha, karibha 'elephant' rebus: ib, karba 'iron'; badhi 'boar' rebus: badhi 'worker in iron and wood'; vADhI 'merchant'. Both are also associated with music and dance in sculptural friezes.

 Kanchipuram Kailasanatha temple.  Dancing gana, including Ganesa and Varaha.

This monograph posits posited that this cluster of hieroglyphs on Orpheus mosaics is a memory of links with Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization? Orpheus as a lyre player is also reminiscent of the नाचण्याचा फड A nachhouse, गाण्याचा or 

ख्यालीखुशालीचा फड A singingshop or merriment shop. The word expresses freely Gymnasium or arena, circus, club-room, debating-room, house or room or stand for idlers, newsmongers, gossips, scamps &c. फड phaḍa m ( H) A place of public business or public resort; as a court of justice, an exchange, a mart, a counting-house, a custom-house, metals manufactory or workshop; Ta. paṭṭaṭai, paṭṭaṟai anvil, smithy, forge. Ka. paṭṭaḍe, paṭṭaḍi anvil, workshop. Te. paṭṭika, paṭṭeḍa anvil; paṭṭaḍa workshop. (DEDR 3865) The image of a lyre links with the related semantics: tanbura 'lyre, harp' rebus: tambra 'copper'. See: Indus Script Civilizational journey of tambur, 'lute'. Hebrew kinnōr 'harp' , kinnara 'musical instrument, celestial choristers' 

The Hecate Chiaramonti, a Roman sculpture of triple Hecate, after a Hellenistic original (Museo Chiaramonti, Vatican Museums) Symbol: Paired torches, dogs, serpents, keys, polecat, daggers, and Hecate's wheel.

The coins of Agathocles of Bactria (ruled 190-180 BCE), show Zeus holding Hecate in his hand.

Juniper wood Hekataion. Ptolemaic Egypt, c. 304–30 BCE.

Gilt bronze Hekataion, 1st century AD. Musei Capitolini, Rome.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus

Shahba Museum, Shahba. ca. 4th cn. CE. The bard Orpheus charms wild beasts with the music of his lyre. The creatures include an eagle, peacock, serpent, swan, bull, leopard, goat, deer, hare, lion, griffin (eagle-headed and winged lion), et. al.https://www.theoi.com/Gallery/Z49.2.html 

Urfa Man, Pre-Pottery Neolithic, circa 9000 BC. Şanlıurfa Museum

https://tinyurl.com/unbualy

Harp, tantiburra, tambur, BAN.TUR (Sumerian) is an Indus Script hypertext. 

The association of harp hieroglyph with animal heiroglyphs is further explained using scores of ANE Indus Script inscriptions which are explained as rebus Meluhha expressions related to metalwork and creation of metal artifacts by guilds of artisans. Let us take an example of Urukean auditory information (heard from the lyre/harp shown on the cylinder seal impression. I suggest that the cylinder seal is a wealth-production accounting ledger in Meluhha Indus Script cipher.

A bronze four sided stand showing a man carrying a copper ox-hide ingot and tree. 12th Century BC, possibly from Kourion, British Museum. The same stand also portrays a lyre-player. "There is evidence to suggest that copper was initially smelted into rough products - bars and ox-hide ingots - close to the mines.  This was then transported for further refinement and working to the coastal settlements. Ceremonial bronze stand, possibly Kourion, Cyprus. Shows a man carrying an oxhide ingot towards a tree, and another playing a Lyre. "Bronze tools and weapons were cast in double moulds. The cire perdue process was evidently employed for the sockets of the fine decorated spear-heads of the Late Minoan period. Copper was available in some parts of Crete, notably in the Asterousi mountains which border the Mesara plain on the south, but it may have been imported from Cyprus as well. The standard type of ingot found throughout the East Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age was about two or three feet long, with inward-curving sides and projections for a man to grasp as he carried it on his shoulder. Smaller bun-shaped ingots were also in use." (Sinclair Hood, 1971, The Minoans: Crete in the Bronze Age, Thames and Hudson, p. 106)

Oxhide ingot in Indus Script is signified by the word: ḍhālako  'a large metal ingot' (Gujarati) This shape of ingot is sshown on a Mohenjo-daro seal with a boat carrying a pair of such ingots. dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting'. Thus,metal casting ingots. The association of the lyre-player or harpist with the person carrying an ox-hide ingot is significant. This lyre-player signifies: tanbura 'harp' rebus: tambra 'copper'. Thus, the oxhide ingot is a large copper ingot. Tamar (Hebrew: תמר ) is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "date" (the fruit), "date palm" or just "palm tree" Renis" tambra 'copper' as signified by the two palm trees on the Mohenjo-daro boat tablet which carried a consignment of oxhide ingots. An alternative is that the palm tree hieroglyph: ताल् m. the palmyra tree or fan palm, Borassus flabelliformis. (Kashmiri) Rebus: ḍhālako  'a large metal ingot' (Gujarati) The pair of bird hieroglyphs flanking the pair of oxhide ingots on the boat: Pa. kāraṇḍava -- m. ʻ a kind of duck ʼ; Pk. kāraṁḍa -- , °ḍaga -- , °ḍava -- m. ʻ a partic. kind of bird ʼ Rebus: karaDa 'hard alloy'. 

Hieroglyph: tantiburra, tambura 'lyre, harp, string musical instrument' rebus: tambra 'copper'. Tamba (nt.) [Sk. tāmra, orig. adj.=dark coloured, leaden; cp. Sk. adj. taŋsra id., to tama] copper ("the dark metal"); usually in combinations, signifying colour of or made of (cp. loha bronze), e. g. lākhātamba (adj.) Th 2, 440 (colour of an ox); ˚akkhin Vv 323 (timira˚) Sdhp 286; ˚nakhin J vi.290; ˚nettā (f.) ibid.; ˚bhājana DhA i.395; ˚mattika 

DhA iv.106; ˚vammika DhA iii.208; ˚loha PvA 95 (=loha).(Pali)  tāmrá ʻ dark red, copper -- coloured ʼ VS., n. ʻ copper ʼ Kauś., tāmraka -- n. Yājñ. [Cf. tamrá -- . -- √tam?]Pa. tamba -- ʻ red ʼ, n. ʻ copper ʼ, Pk. taṁba -- adj. and n.; Dm. trāmba -- ʻ red ʼ (in trāmba -- lac̣uk ʻ raspberry ʼ NTS xii 192); Bshk. lām ʻ copper, piece of bad pine -- wood (< ʻ *red wood ʼ?); Phal. tāmba ʻ copper ʼ (→ Sh.koh. tāmbā), K. trām m. (→ Sh.gil. gur. trām m.), S. ṭrāmo m., L. trāmā, (Ju.) tarāmã̄ m., P. tāmbā m., WPah. bhad. ṭḷām n., kiũth. cāmbā, sod. cambo, jaun. tã̄bō, Ku. N. tāmo (pl. ʻ young bamboo shoots ʼ), A. tām, B. tã̄bā, tāmā, Or. tambā, Bi tã̄bā, Mth. tām, tāmā, Bhoj. tāmā, H. tām in cmpds., tã̄bā, tāmā m., G. trã̄bũ, tã̄bũ n.;M. tã̄bẽ n. ʻ copper ʼ, tã̄b f. ʻ rust, redness of sky ʼ; Ko. tāmbe n. ʻ copper ʼ; Si. tam̆ba adj. ʻ reddish ʼ, sb. ʻ copper ʼ, (SigGr) tam, tama. -- Ext. -- ira -- : Pk. taṁbira -- ʻ coppercoloured, red ʼ, L. tāmrā ʻ copper -- coloured (of pigeons) ʼ; -- with -- ḍa -- : S. ṭrāmiṛo m. ʻ a kind of cooking pot ʼ, ṭrāmiṛī ʻ sunburnt, red with anger ʼ, f. ʻ copper pot ʼ; Bhoj. tāmrā ʻ copper vessel ʼ; H. tã̄bṛā, tāmṛā ʻ coppercoloured, dark red ʼ, m. ʻ stone resembling a ruby ʼ; G. tã̄baṛ n., trã̄bṛī, tã̄bṛī f. ʻ copper pot ʼ; OM. tāṁbaḍā ʻ red ʼ. -- X trápu -- q.v.

tāmrika -- ; tāmrakāra -- , tāmrakuṭṭa -- , *tāmraghaṭa -- , *tāmraghaṭaka -- , tāmracūḍa -- , *tāmradhāka -- , tāmrapaṭṭa -- , tāmrapattra -- , tāmrapātra -- , *tāmrabhāṇḍa -- , tāmravarṇa -- , tāmrākṣa -- .Addenda: tāmrá -- [< IE. *tomró -- T. Burrow BSOAS xxxviii 65] S.kcch. trāmo, tām(b)o m. ʻ copper ʼ, trāmbhyo m. ʻ an old copper coin ʼ; WPah.kc. cambo m. ʻ copper ʼ, J. cāmbā m., kṭg. (kc.) tambɔ m. (← P. or H. Him.I 89), Garh. tāmu, tã̄bu.

tāmrakāra m. ʻ coppersmith ʼ lex. [tāmrá -- , kāra -- 1]Or. tāmbarā ʻ id. ʼ.

tāmrakuṭṭa m. ʻ coppersmith ʼ R. [tāmrá -- , kuṭṭa -- ]

N. tamauṭe, tamoṭe ʻ id. ʼ.

Addenda: tāmrakuṭṭa -- : Garh. ṭamoṭu ʻ coppersmith ʼ; Ko. tāmṭi.

tāraká -- 1 see tārā -- Add2.

*tāmraghaṭa ʻ copper pot ʼ. [tāmrá -- , ghaṭa -- 1]

Bi. tamheṛī ʻ round copper vessel ʼ; -- tamheṛā ʻ brassfounder ʼ der. *tamheṛ ʻ copper pot ʼ or < next?

 *tāmraghaṭaka ʻ copper -- worker ʼ. [tāmrá -- , ghaṭa -- 2]

Bi. tamheṛā ʻ brass -- founder ʼ or der. fr. *tamheṛ see prec.

 tāmracūḍa ʻ red -- crested ʼ MBh., m. ʻ cock ʼ Suśr. [tāmrá -- , cūˊḍa -- 1]

Pa. tambacūḷa -- m. ʻ cock ʼ, Pk. taṁbacūla -- m.; -- Si. tam̆basiluvā ʻ cock ʼ (EGS 61) either a later cmpd. (as in Pk.) or ← Pa.

 *tāmradhāka ʻ copper receptacle ʼ. [tāmrá -- , dhāká -- ]

Bi. tamahā ʻ drinking vessel made of a red alloy ʼ.

 tāmrapaṭṭa m. ʻ copper plate (for inscribing) ʼ Yājñ. [Cf. tāmrapattra -- . -- tāmrá -- , paṭṭa -- 1]

M. tã̄boṭī f. ʻ piece of copper of shape and size of a brick ʼ.

tāmrapattra n. ʻ copper plate (for inscribing) ʼ lex. [Cf. tāmrapaṭṭa -- . -- tāmrá -- , páttra -- ]

Ku.gng. tamoti ʻ copper plate ʼ.

tāmrapātra n. ʻ copper vessel ʼ MBh. [tāmrá -- , pāˊtra -- ]

Ku.gng. tamoi ʻ copper vessel for water ʼ.

*tāmrabhāṇḍa ʻ copper vessel ʼ. [tāmrá -- , bhāṇḍa -- 1]

Bhoj. tāmaṛā, tāmṛā ʻ copper vessel ʼ; G. tarbhāṇũ n. ʻ copper dish used in religious ceremonies ʼ (< *taramhã̄ḍũ).

 tāmravarṇa ʻ copper -- coloured ʼ TĀr. [tāmrá -- , várṇa -- 1]

Si. tam̆bavan ʻ copper -- coloured, dark red ʼ (EGS 61) prob. a Si. cmpd.

 tāmrākṣa ʻ red -- eyed ʼ MBh. [tāmrá -- , ákṣi -- ]

Pa. tambakkhin -- ; P. tamak f. ʻ anger ʼ; Bhoj. tamakhal ʻ to be angry ʼ; H. tamaknā ʻ to become red in the face, be angry ʼ.

tāmrika ʻ coppery ʼ Mn. [tāmrá -- ]

Pk. taṁbiya -- n. ʻ an article of an ascetic's equipment (a copper vessel?) ʼ; L. trāmī f. ʻ large open vessel for kneading bread ʼ, poṭh. trāmbī f. ʻ brass plate for kneading on ʼ; Ku.gng. tāmi ʻ copper plate ʼ; A. tāmi ʻ copper vessel used in worship ʼ; B. tāmī, tamiyā ʻ large brass vessel for cooking pulses at marriages and other ceremonies ʼ; H. tambiyā m. ʻ copper or brass vessel ʼ.(CDIAL 5779 to 5792).

Hieroglyph: tambura 'lyre, harp, string musical instrument'  Rebus: tambra 'copper', tāmbarā 'coppersmith' (Oriya)

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https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-boat-shaped-lyre/

Sumerian bas relief depicting musicians playing various instruments. The steatite relief was excavated at ancient Adab, a city of ancient Sumer. The bas relief dates back to around 3000 BC. There are two harp players, a drummer, a trumpet player, and a conducter with a leaf baton.
http://www.bible-history.com/studybible/Genesis/4/8/

https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-musical-instruments-from-ur-and-ancient-mesopotamian-music/
Mosaic panel (the 'Royal Standard of Ur') from Ur, ca. 2450 BCE (Rashid 1984: 45 Abb.12; Woolley 1934: pl. 91)

The association of 'harp' with a one-horned young bull is seen on this frieze from Ur.  kundār ‘young bull' rebus: kundār ‘turner’ kundaṇa 'fine gold' Rebus2: konda 'kiln, furnace' (Kashmiri) singhin 'forward thrusting, spiny horned' Rebus: singin 'ornament gold'. Thus, the harp which signifies 'copper' is associated with furnace for ornament and fine gold. 

From the Standard of Ur.

This silver lyre from ancient Mesopotamia is over 4,500 years old. Music was an important aspect of many celebrations and rituals.

https://twitter.com/britishmuseum/status/931562221209047042

Bull-headed harp with inlaid sound box, from the tomb of Pu-abi (tomb 800), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600-2400 BCE.  Wood, gold, lapis lazuli, red limestone, and shell, 3′ 8 1/8″ high.  British Museum, London.

Plate XXXIII

Plate XXXIV. Fig. 1

Music stele: tanbūra, tambura 'lyre' Rebus: tambra 'copper' (Santali) ḍangar ‘bull’; rebus: ḍangar‘blacksmith’ (Hindi)
Banquet plaque. The top register of this plaque shows a seated man and woman celebrating an unidentified event or ritual by participating in a banquet. Two servants attend them while others bring a jar (probably filled with beer), an animal to be slaughtered, and other edibles carried in bundles on their heads. Musicians and dancers in the bottom register add to the festivities.

http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Sumer_Iraq_1.htm

The ‘Boat-Shaped’ Lyre Restudy of a Unique Musical Instrument from Ur By: Maude de Schauensee Expedition, Volume 40, Issue 2

Composition of two horned animals, sitting human playing a four-string musical instrument, a star and a moon.

Hieroglyph: A. damrā ʻ young bull ʼ, dāmuri ʻ calf ʼ; B. dāmṛā ʻ castrated bullock ʼ; Or. dāmaṛī ʻ heifer ʼ, dāmaṛiā ʻ bullcalf, young castrated bullock ʼ, dāmuṛ, °ṛi ʻ young bullock ʼ.Addenda: damya -- : WPah.kṭg. dām m. ʻ young ungelt ox ʼ.damya ʻ tameable ʼ, m. ʻ young bullock to be tamed ʼ Mn. [~ *dāmiya -- . -- √dam] Pa. damma -- ʻ to be tamed (esp. of a young bullock) ʼ; Pk. damma -- ʻ to be tamed ʼ; S. ḍ̠amu ʻ tamed ʼ; -- ext. -- ḍa -- : (CDIAL 6184) Semantic Echo: బుర్రి burri burri. [Tel.] n. A heifer or young cow. (Telugu) 

tagara 'antelope'. Rebus 1: tagara 'tin' (ore) tagromi 'tin, metal alloy' (Kuwi) dhangar 'bull' Rebus 2: damgar 'merchant'. dhangar 'blacksmith'
*dab ʻ a noise ʼ. [Onom.]P. dabaṛ -- dabaṛ ʻ with the sound of heavy and noisy steps ʼ; N. dabdab ʻ mud ʼ; H. dabdabā m. ʻ noise ʼ; M. dabdab ʻ noise of a slack drum ʼ.(CDIAL 6170)

Hieroglyph: harp: tambur

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.)   

Thus the seal connotes a merchant of copper.

"These exchanges would have led to lengthy arguments carried out in various dialects. At best, the deals ended in banquets and at worst, in blood feuds. History abounds with trade arguments leading to wars. A bloody massacre such as that at Tell Brak would have led to the antagonists finding ways to appease tension during negotiations. Urukeans developed one of the most subtle and ancient arts as a possible solution. This is substantiated by the emergence of harps fitted with three or four strings, as depicted on a fourth millennium seal impression from Choga Mish, east of Uruk in Elam, in modern south-west Iran (Fig. 3). The seal depicts a four-string arched harp played by a seated person, while two others beat a drum, a bowl-drum and clappers. (Dubé, L.; Chebat, J.-C.; Morin, S., ‘The effects of background music on consumers desire to affiliate in buyer-seller interactions.’ Psychology and Marketing. Vol. 12/4. Published by Wiley-Blackwell (1995) pp. 305-319.)As early as the fourth millennium, Urukeans would have discovered that harp music could unite people, allowing them to share feelings and emotions that they could otherwise only have experienced individually. This was the primary function of the harp: the music it produced would have facilitated the exchange of goods. From the beginning it promoted equal understanding; in other words, ‘all were in tune’. From then on, owing to the fact that the harp was a remarkable mediator, music would have been included in communication procedures between different communities, changing people’s mindset and developing empathy between them. Being the first to understand that music could have a significantly smoothing effect on those that listened to it, Urukeans found that it could also affect protagonists during negotiations. If music cannot change the product itself, it can unconsciously act favourably on the customer’s mood. The smoothing effect of the harp on bad tempers, and its contribution to emotional reactions, would have meant that the instrument had high status, from dawn to dusk. The harp was found in potters’ and weavers’ workshops, on goods barges, in banquets (Fig. 6) and even during sexual intercourse (Fig. 4-B). The Urukeans’ pride in their invention was so great that they engraved it on cylinder seals; in its silent manifestation, it sounded to the inner ears of those looking at its impression on seals and tablets. On tablets it was denoted by the Sumerian words BAN.TUR, BAN meaning ‘bow’ and TUR meaning ‘small’, hence harp, and the Sumerogram BALAG, voiced as the onomatopoeic ‘dubdub’, a word echoing the sound of the object it depicts. Around 3,300 to 3,000 BCE, the pictogram with which it is associated clearly depicted a harp with three or four strings (Fig. 4) (Dumbrill, R. (1998). Période au cours de laquelle les cités-États sont en guerre.)." https://www.theoriesensorielle.com/analogy-between-the-urukean-harp-and-the-auditory-system/

Two R̥tvij are shown on the Bactrian silver vase holding a wooden frame of golden fleece to filter the gold nuggets. 

One priest holds a sieve (fleece)

PASSED through, the fleece in thousand streams the Soma, purified, flows on
To Indra's, Viyu's special place. (RV IX.13.1) अवि mf. a sheep RV. (mentioned with reference to its wool being used for the सोम strainer) AV.; mf. the woollen सोम strainer RV.; mfn. ( √ अव्) , favourable , kindly disposed AV. v , 1 , 9 (Monier-Williams)

Vāyu and Indra.

A sluice box used in placer mining. Sheep fleeces would be stretched over such wooden boxes or frames to collect gold placer deposits from streams. In Tamil soma-maNal means, sand containing silver ore. In Egyptian, assem means electrum; in Gypsy, somnakay means gold. Gold was won from the river-beds: Sindhu is called the hiraNmayI (RV. x.75.8); SarasvatI is called hiraNyavartanI (AV. vi.61.7). [cf. the reference to vasatIvari waters in vedic hymns related to soma, an apparent reference to panned-gold from the SarasvatI river-bed.]  It is notable that even today, the collectorate of Yamunanagar issues licences for gold panning in streams of 

Lohgarh which is a historic town in Bilaspur tehsil of Yamunanagar (Sarasvati River Basin near Adi Badri) where even today gold panning licences are given by the Dist. Collector.

"It is said that in their country gold is carried down by the mountain torrents, and that the barbarians obtain it by means of perforated troughs and fleecy skins, and that this is the origin of the myth of the golden fleece—unless they call them Iberians, by the same name as the western Iberians, from the gold mines in both countries." (Strabo (first century BC) Geography I, 2, 39 (Jones, H.L. (ed.) (1969) The Geography of Strabo (in eight volumes) London "Strabo, Geography, NOTICE". Perseus.tufts.edu. Tran, T (1992). "The Hydrometallurgy of Gold Processing". Interdisciplinary Science Reviews. 17 (4): 356–365.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Fleece

The Hydrometallurgy of Gold Processing 

Abstract

Legend of the Golden Fleece was REAL: Greek myth originated near the Black Sea where miners used sheepskin to filter gold from mountain streams, geologists claim

• Ancient villagers used sheepskins to line stream beds in the Svaneti region of the Southern Caucasus in northwest Georgia
• Gold flakes became ingrained on the fleeces, which scientists believe led to the rise of the myth surrounding the Golden Fleece
• Adventures of Jason and his Argonauts may have been based on a real journey to obtain the secrets of this technique for extracting gold
• Scientists say that modern day Argonauts may even still be able to find Golden Fleeces of their own today as locals continue the tradition 

Among artifacts found in villages of Svaneti, northwest Georgia was a bronze sculpture of a bird with a ram's head that researchers say lends support that the myth of the golden fleece originated in the area

THE QUEST TO FIND THE GOLDEN FLEECE

Gold grains washed from the gravel stream bed of the River Quani in Svaneti. Streams in the area are still panned by locals for gold, some of whom still use traditional methods that include sheepskin 

A unique golden lion sculpture from the beginning of the second millennium BC is thought to show the sophisticated skill at obtaining and casting metal around the time when the Golden Fleece myth began

Surveys by the geologists show that gold ore veins (marked with orange ovals) and stream beds that contain rich gold deposits (marked with yellow ovals) exist today and have been replenished after historical mining

• A modern field investigation of the mythical “gold sands” of the ancient Colchis Kingdom and “Golden Fleece” phenomena
• Quaternary International

  Volume 409, Part A, 21 July 2016, Pages 61-69

  A modern field investigation of the mythical “gold sands” of the ancient Colchis Kingdom and “Golden Fleece” phenomena

  Author links open overlay panelA.OkrostsvaridzeaN.GagnidzeaK.Akimidzeb

• Institute of Earth Sciences at the Ilia State University, 77 Nutsubidze str., 0177 Tbilisi, Georgia

  b

  Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, 1 Chavchavadze Av., 0128 Tbilisi, Georgia

  Available online 20 November 2014.

  Abstract
• According to Greek mythology and historical sources the ancient Georgian Kingdom of Colchis was rich of “gold sands” and the natives mined this metal from the rivers, using special wooden vessels and sheepskins. Modern geological research conducted by us in the Svaneti region (Greater Caucuasus) has shown that this area is the province of the former Colchis Kingdom where it was possible to obtain abundant gold from the mountain rivers using the methods unique to this region. We think, from our investigations, that the bedrock and placer gold contents of this region give grounds to believe that there was enough gold in this region to describe Svaneti as “the country rich of this noble metal”. After comparing the geological data, artifacts, myths and historical sources, we share the viewpoint of the Roman historian Apian Alexandrine (90–170 AD) and suppose that the myth about expedition of Argonauts in quest of the “Golden Fleece” to the Colchis Kingdom was a real event and that the main purpose of this mission was to obtain gold and sheepskin (fleece) technique of gold mining.
  
  
  Though there are a lot of varients of the explanation of the “Golden Fleece” phenomena in historical literature. According to one of the theories the “Golden Fleece“ phenomena as a symbol of Colchian gold, was not confined solely to representations of actual gold mining. Other theorists saw the “Golden Fleece” as a symbol of the wealth of the Colchis, famed since antiquity for the abundance of their precious metals. The phenomena of the “Golden Fleece” according to our research, is connected with the sheepskin technique of recovering placer gold. The end result of this technique of gold recovery river gravels was a gold imprinted sheepskin, giving rise to the romantic and unidentified phenomena of the “Golden Fleece” in the civilized world.

• 
  

An Unknown Ancient Civilization in India Carved This Rock Art "A passion for hiking first brought two engineers into the hills and plateaus of India's picturesque Konkan coast.As BBC Marathi's Mayureesh Konnur reports, the duo, Sudhir Risbood and Manoj Marathe, have helped catalog hundreds of rock carvings etched into the stone of hilltops in the western part of India's Maharashtra state. The depictions include a crocodile, elephant, birds, fishes and human figures. They may date back to 10,000 B.C., and they come from the hands of people who belonged to an as-yet-unknown civilization. Some of the petroglyphs were hidden beneath soil and mud deposited during the intervening millennia. Others were well-known by locals and considered holy."

Winged scarab? https://www.myindiamyglory.com/2018/10/13/12000-year-old-petroglyphs-in-india-show-global-connections/

A coconut tree with three branches, Abidjan. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7358713.stm

This monograph is an addendum to: Association of harp-player Orpheus with golden fleece, a metaphor for gold panning RV 9.13.1 अवि, wool 'Soma strainer'
https://tinyurl.com/w4k4x7r Many metaphors of Rgveda allude to the molten, flowing Soma, pavamāna पवमान"being purified or strained , flowing clear (as सोम)" (RV.) 

 

 Bactria Silver Vase.Miho Museum

A part of a King's address to an amulet which is to strengthen his authority includes the following:

ये धीवा॑नो रथका॒राः क॒र्मारा॒ ये म॑नी॒षिणः॑ ।
उ॒प॒स्तीन् प॑र्ण॒ मह्यं॒ त्वं सर्वा॑न् कृण्व॒भितो॒ जना॑न्॥६॥ [Atharvaveda, 3.5.6]

Griffith translation: Sagacious builders of the car, cleaver and skilful artisans, Make all the men on every side, Parna, obedient to my will. पर्ण (pl.) name of a people (विष्णु-पुराण). Consistent with this framework of insipient state-formation, 

The golden fleece is the filter as brought out in the many metaphors of Rgveda to realise Soma, the quintessence of wealth.

Fleece is the purifier, filter as affirmed in RV IX.98.7.

RV IX.98.7

Book IX,HYMN XCVIII. Soma Pavamana 98

7 Him with the fleece they purify, brown, goldenhued-, beloved of all,
Who with exhilarating juice goes forth to all the Deities.

Wilson translation:9.098.07 Him, coveted (by all), green-tinted, brown, they purify with the filter; who goes to all the gods with (his) exhilaration.Soma is purified through the fleece filter as affirmed in RV IX.106.10:

RV IX.106.10

Wilson translation: 9.106.10 Some being filtered flows in a stream through the woollen fleece, crying aloud when filtered in advance of the voice (of praise).

Grifith  translation: 9.106.10 Soma, while filtered, with his wave flows through the long wool of the sheep, Shouting while purified before the voice of song.

Orpheus is a Rtvij metaphor signifying udgātṛ was a chanter of hymns set to melodies (sāman) drawn from the sāmaveda. This was a specialized role in the major soma sacrifices: a characteristic function of the udgātṛ was to sing hymns in praise of the invigorating properties of soma pavamāna, the freshly pressed juice of the soma plant.

Jason sought out Orpheus to join him and the other Argonauts in his quest to recover the golden fleece. Centaur (witch) Chiron had told Jason that without the aid of Orpheus, the Argonauts would never be able to pass the Sirens. Sirens sang beautiful songs that enticed sailors to come to them, which resulted in the crashing of their ship into the islands. As a counter to this strategy of Sirens, Orpheus drew his lyre and played music that was more beautiful and louder, drowning out the Sirens' bewitching songs.The association of Orpheus with metalwork detailed and documented in Indus Script Corpora has been explained. This explanation is further amplified in this monograph highlighting the links between Rgveda references to 'golden fleece' for Soma processing and the tasks of argonauts to secure the famed golden fleece.

"The ARGONAUTS are those who sailed to Colchis in order to bring the Golden Fleece of the Ram that Phrixus ₁ had dedicated to Ares at Colchis. The ARGONAUTS, with Jason as admiral, put to sea from Iolcus, and after several adventures came to Colchis, fetched the Golden Fleece, and came back with the king's daughter, Medea, whom Jason married."

Athena supervises the building of the "Argo." The yard is held by the helmsman Tiphys; Argus (₃ or ₄) sits across the stern. 8037: Terracotta relief, c. 1st century AD. British Museum. 
When the ARGONAUTS had been purified by the witch Circe, they sailed past the SIRENS, and Orpheus, by chanting a counter melody restrained all of them but Butes ₁, who swam off to the SIRENS.http://www.maicar.com/GML/ARGONAUTS.html



"Orpheus (Ὀρφεύς) was the demigod child of Apollo and Kalliope (a Muse). He was a very talented lyre player. He was one of the Argonauts that sailed on the Argo with Jason."
https://greekmythology.wikia.org/wiki/Orpheus

Book IX, HYMN LXXXII. Soma Pavamana. 82

1. EVEN as a King hath Soma, red and tawny Bull, been pressed: the Wondrous One hath bellowed to the kine.
While purified he passes through the filtering fleece to seat him hawklike- on the place that
drops with oil.
2. To glory goest thou, Sage with disposing skill, like a groomed steed thou rusbest forward to the prize.
O Soma, be thou gracious, driving off distress: thou goest, clothed in butter, to a robe of state.
3 Parjanya is the Father of the Mighty Bird: on mountains, in earths' centre hath he made his home.
The waters too have flowed, the Sisters, to the kine: he meets the pressingstones- at the beloved rite.
4 Thou givest pleasure as a wife delights her lord. Listen, O Child of Pajri, for to thee I speak.
Amid the holy songs go on that we may live: in time of trouble, Soma, watch thou free from blame.
5 As to the men of old thou camest, Indu unharmed, to strengthen, winning hundreds, thousands,
So now for new felicity flow onward: the waters follow as thy law ordaineth.

Wilson translation: 9.082.01 The Soma has been effused radiant, the showerer, green-inted; magnificent as a king, he cries aloud when approaching the waters; purified, he passes through the sheep's fleece, to alight on the water-moistened seat like a hawk (on its nest).
9.082.02 You, who are wise, pass through the adorable (filter) with a desire to perform the sacrifice; being cleansed you rush like a horse to the cattle. Driving away misfortunes be gracious (to us), Soma; clothed in water you proceed to the cleansing (vessel).
9.082.03 The mighty winged (Soma) whose father is Parjanya has placed his dwelling on the navel of the earth among the mountains; the sisters, the waters flow to (the produce of) the kine; he meets with the stones at the beloved sacrifice. [Parjanya: i.e., the rain; somah is implied in mahis.asya parn.inah and is the subject of dadhe. The mountains are the grinding-stones; the navel of the earth is the oblation. svasarah = fingers].
9.082.04 As a wife to her husband, so you (afford) delight to your worshipper; (Soma), offspring of Pajra, listen (to the praises) I address to you; in the midst of our adorations advance to grant us life; Soma, who are irreproachable, be vigilant against (our) foe. [Pajra: i.e., the earth; Soma is its offspring, because it is produced in the ground].
9.082.05 As you, Indu, did attain strength for the ancient (r.s.is), giving them hundred-fold (wealth), invulnerable, giving them thousand-fold (wealth); so now flow for (our) modern prosperity; the waters wait upon your functions. [va_jam = strength; amr.dhrah = invulnerable].

Griffith remarkably translates the expression: पुनानो वारं in  RV IX.82.1 with the translation -- 'filtering fleece': "While purified he passes through the filtering fleece to seat him hawklike- on the place that drops with oil."

Book I, Hymn 135.6 Wilson translation: 1.135.06 These Soma, poured out in our rites, and borne by the priests, are prepared for you both; the pure Soma, Va_yu (and Indra), are prepared; these pervading (effusions) have passed through the oblique filter for you both; the Soma intended for you both, pass through the woolly fleece; the inexhaustible soma. [abhyasr.ks.ata tirah pavitram: pavitram is a term applied to bundle of kus'a grass, which is supposed to purify the Soma or the butter poured upon it; it is here explained the receiver of the Soma placed slopingly or obliquely, or a filter or a strainer made of wool. atiroma_n.yavyaya_ soma_so atyavyaya_: Soma having gone through (ati) the unclipped (avyaya_ni for acchinna_ni) hairs; or, avyaya = avimaya_ni, made from the sheep, sheep's wool; fall into the vessel that receives them; in the second occurrence, avyaya_ = unexpended, unexhausted].

In RV IX.45, Wilson's translation clearly identifies the functions of the fleece: Soma passes through the fleece which is the filter.

9.045.04 Indu passes the filter as a horse in going passes the shaft (of the chariot); he proceeds to the midst of the gods.
9.045.05 His friends praise Indu sporting in the water and passing through the fleece; their hymns glorify him.

Book IX, HYMN XLV. Soma Pavamana. 45
1. FLOW, thou who viewest men, to give delight, to entertain the Gods,
Indu, to Indra for his drink.
2 Stream to thine embassy for us: thou hastenest, for Indra, to
The Gods, O better than our friends.
3 We balm thee, red of hue, with milk to fit thee for the rapturous joy:
Unbar for us the doors of wealth.
4 He through the sieve hath passed, as comes a courser to the pole, to run
Indu belongs unto the Gods.
5 All friends have lauded him as he sports in the wood, beyond the fleece:
Singers have chanted Indus' praise.
6 Flow, Indu, with that stream wherein steeped thou announcest to the man
Who worships thee heroic strength.

Wilson translation: 9.045.01 Indu, do you the beholder of men flow pleasantly for the banquet of the gods, for Indra's drinking and exhilaration. [Pleasantly: kam = sukham yatha_ bhavati tatha_; sometimes, kam is explained just a particle meaning nothing, inserted only to balance the metre of the verse].
9.045.02 Approach the office of the messenger for us; you who are drunk for Indra, (pour) on the gods wealth for (us their) friends.
9.045.03 And we adorn you, the purple-tinted with milk and curd for the purpose of exhilaration open the doors for our riches.
9.045.04 Indu passes the filter as a horse in going passes the shaft (of the chariot); he proceeds to the midst of the gods.
9.045.05 His friends praise Indu sporting in the water and passing through the fleece; their hymns glorify him.
9.045.06 Flow Indu, with that stream wherewith when drunk you bestow much vigour on your discerning worshipper.

Griffith translation: I.135. 6 These Soma juices pressed for you in waters here, borne by attendant priests, are offered up to you: bright, Vayu, are they offered up.
Swift through the strainer have they flowed, and here are shed for both of you,
Somadrops-, fain for you, over the wethers' fleece, Somas over the wethers' fleece.

Wilson translation of RV IX.1.6: 9.001.06 The daughter of the Sun purifies your gushing streams through the eternal outstretched hair. [The daughter of the Sun: s'raddha_ = faith; Va_jasneyi: 'Verily s'raddha_ is the daughter of the Sun, she purifies him'. The hair-sieve used for straining the Soma]. Note: The metaphor is 'hair-sieve'; Griffith expands this to be a fleece.

Note: Translation RV IX.30, Wilson calls pavitra the filter; Griffith calls it the straining-cloth.

Book IX, HYMN XXX. Soma Pavamana. 30
1. STREAMS of this Potent One have flowed easily to the strainingcloth-:
While he is cleansed he lifts his voice.
2 Indu, by pressers urged to speed, bellowing out while beautified.
Sends forth a very mighty sound.
3 Pour on us, Soma, with thy stream manconquering might which many crave,
Accompanied with hero sons.
4 Hither hath Pavamana flowed, Soma flowed hither in a stream,
To settle in the vats of wood.
5 To waters with the stones they drive thee tawnyhued-, most rich in sweets,
O Indu, to be Indras' drink.
6 For Indra, for the Thunderer press the Soma very rich in sweets,
Lovely, inspiriting, for strength.

Wilson translation: RV IX.30: 9.030.01 The streams of this strong Soma flow without effort into the filter; purified, he excites praise. [or, he utters a sound].
9.030.02 This Indu, urged by the priests, and purified with a sound in the filter, utters loud voice (in the oblation).
9.030.03 Pour upon us in a stream, Soma, foe-subduing strength, associated with male offspring and desired by many.
9.030.04 This purified Soma flows out in a stream to take its place in the pitchers.
9.030.05 Indu, they press you forth by the stories, most sweet-flavoured and green-tinted, into the waters for Indra to drink.
9.030.06 (Priests) express the most sweet-flavoured beautiful exhilarating Soma for Indra the thunderer, and for our invigoration. 

Part of a Sumerian seal from about 2000 BC. Rohl ,1998 inteprets the bull-man as Gilgamesh (Rohl,p170), but the bull-man image goes back to much earlier times.

A Kneeling Bull figurine of silver holding a spouted vessel, Iran, ca. 2900 BCE (“Proto-Elamite”). Photo: Reproduced by courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

جام نقره و گاوی که جام نقره را نگهداشته است. ایران. حدود ۲۹۰۰ قبل از میلاد. تکثیر عکس با اجازه موزه مترو متروپولیتن.

[quote]Kusarikku 

("Bull-Man"), sometimes inscribed GUD.DUMU.^dUTU, GUD.DUMU.AN.NA and sometimes phonetically ku-sa-rik-ku(m), synonymous with the Sumerian GU₄/gud-alim and perhaps also alim (see below for caveat), was an ancient Mesopotamianmythological demon shown in artistic representation from the earliest (late Uruk) times with the arms, torso and head of a human and the ears, horns and hindquarters bovine. He is portrayed as walking upright and characterized as a door keeper to protect the inhabitants from malevolent intruders. He is one of the demons which represented mountains. He is pictured in late iconography holding a banduddû, "bucket". On a stela of Meli-Šipak, the land grant to Ḫasardu kudurru, he is pictured carrying a spade.

In the Sumerian myth, Angim or "Ninurta's return to Nippur", the god "brought forth the Bison (gud-alim) from his battle dust" and "hung the Bison on the beam". He is one of Tiāmat's offspring vanquished by Marduk in the Epic of Creation, Enûma Eliš. In the prologue of the Anzû Myth, Ninurta defeats the kusarikku "in the midst of the sea". In an incantation against the evil eye of the Lamaštu, an incantation meant to soothe a crying child, kusarikku is portrayed as being negeltû, "roused", and gullutu, "frightened" Along with Ugallu, Girtablullû, and others, he is one of the seven mythological apkallu or "sages" shown on neo-Assyrian palace reliefs, and with figurines – to guard against the influence of evil spirits. The constellation of kusarikku, or gud-alim, corresponds to part of Centaurus.

He was associated with the god of justice, Šamaš, along with Girtablullû, the "Scorpion-Man", and alim, the "Bison". There were three species of ungulates in Mesopotamia: the Aurochs, the Bison, and the Water buffalo, and it is not always certain as to which of these was represented in some of the earlier text references. There seems to have been a distinction between the Sumerian terms gud-alim, "bison-man", and alim, "human-faced bison".

1.  Dietz Otto Edzard, ed. (1999). "Mischwesen". Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Meek - Mythologie, Volume 8. Walter De Gruyter. p. 225.
2. ^ F. A. M. Wiggermann (2007). "The Four Winds and the Origin of Pazuzu". In Claus Wilcke (ed.). Das geistige Erfassen der Welt im Alten Orient Sprache, Religion, Kultur und Gesellschaft. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 154. kudurru BM 90829.
3. ^ K. Van Der Toorn (1999). "Magic at the cradle: A reassessment". In I. Tzvi Abusch, K. Van Der Toorn (ed.). Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, Historical, and Interpretative Perspectives. Styx. p. 143.
4. ^ Tally Ornan (1993). "The Mesopotamian Influence on West Semitic Inscribed Seals: A Preference for the Depiction of Mortals". In Benjamin Sass, Christopher Uehlinger (ed.). Studies in the Iconography of Northwest Semitic Inscribed Seals: Proceedings of a symposium held in Fribourg on April 17-20, 1991. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 56.
5. ^ Herman L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper (2004). Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta. Brill Academic Pub. p. 163.
6. ^ Claudia E. Suter (2000). Gudea's Temple Building: The Representation of an Early Mesopotamian Ruler in Text and Image. Styx. p. 65.

[unquote]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusarikku

On Mohenjo-Daro seal No. 357, female with horns, hooves, and tail is shown attacking a tiger. A tree in the background.

Who's this anthropomorph with a bull's head on Khajuraho temples?

One of the Ashta Vasus, holding two lotus stalks, Javari temple

One of the Ashta Vasus, holding trishul, lotus stalk and Kamandalu, with fire by his side, Chitragupta Temple

One of the Ashta Vasus, holding lotus stalk and scroll, Chitragupta Temple. He is Shiva's attendant Nandi, who is shown with a human body and a bull's head. A clear indicator of an anthropomorph: dangra 'bull' rebus: dhangar 'blacksmith'.

http://asibhopal.nic.in/monument/chhatarpur_khajuraho_chitragupta.html#

A bull man fights a lion. Mesopotamia half 2 Second millennium 1500 BC Iraq 

- Image ID: CFGK83

British Museum number103225 Baked clay plaque showing a bull-man holding a post. 

Old Babylonian 2000BC-1600BCE Length: 12.8 centimetres Width: 7 centimetres Barcelona 2002 cat.181, p.212 BM Return 1911 p. 66 

On this terracotta plaque, the mace is a phonetic determinant of the bovine (bull) ligatured to the body of the person holding the mace. 

Girsu (Tlloh) archaeological find. 11 ft. tall copper plated flagpost. This may relate to a period when 

     

   Girsu (ca. 2900-2335 BCE) was the capital of Lagash at the time of Gudea.

ḍhālako = a large metal ingot (G.) ḍhālakī = a metal heated and poured into a mould; a solid piece of metal; an ingot (Gujarati)Allograph: ढाल [ ḍhāla ] f (S through H) The grand flag of an army directing its march and encampments: also the standard or banner of a chieftain: also a flag flying on forts &c. ढालकाठी [ ḍhālakāṭhī ] f ढालखांब m A flagstaff; esp.the pole for a grand flag or standard. 2 fig. The leading and sustaining member of a household or other commonwealth. 5583 ḍhāla n. ʻ shield ʼ lex. 2. *ḍhāllā -- . 1. Tir. (Leech) "dàl"ʻ shield ʼ, Bshk. ḍāl, Ku. ḍhāl, gng. ḍhāw, N. A. B. ḍhāl, Or. ḍhāḷa, Mth. H. ḍhāl m.2. Sh. ḍal (pl. °le̯) f., K. ḍāl f., S. ḍhāla, L. ḍhāl (pl. °lã) f., P. ḍhāl f., G. M. ḍhāl f. WPah.kṭg. (kc.) ḍhāˋl f. (obl. -- a) ʻ shield ʼ (a word used in salutation), J. ḍhāl f. (CDIAL 5583).

The person signified is: dhangar ‘blacksmith’ (Maithili) ḍhangra ‘bull’. Rebus: ḍhangar ‘blacksmith’.
Mth. ṭhākur ʻ blacksmith ʼ (CDIAL 5488) N. ḍāṅro ʻ term of contempt for a blacksmith ʼ "... head and torso of a human but the horns, lower body and legs of a bull...Baked clay plaques like this were mass-produced using moulds in southern Mesopotamia from the second millennium BCE. British Museum. WCO2652. Bull-manTerracotta plaque. Bull-man holding a post. Mesopotamia, ca. 2000-1600 BCE." 

Terracotta. This plaque depicts a creature with the head and torso of a human but the horns, lower body and legs of a bull. Though similar figures are depicted earlier in Iran, they are first seen in Mesopotamian art around 2500 BC, most commonly on cylinder seals, and are associated with the sun-god Shamash. The bull-man was usually shown in profile, with a single visible horn projecting forward. However, here he is depicted in a less common form; his whole body above the waist, shown in frontal view, shows that he was intended to be double-horned. He may be supporting a divine emblem and thus acting as a protective deity.

Old Babylonian, about 2000-1600 BCE From Mesopotamia Length: 12.8 cm Width: 7cm ME 103225 Room 56: Mesopotamia Briish Museum

Baked clay plaques like this were mass-produced using moulds in southern Mesopotamia from the second millennium BCE. While many show informal scenes and reflect the private face of life, this example clearly has magical or religious significance.

Hieroglyph carried on a flagpost by the blacksmith (bull ligatured man: Dhangar 'bull' Rebus: blacksmith') ḍhāla 'flagstaff' Rebus: ḍhāla 'large ingot'

Note: Indus Script Corpora signifies bull as a hieroglyph: dhangar 'bull' rebus: dhangar 'blacksmith'

Harappa prism tablet

Field Symbol Figures 83 to 89

Field Symbol codes 50 to 53:

50. Personage wearing a diadem or tall head-dress Slanding between two posts or under an ornamental arch.

51. Standing pe rsonage with horns and bovine features (hoofed legs an d/or tail).

52. Standing personage with ho rns and bovine features. hold ing a bow in one hand and an arrow o r an un ce rtain

object in the other.

53. Standing pe rsonage with horns and bovine features holding a staff or mace on his shoulder.

Stone seal. h179. National Museum, India. Carved seal. Scan 27418 Tongues of flame decorate the flaming pillar, further signified by two 'star' hieroglyphs on either side of the bottom of the flaming arch.

The canopy is visually and semantically reinforced by a series of decorative canopies (pegs) topped by umbrella hieroglyph along the arch.

The hypertexts are read rebus in Meluhha Bhāratīya sprachbund (speech union): 

1. The adorned, horned person standing within the canopy:  karã̄ 'wristlets' khār 'blacksmith'  kūṭa, 'horn'kūṭa 'company'

2. Headdress: kolmo 'rice plant' rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'. Vikalpa: Vikalpa: kūtī = bunch of twigs (Skt.) Rebus: kuṭhi = furnace (Santali).Thus the standing person with twig headdress is a khār blacksmith working with khār smelter and furnace.

3. Canopy:  M. mã̄ḍav m. ʻ pavilion for festivals ʼ, mã̄ḍvī f. ʻ small canopy over an idol ʼ(CDIAL 9734) rebus: 

maṇḍā 'warehouse, workshop' (Konkani)  maṇḍī 'market' karã̄ n. pl.wristlets, banglesRebus: khār 'blacksmith, iron worker' (Kashmiri).कर्मार m. an artisan , mechanic , artificer; a blacksmith &c RV. x , 72 , 2 AV. iii , 5 , 6 VS. Mn. iv , 215 &c (Monier-Williams)  karmāˊra m. ʻ blacksmith ʼ RV. [EWA i 176 < stem *karmar -- ~ karman -- , but perh. with ODBL 668 ← Drav. cf. Tam. karumā ʻ smith, smelter ʼ whence meaning ʻ smith ʼ was transferred also to karmakāra -- ]Pa. kammāra -- m. ʻ worker in metal ʼ; Pk. kammāra -- , °aya -- m. ʻ blacksmith ʼ, A. kamār, B. kāmār; Or. kamāra ʻ blacksmith, caste of non -- Aryans, caste of fishermen ʼ; Mth. kamār ʻ blacksmith ʼ, Si. kam̆burā.*karmāraśālā -- .

Addenda: karmāˊra -- : Md. kan̆buru ʻ blacksmith ʼ.(CDIAL 2898)

4 Decoration on canopy: umbrella on pegs: Hieroglyph: canopy, umbrella: Ta. kuṭai umbrella, parasol, canopy. Ma. kuṭa umbrella. Ko. koṛ umbrella made of leaves (only in a proverb); keṛ umbrella. To. kwaṛ 

id. Ka. koḍe id., parasol. Koḍ. koḍe umbrella. Tu. koḍè id. Te. goḍugu id., parasol. Kuwi (F.) gūṛgū, (S.) gudugu, (Su. P.) guṛgu umbrella (< Te.). / Cf. Skt. (lex.) utkūṭa- umbrella, parasol.Ta. kūṭāram(DEDR 1881) Rebus: kūṭa 'company' (Kannada)

5. The canopy is flanked by a pair of stars: Hieroglyph:मेढा [ mēḍhā ] 'polar star' Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Santali.Mu.Ho.) dula'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting' Thus, signifying a cast iron smelter.

6. Text message on the obverse of the Harappa tablet h179:

Signs 47, 48khāra 2 खार (= ) or khār 4 खार् (L.V. 96, K.Pr. 47, Śiv. 827) । द्वेषः m. (for 1, see khār 1 ), a thorn, prickle, spine (K.Pr. 47; Śiv. 827, 153)(Kashmiri) Rebus: khār  खार् 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri)

Sign 8 käti ʻwarrior' (Sinhalese)(CDIAL 3649). rebus:  khātī m. ʻ 'member of a caste of wheelwrights'ʼVikalpa: bhaṭa 'warrior' rebus: bhaṭa 'furnace'. bhāthī m. ʻ warrior ʼ bhaṭa 'warrior' Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace', thus reinforcing the smelting process in the fire-altars. Smelters might have used bhaThi 'bellows'. bhástrā f. ʻ leathern bag ʼ ŚBr., ʻ bellows ʼ (CDIAL 9424)

Sign 342 karṇaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebs: karṇī  'scribe, supercargo' कर्णिक m. a steersman(Monier-Williams)

Ka.  kūṭa joining, connexion, assembly, crowd, heap, fellowship, sexual intercourse; ku·ṭï gathering, assembly. Tu. kūḍuni to join (tr.), unite, copulate, embrace, adopt; meet (intr.), assemble, gather, be mingled, be possible; kūḍisuni to add; kūḍāvuni, kūḍisāvuni to join, connect, collect, amass, mix; kūṭuni, kūṇṭuni to mix, mingle (tr.); kūḍa along with; kūḍigè joining, union, collection, assemblage, storing, mixing; kūṭaassembly, meeting, mixture. Te. kūḍu to meet (tr.), join, associate with, copulate with, add together; meet (intr.), join, agree, gather, collect, be proper; kūḍali, kūḍika joining, meeting, junction; kūḍa along with; kūḍaniwrong, improper; kūḍami impropriety; kūṭamu heap, assembly, conspiracy; kūṭuva, kūṭuvu heap, collection, army; kūṭami meeting, union, copulation; kūṭakamu addition, mixture; kūr(u)cu to join, unite, bring together, amass, collect; caus. kūrpincu; kūrpu joining, uniting. Kol. (Kin.) kūṛ pāv meeting of ways (pāv way, path). Pa. kūṛ er- to assemble. Go. (S.) kūṛ- to join; (Mu.) gūḍ- to assemble (Voc. 833); (M.) guṛnā to swarm (Voc. 1160). Konḍa kūṛ- (-it-) to join, meet, assemble, come together; kūṛp- to mix (cereals, etc.), join or put together, collect; kūṛaŋa together. Pe. kūṛā- (kūṛa ā-) to assemble. Kuwi (Su.) kūṛ- id.; (Isr.) kūṛa ā-to gather together (intr.); kūṛi ki- to collect (tr.); (S.) kūḍi kīnai to gather; kūṛcinai to collect. Kur. xōṇḍnā to bring together, collect into one place, gather, wrinkle (e.g. the nose), multiply in imagination; xōṇḍrnā to meet or come together, be brought into the company of.(DEDR 1882)

Obverse: Pictorial motif

 khār 'blacksmith' emerges out of the tree or flaming pillar (skambha) identified by the 'star' hieroglyph'. The wristlets he wears and headdress signify that he is khār working with kuṭhi 'tree' Rebus: kuṭhi 'smelting furnace'. He is a smith engaged in smelting.

Hieroglyph:मेढा [ mēḍhā ] 'polar star' Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Santali.Mu.Ho.) dula'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting' Thus, signifying a cast iron smelter.
Santali glosses.

Hieroglyph: karã̄ n. pl. wristlets, bangles' rebus: khār 'blacksmith'
Hieroglyph: head-dress:  kūdī, kūṭī bunch of twigs (Sanskrit)  kuṭhi 'tree' Rebus: kuṭhi 'smelting furnace' (Santali) (Phonetic determinative of skambha, 'flaming pillar', rebus:kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'). Skambha, flamiung pillar is the enquiry in Atharva veda Skambha Sukta (AV X.7,8)
Scan 27419. 

Reverse Text message:

Hieroglyphs: backbone + four short strokes  

Signs 47, 48: baraḍo = spine; backbone (Tulu) Rebus: baran, bharat ‘mixed alloys’ (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi) + gaṇḍa ‘four’ Rebus: kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar’. Thus, Sign 48 reads rebus: bharat kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar’, furnace for mixed alloy called bharat(copper, zinc, tin alloy), Pk. karaṁḍa -- m.n. ʻ bone shaped like a bamboo ʼ, karaṁḍuya -- n. ʻ backbone ʼ.( (CDIAL 2670) rebus: karaDa 'hard alloy'. Vikalpa: 

Hieroglyph: khāra 2 खार (= ) or khār 4 खार् (L.V. 96, K.Pr. 47, Śiv. 827) । द्वेषः m. (for 1, see khār 1 ), a thorn, prickle, spine (K.Pr. 47; Śiv. 827, 153)(Kashmiri) Pk. karaṁḍa -- m.n. ʻ bone shaped like a bamboo ʼ, karaṁḍuya -- n. ʻ backbone ʼ.*kaṇṭa3 ʻ backbone, podex, penis ʼ. 2. *kaṇḍa -- . 3. *karaṇḍa -- 4. (Cf. *kāṭa -- 2, *ḍākka -- 2: poss. same as káṇṭa -- 1]1. Pa. piṭṭhi -- kaṇṭaka -- m. ʻ bone of the spine ʼ; Gy. eur. kanro m. ʻ penis ʼ (or < káṇṭaka -- ); Tir. mar -- kaṇḍḗ ʻ back (of the body) ʼ; S. kaṇḍo m. ʻ back ʼ, L. kaṇḍ f., kaṇḍā m. ʻ backbone ʼ, awāṇ. kaṇḍ, °ḍī ʻ back ʼ; P. kaṇḍ f. ʻ back, pubes ʼ; WPah. bhal. kaṇṭ f. ʻ syphilis ʼ; N. kaṇḍo ʻ buttock, rump, anus ʼ, kaṇḍeulo ʻ small of the back ʼ; B. kã̄ṭ ʻ clitoris ʼ; Or. kaṇṭi ʻ handle of a plough ʼ; H. kã̄ṭā m. ʻ spine ʼ, G. kã̄ṭɔ m., M. kã̄ṭā m.; Si. äṭa -- kaṭuva ʻ bone ʼ, piṭa -- k° ʻ backbone ʼ.2. Pk. kaṁḍa -- m. ʻ backbone ʼ.(CDIAL 2670) కరాళము karāḷamu karāḷamu. [Skt.] n. The backbone. వెన్నెముక (Telugu) Rebus: khār  खार् 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri)

bhāthī m. ʻ warrior ʼ bhaTa 'warrior' Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace', thus reinforcing the smelting process in the fire-altars. Smelters might have used bhaThi 'bellows'. bhástrā f. ʻ leathern bag ʼ ŚBr., ʻ bellows ʼ Kāv., bhastrikā -- f. ʻ little bag ʼ Daś. [Despite EWA ii 489, not from a √bhas ʻ blow ʼ (existence of which is very doubtful). -- Basic meaning is ʻ skin bag ʼ (cf. bakura<-> ʻ bellows ʼ ~ bākurá -- dŕ̊ti -- ʻ goat's skin ʼ), der. from bastá -- m. ʻ goat ʼ RV. (cf.bastājina -- n. ʻ goat's skin ʼ MaitrS. = bāstaṁ carma Mn.); with bh -- (and unexpl. -- st -- ) in Pa. bhasta -- m. ʻ goat ʼ, bhastacamma -- n. ʻ goat's skin ʼ. Phonet. Pa. and all NIA. (except S. with a) may be < *bhāsta -- , cf. bāsta -- above (J. C. W.)]With unexpl. retention of -- st -- : Pa. bhastā -- f. ʻ bellows ʼ (cf. vāta -- puṇṇa -- bhasta -- camma -- n. ʻ goat's skin full ofwind ʼ), biḷāra -- bhastā -- f. ʻ catskin bag ʼ, bhasta -- n. ʻ leather sack (for flour) ʼ; K. khāra -- basta f. ʻ blacksmith's skin bellows ʼ; -- S. bathī f. ʻ quiver ʼ (< *bhathī); A. Or. bhāti ʻ bellows ʼ, Bi. bhāthī, (S of Ganges) bhã̄thī; OAw. bhāthā̆ ʻ quiver ʼ; H. bhāthā m. ʻ quiver ʼ, bhāthī f. ʻ bellows ʼ; G. bhāthɔ,bhātɔ, bhāthṛɔ m. ʻ quiver ʼ (whence bhāthī m. ʻ warrior ʼ); M. bhātā m. ʻ leathern bag, bellows, quiver ʼ, bhātaḍ n. ʻ bellows, quiver ʼ; <-> (X bhráṣṭra -- ?) N. bhã̄ṭi ʻ bellows ʼ, H. bhāṭhī f.Addenda: bhástrā -- : OA. bhāthi ʻ bellows ʼ .(CDIAL 9424) bhráṣṭra n. ʻ frying pan, gridiron ʼ MaitrS. [√bhrajj]

Pk. bhaṭṭha -- m.n. ʻ gridiron ʼ; K. büṭhü f. ʻ level surface by kitchen fireplace on which vessels are put when taken off fire ʼ; S. baṭhu m. ʻ large pot in which grain is parched, large cooking fire ʼ, baṭhī f. ʻ distilling furnace ʼ; L. bhaṭṭh m. ʻ grain -- parcher's oven ʼ, bhaṭṭhī f. ʻ kiln, distillery ʼ, awāṇ. bhaṭh; P. bhaṭṭhm., °ṭhī f. ʻ furnace ʼ, bhaṭṭhā m. ʻ kiln ʼ; N. bhāṭi ʻ oven or vessel in which clothes are steamed for washing ʼ; A. bhaṭā ʻ brick -- or lime -- kiln ʼ; B. bhāṭi ʻ kiln ʼ; Or. bhāṭi ʻ brick -- kiln, distilling pot ʼ; Mth. bhaṭhī, bhaṭṭī ʻ brick -- kiln, furnace, still ʼ; Aw.lakh. bhāṭhā ʻ kiln ʼ; H. bhaṭṭhā m. ʻ kiln ʼ, bhaṭ f. ʻ kiln, oven, fireplace ʼ; M. bhaṭṭā m. ʻ pot of fire ʼ, bhaṭṭī f. ʻ forge ʼ. -- X bhástrā -- q.v.bhrāṣṭra -- ; *bhraṣṭrapūra -- , *bhraṣṭrāgāra -- .Addenda: bhráṣṭra -- : S.kcch. bhaṭṭhī keṇī ʻ distil (spirits) ʼ.*bhraṣṭrāgāra ʻ grain parching house ʼ. [bhráṣṭra -- , agāra -- ]P. bhaṭhiār, °ālā m. ʻ grainparcher's shop ʼ.(CDIAL 9656, 9658)

Hieroglyph: canopy: nau -- maṇḍḗ n. du. ʻ the two sets of poles rising from the thwarts or the two bamboo covers of a boat (?)(CDIAL 9737) maṇḍapa m.n. ʻ open temporary shed, pavilion ʼ Hariv., °pikā -- f. ʻ small pavilion, customs house ʼ Kād. 2. maṇṭapa -- m.n. lex. 3. *maṇḍhaka -- . [Variation of ṇḍ with ṇṭ supports supposition of non -- Aryan origin in Wackernagel AiGr ii 2, 212: see EWA ii 557. -- Prob. of same origin as maṭha -- 1 and maṇḍa -- 6 with which NIA. words largely collide in meaning and form]1. Pa. maṇḍapa -- m. ʻ temporary shed for festive occasions ʼ; Pk. maṁḍava -- m. ʻ temporary erection, booth covered with creepers ʼ, °viā -- f. ʻ small do. ʼ; Phal. maṇḍau m. ʻ wooden gallery outside a house ʼ; K. manḍav m. ʻ a kind of house found in forest villages ʼ; S. manahũ m. ʻ shed, thatched roof ʼ; Ku. mãṛyā, manyā ʻ resthouse ʼ; N. kāṭhmã̄ṛau ʻ the city of Kathmandu ʼ (kāṭh -- < kāṣṭhá -- ); Or. maṇḍuā̆ ʻ raised and shaded pavilion ʼ, paṭā -- maṇḍoi ʻ pavilion laid over with planks below roof ʼ, muṇḍoi, °ḍei ʻ raised unroofed platform ʼ; Bi. mã̄ṛo ʻ roof of betel plantation ʼ, mãṛuā, maṛ°, malwā ʻ lean -- to thatch against a wall ʼ, maṛaī ʻ watcher's shed on ground without platform ʼ;  karã̄ 'wristlets' khār 'blacksmith' kūṭa, 'horn' kūṭa 'company'ʼ, mã̄ḍvɔ m. ʻ booth ʼ, mã̄ḍvī f. ʻ slightly raised platform before door of a house, customs house ʼ, mã̄ḍaviyɔm. ʻ member of bride's party ʼ; M. mã̄ḍav m. ʻ pavilion for festivals ʼ, mã̄ḍvī f. ʻ small canopy over an idol ʼ; Si. maḍu -- va ʻ hut ʼ, maḍa ʻ open hall ʼ SigGr ii 452.2. Ko. māṁṭav ʻ open pavilion ʼ.3. H. mã̄ḍhā, māṛhā, mãḍhā m. ʻ temporary shed, arbour ʼ (cf. OMarw. māḍhivo in 1); -- Ku. mã̄ṛā m.pl. ʻ shed, resthouse ʼ (or < maṇḍa -- 6?]*chāyāmaṇḍapa -- .Addenda: maṇḍapa -- : S.kcch. māṇḍhvo m. ʻ booth, canopy ʼ(CDIAL 9734)

maṇḍa6 ʻ some sort of framework (?) ʼ. [In nau -- maṇḍḗ n. du. ʻ the two sets of poles rising from the thwarts or the two bamboo covers of a boat (?) ʼ ŚBr. (as illustrated in BPL p. 42); and in BHSk. and Pa. bōdhi -- maṇḍa -- n. perh. ʻ thatched cover ʼ rather than ʻ raised platform ʼ (BHS ii 402). If so, it may belong to maṇḍapá -- and maṭha -- ]
Ku. mã̄ṛā m. pl. ʻ shed, resthouse ʼ (if not < *mã̄ṛhā < *maṇḍhaka -- s.v. maṇḍapá -- ).(CDIAL 9737)

maṇḍa2 m. ʻ ornament ʼ lex. [√maṇḍ]Pk. maṁḍaya -- ʻ adorning ʼ; Ash. mōṇḍa, mōnda, mūnda NTS ii 266, mōṇə NTS vii 99 ʻ clothes ʼ; G. mã̄ḍ m. ʻ arrangement, disposition, vessels or pots for decoration ʼ, māṇ f. ʻ beautiful array of household vessels ʼ; M. mã̄ḍ m. ʻ array of instruments &c. ʼ; Si. maḍa -- ya ʻ adornment, ornament ʼ.(CDIAL 9736)maṇḍana n. ʻ adorning ʼ MBh., maṇḍaná -- adj. Pāṇ. [√maṇḍ]
Pa. maṇḍana -- n., Pk. maṁḍaṇa -- n. and adj.; OMarw. māṁḍaṇa m. ʻ ornament ʼ; G. mã̄ḍaṇ n. ʻ decorating foreheads and cheeks of women on festive occasions ʼ. (CDIAL 9739) *maṇḍadhara ʻ ornament carrier ʼ. [maṇḍa -- 2, dhara -- ]N. maṛher, maṛer ʻ one who carries ornaments &c. in the marriage procession ʼ. (CDIAL 9738) maṇḍáyati ʻ adorns, decorates ʼ Hariv., máṇḍatē, °ti Dhātup. [√maṇḍ]
Pa. maṇḍēti ʻ adorns ʼ, Pk. maṁḍēi, °ḍaï; Ash. mū˘ṇḍ -- , moṇ -- intr. ʻ to put on clothes, dress ʼ, muṇḍaāˊ -- tr. ʻ to dress ʼ; K. manḍun ʻ to adorn ʼ, H. maṇḍnā; OMarw. māṁḍaï ʻ writes ʼ; OG. māṁḍīiṁ 3 pl. pres. pass. ʻ are written ʼ, G. mã̄ḍvũ ʻ to arrange, dispose, begin ʼ, M. mã̄ḍṇẽ, Ko. mã̄ṇḍtā.(CDIAL 9741)

Konḍa maṇḍi earthen pan, a covering dish. Pe. manḍi cooking pot. Kui manḍi brass bowl. Kuwi (S.)

 mandi basin; (Isr.) maṇḍi plate, bowl. Cf. 4682 Ta. maṇṭai(DEDR 4678)Ta. maṇṭai 

mendicant's begging bowl, earthen vessel, head, skull, cranium, brain-pan, top portion as of palms, a standard of measure. Ma. maṇṭa skull; similar objects. Ko. maṇḍ head. To. maḍ id. 

Ka. maṇḍe id.; (Hav.) maṇḍage a big jar. Koḍ. maṇḍe head. Tu. maṇḍè large earthen vessel, skull, head. Kor. (M.) maṇḍa, (O. T.) manḍe head. Cf. 4678 Konḍa maṇḍi. / Cf. Skt. (lex.) maṇḍa- head. (DEDR 4682)

Ta. maṇṭu (maṇṭi-) to blaze up, glow; maṭu (-pp-, -tt-) to kindle. Te. maṇḍu to burn, blaze, flame, cause or produce a burning pain, be angry, be in a fury or violent rage, be envious; maṇṭa flame, blaze, burning pain, anger, wrath, fury, envy; maṇḍincu to burn (tr.), inflame, provoke, irritate; maḍḍu great heat, redhot iron, brand; very hot; (K.) mrandu to be consumed by fire, burn. Kol. (Pat., p. 167) manḍeng to burn, scorch(intr.). Nk. manḍ- to burn (intr.). Go. (M.) maṛgānā to blaze; (Ma.) maṛg- to burn (intr.) (Voc. 2745); (Tr.) maṛūstānā to cook in oil (Voc. 2743); (ASu.) maṛū- (curry) to be charred. Kui mṛahpa (mṛaht-) to consume by fire, burn; n. destruction by fire.(DEDR 4680)

Grain market: OAw. māṁḍa m. ʻ a kind of thin cake ʼ, lakh. maṇḍī ʻ grain market ʼ(CDIAL 9735) 

Bull, C. 2350-2000 BCE Composition of two horned animals, sitting human playing a four-string musical instrument, a star and a moon.

Hieroglyph: A. damrā ʻ young bull ʼ, dāmuri ʻ calf ʼ; B. dāmṛā ʻ castrated bullock ʼ; Or. dāmaṛī ʻ heifer ʼ, dāmaṛiā ʻ bullcalf, young castrated bullock ʼ, dāmuṛ, °ṛi ʻ young bullock ʼ.Addenda: damya -- : WPah.kṭg. dām m. ʻ young ungelt ox ʼ.damya ʻ tameable ʼ, m. ʻ young bullock to be tamed ʼ Mn. [~ *dāmiya -- . -- √dam] Pa. damma -- ʻ to be tamed (esp. of a young bullock) ʼ; Pk. damma -- ʻ to be tamed ʼ; S. ḍ̠amu ʻ tamed ʼ; -- ext. -- ḍa -- : (CDIAL 6184) Semantic Echo: బుర్రి burri burri. [Tel.] n. A heifer or young cow. (Telugu)

tagara 'antelope'. Rebus 1: tagara 'tin' (ore) tagromi 'tin, metal alloy' (Kuwi) dhangar 'bull' Rebus 2: damgar 'merchant'. dhangar 'blacksmith'
*dab ʻ a noise ʼ. [Onom.]P. dabaṛ -- dabaṛ ʻ with the sound of heavy and noisy steps ʼ; N. dabdab ʻ mud ʼ; H. dabdabā m. ʻ noise ʼ; M. dabdab ʻ noise of a slack drum ʼ.(CDIAL 6170)

Hieroglyph: harp: tambur

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.)   

Thus the seal connotes a merchant of copper.

Standard of Ur, c. 2600-2400 BCE, BM ME 121201.

Bull-headed harp with inlaid sound box, from the tomb of Pu-abi (tomb 800), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600-2400 BCE.  Wood, gold, lapis lazuli, red limestone, and shell, 3′ 8 1/8″ high.  British Museum, London.


Sound box of the bull-headed harp from tomb 789 (“King’s Grave”), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq,ca. 2600-2400 BCE.  Wood, lapis lazuli, and shell, 1′ 7″ high.  University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia. 

"Great Lyre" from Ur: Ht 33 cm. 2550 - 2400 BCE, royal tomb at Ur (cf. pg. 106 of J. Aruz and R. Wallenfels (eds.) 2003  Art of the First Cities).

Great Lyre from the "King's Grave" (left)
and Detail of Front Panel of the Great Lyre from the "King's Grave" (right)
Ur, Iraq, ca. 2650–2550 B.C.
Gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, bitumen, and wood
Height: 35.6 cm (head), 33 cm (plaque)
PG 789; B17694 (U.10556)
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

"The figures featured on the sound box of the harp are shell and red limestone and are seperated by registers.  The bottom register features a scorpion-man in composite and a gazelle bearing goblets.  Above them are an ass playing the harp, ajackal playing the zither and a bear steadying the harp or dancing.  The second register from the top has a dog wearing a dagger and carrying a laden table with a lion bringing the beverage service.  The uppermost register features the hero, also in composite, embracing two man-bulls in a heraldic composition.  The meaning behind the sound box depictions is unclear but could be of funerary significance, suggesting that the creatures inhabit the land of the dead and the feast is what awaits in the afterlife.  In any case, the sound box provides a very early specimen of the depiction of animals acting as people that will be found throughout history in art and literature."

https://klimtlover.wordpress.com/mesopotamia-and-persia/mesopotamia-and-persia-sumerian-art/

DETAIL FROM THE PANEL ON THE BULL-HEADED LYRE showing an 8-stringed bovine lyre being played. At the top of the lyre, braided material is wrapped around the crossbar under the tuning sticks. The small fox-like animal facing the front of the lyre holds a sistrum, or rattle. UPM 817694. Detail of neg. 735-110

Inlay panel from the soundbox of lyre.from Ur, c. 2600 B.C.E Gold, lapis lazuli, shell and bitumen

tambura 'lyre' Rebus: tam(b)ra 'copper' Alternative: khara 'onager', kora 'harp' rebus: khār 'blacksmith'

barad, barat 'bull' Rebus: bharata, baran 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin'

kola 'tiger, jackal' Rebus: kol 'working in iron'

bica 'scorpion' rebus: bica 'hematite, ferrite ore'.

"Great Lyre" from Ur: Ht 33 cm

. 2550 - 2400 BCE, royal tomb at Ur (cf. pg. 106 of J. Aruz and R. Wallenfels (eds.) 2003  Art of the First Cities).

Standard of Ur

Sumerian Early Dynastic III, c. 2600-2400 BCE. From the royal cemetery, Ur (Iraq).

Lapis lazuli, shell, and red limestone, with restored bitumen and red material on restored wood box

Width 49.5 cm, height 21.6 cm. Possibly soundbox of a musical instrument. British Museum ME 121201

War side with person for scale	Scenes of war	Scenes of peace	end and scenes of peace	end and scenes of peace
War: king's chariot and helmeted charioteer with axe	War: soldiers with axes and spears	War: soldiers and nude captives	War: enemy taken captive	War: helmeted soldier and charioteer in chariot with spears
War: fallen enemy trampled by donkeys or onagers	War: fallen enemy; helmeted soldier and charioteer	Peace: king at banquet	Peace: musician with lyre and singer (?) at banquet	Peace: rams
Peace: people carrying produce or booty	end: ram at tree and unidentified figure	end: man and ram	end: lion-headed eagle (Anzud) and bull-man

https://www.kornbluthphoto.com/StandardUr.html

Neo-Sumerian Statuette of an Androcephalous

2350-2150 B.C.E. Written in Akkadian A cylinder seal with a "bull-man" fighting a lion and a nude man fighting a water buffalo. (all photos from http://library.artstor.org/library/#1

Man-bull and Man-lion, Orthostates of Kargamis, 1050-850 BCE. Archaeology Museum, Ankara.

Source: http://eijh.modares.ac.ir/article-27-7470-en.pdf Ali Reza Taheri, 2017, The Man-bull and the Master of Animals in Mesopotamia and in Iran, in: Intl. J. Humanities (2013) Vol. 20(1): (13-28)

Cylinder seal and modern impression- bull-man wrestling with lion; nude bearded hero wrestling with a water buffalo. Akkadian; Cylinder seal; Stone-Cylinder Seals-Inscribed. circa 2250 –2150 B.C.E. Serpentine, black. 1.42 in. (3.61 cm). Met Museum Acc. No. 41.160.281

Buffalo bronze sculpture, Mohenjodaro

Buffalo bronze sculpture, Daimabad

Akkadian Cylinder Seal (c. 2200 B.C. showing Gilgamesh slaying the bull of heaven, with Enkidu? Also from Dury; both in British Museum)

Gilgamesh and Enkidu struggle of the celestial bull and the lion (cylinder seal-print Approx. 2,400 BC, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore)

greenish-black serpentine seal

Overall: 1 7/16 × 1 in. (3.6 × 2.5 cm)

The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York

Morgan Seal 159 Water buffalo subdued by nude bearded hero --Bull-man fighting lion -- Between contestant pairs, tree on knoll. Notes: 

"In the seals of mature Akkad style, the theme of contest between heroes and beasts is embodied in two pairs of fighting figures flanking a central design or the panel of an inscription. A characteristic detail of the resulting rather formal composition is the lozenge effect produced by the arms of the fighters and the legs of their victims. The nude bearded hero and the bull-man are the most common protagonists in these contests, but figures attired like human huntsmen often take the place of the nude bearded hero (165) or of both fighters (166, 169). In other instances two identical bull-men (167) or nude bearded heroes (168) are represented. Water buffaloes and lions are the most frequent opponents of the heros. In these seals of mature Akkad style, lions are almost always shown in profile. The scene of 170, showing a figure pouring a libation beside the two fighting pairs, is exceptional." Porada, CANES, p. 22 https://www.themorgan.org/seals-and-tablets/83782

Cylinder seal with two registers. On the upper register two bull-men crouch on either side of a triple plant on a stylised mountain, possibly representing the tree of life. Eagles bite the backs of the bull-men and are driven off by two mythological figures, the bull-man "Enkidu" (left) and the naked hero "Gilgamesh" (right). On the lower register: Two bulls bow in worship before the eagle, possibly a representatin of the god Imdugud, with the outspread wings. Behind, a goat and deer with a bird between them. Culture: Mesopotamian Period: Early Dynastic III, 3000-2340 BC Material:Lazulite. Credit Line: Werner Forman Archive/ British Museum, London

CREDIT
Werner Forman Archive

https://www.diomedia.com/stock-photo-cylinder-seal-with-two-registers-on-the-upper-register-two-bull-men-crouch-on-either-side-of-a-image9777103.html

Bull-man Chidambaram temple.

Sphinx. A South Indian temple frescoe. Bull-man venerates Śivalinga. Offers a chess piece of horse. https://www.sanskritimagazine.com/indian-religions/hinduism/sphinx-in-the-vedas/ While chanting Yajurveda, the priest presents a Purushamrga lamp.

Sandstone Sanchi, Central India Shunga period, 

2nd Century BC - Winged Lion of India

Gold amulet, Achaemenid period, 5^th-4^th cent BCE. British Museum.

Griffin at the stupa of Sanchi,second half of 2^nd cent. BCE (Kramrisch 1954, pic.13)
https://www.insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol51_4_2016_Art05.pdf
(Katayoun Fekripour, 2016, The Hybrid Creatures in Iranian and Indian Art, in: Indian Journal of History of Science, 51.4 (2016) , pp.585-591).

Image of lion carrying Durga. Mahabalipuram Shore temple.https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/fgLC5vhuL90aJA

purushamriga, Kailasha temple. 8th cent.

 Sphinx of India or purushamriga has now also been found in the Mallikarjuna temple at Pattadakal,

 Purushamriga or Indian sphinx depicted on the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Tribhuvanai, India

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Purushamrigatribhuvanai01.JPG

Bull- man in ancient Indian temple (http:// www.sphinxofindia.rajadeekshithar.com 

Spinx. Nataraja temple. Chidambaram.

Sphinx on the southern side, facing northeast; sphnx on the northern side, facing southeast. Kailasha temple, Ellora.

Lamassu winged bull amulet replica. Limestone and Quartzite composite stone Lamassu bull Dimensions:- 5.5 cm x 5.5 cm / 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 inches

https://www.etsy.com/in-en/listing/522754177/mesopotamia-assyrian-art-mythology?show_sold_out_detail=1

The Gate of Xerxes at Perespolis shows that the Winged  Feline was placed at the corner of one entrance. The Gate of All Nations (Old Persian : duvarthim visadahyum) also known as the Gate of Xerxes, is located in the ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis, Iran.

The construction of the Stairs of All Nations and the Gate of All Nations was ordered by the Achaemenid king Xerxes I (486-465 BC), the successor of the founder of Persepolis, Darius I the Great. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_of_All_Nations

https://oi.uchicago.edu/gallery/gate-xerxes#3A3_72dpi.png

https://oi.uchicago.edu/gallery/gate-xerxes#3A4_72dpi.png

Truncated vase representing a bull man seizing snakes

Iran, southeastern region

Trans-Elamite civilization

2600-2200 BCE

Chlorite, incrustations of carnelian and limestone or heated steatite?

Jeogjt” 12 c,. doa” 6.8 cm Formerly Kevorkian collection

INV. 241-29

“In this instance, the mythological jinn, rendered twice is a bull man, a hybrid creature wel-known in the Mesopotamian iconography of the third millennium…It is represented in the posture of a master of animals who tames eared snakes."—Agnes Benoit Le profane et le divin, arts de l’Antiquite

http://www.barbier-mueller.ch/collections/antiquite/proche-orient-au-iiie-millenaire/article/truncated-vase-representing-a-bull?lang=en

Modern impression of an Akkadian cylinder seal inscribed with a scene of a seated deity wearing horned headdress, with attendant and a recumbent bull supporting a winged gate, Akkadian. seal c 2300 2100 BCE. Edhaim delta, Balad, Iraq. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Weight bearing an engraving depicting the hero Gilgamesh fighting two snakes, steatite or chlorite. Sumerian civilisation, 3rd millennium BC. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Akkadian cylinder-seal impression of a bull-man and hero. Each is holding a bull by the horns, and in the centre is a stylised mountain with a sacred tree on top. The hero may be Gilgamesh, and the bull-man Enkidu his best friend. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Cylinder Seal with Kneeling Nude Heroes, c. 2220-2159 B.C.E., Akkadian (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Cylinder Seal (with modern impression), showing Kneeling Nude Heroes, c. 2220-2159 B.C.E., Akkadian (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Akkadian cylinder-seal impression of a bull-man and hero. Each is holding a bull by the horns, and in the centre is a stylised mountain with a sacred tree on top. The hero may be Gilgamesh, and the bull-man Enkidu his best friend. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Clay sealing from private collection with water buffalo, crescent-star, apparently Akkadian period.

मेढ [ mēḍha ]The polar star. (Marathi) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ ‘iron’ (Munda.Ho.) 
मेंढसर [mēṇḍhasara] m A bracelet of gold thread. (Marathi) 

Santali glosses

A lexicon suggests the semantics of Panini's compound अयस्--काण्ड [p= 85,1]  m. n. " a quantity of iron " or " excellent iron " , (g. कस्का*दि q.v.)( Pa1n2. 8-3 , 48)(Monier-Williams).

From the example of a compound gloss in Santali, I suggest that the suffix -kANDa in Samskritam should have referred to 'implements'. Indus Script hieroglyphs as hypertext components to signify kANDa 'implements' are: kANTa, 'overflowing water' kANDa, 'arrow' gaNDa, 'four short circumscript strokes'.

Weight bearing an engraving depicting the hero Gilgamesh fighting two snakes, steatite or chlorite. Sumerian civilisation, 3rd millennium BC. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Truncated vase representing a bull man seizing snakes

Iran, southeastern region

Trans-Elamite civilization

2600-2200 BCE

Chlorite, incrustations of carnelian and limestone or heated steatite?

Jeogjt” 12 c,. doa” 6.8 cm Formerly Kevorkian collection

INV. 241-29

“In this instance, the mythological jinn, rendered twice is a bull man, a hybrid creature wel-known in the Mesopotamian iconography of the third millennium…It is represented in the posture of a master of animals who tames eared snakes."—Agnes Benoit Le profane et le divin, arts de l’Antiquite

http://www.barbier-mueller.ch/collections/antiquite/proche-orient-au-iiie-millenaire/article/truncated-vase-representing-a-bull?lang=en

purushamriga, Kailasha temple. 8th cent.

 Sphinx of India or purushamriga has now also been found in the Mallikarjuna temple at Pattadakal,

 Purushamriga or Indian sphinx depicted on the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Tribhuvanai, India

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Purushamrigatribhuvanai01.JPG

Bull- man in ancient Indian temple (http:// www.sphinxofindia.rajadeekshithar.com 

​

Bull-man Chidambaram temple.

Sphinx. A South Indian temple frescoe. Bull-man venerates Śivalinga. Offers a chess piece of horse. https://www.sanskritimagazine.com/indian-religions/hinduism/sphinx-in-the-vedas/ While chanting Yajurveda, the priest presents a Purushamrga lamp.

Samudra manthan or 'Churning of Ocean of Milk' Deva and Da_nava churn the ocean, using Va_suki, the serpent as the rope and Mandara, the mountain as the churning rod. Ganesh Lena, Ellora, ca. 11th cent. CE.

Kailasa temple walls. Ellora caves. Samudra Manthanam.

Kailash Temple, Ellora: Architectural Elements and Shiva Sculptures https://www.sahapedia.org/kailash-temple-ellora-architectural-elements-and-shiva-sculptures#lg=1&slide=0

Nikita Rathore:

THE KAILASA TEMPLE atELLORA

TAKEO KAMIYAAbout 350km northeast of Mumbai, MaharashtraInscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983

1. CAVE TEMPLES and ROCK-CARVED TEMPLES The first Indian cave temples were excavated around the middle of the 3rd century B.C.E. on Barabar and Nagarjuni hills in east India. They were on a small scale and an epigraph says that they were dedicated to Ajivika monks, whose sect prospered in those days, by the Mauryan king Ashoka. It was Buddhists that contributed most to the development of Indian cave temples, excavating a large quantity on a grand scale after the late 2nd century B.C.E., such as at Baja and Ajanta. Buddhist cave temples consisted of Vihara caves (abode for monks) and Chaitya caves (worship halls) enshrining Stupas. On the other hand Hindu caves that started later in the 5th century C.E. did not have Viharas but only shrines dedicated to their gods, tending to pursue more monumental and sculptural caves than practical caverns. Ellora caves excavated from 6th to 9th centuries embrace groups of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves in an almost straight line of about two kilometers in length. Inside of them are densely sculpted statues of Buddha and his relations, the Hindu pantheon, and the Jinas (Tirthankaras) of Jainism respectively. Among them, the Hindu caves created the most three-dimensionally formative statues assuming quite dynamic postures, and eventually carved out a huge monolithic temple in the round from a rock hillside. It is not a cave anymore so it is suitable to be called a rock-carved temple. 2. THE KAILASA TEMPLE at ELLORA Plan of the Kailasa Temple, 756-773 through the Rashtrakuta Dynasty, as cave 16 in the Hindu group at Ellora, Maharashtra, India. (From the "Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture" II-2, 1986) Although there may have been a city here that was once called Ellapura, now this is a remote place with only the small village of Ellora nearby. The cave temples were excavated in line on the slanting surface of rock mountains, starting with the Buddhist group of 12 caves in the south, then the Hindu group of 17, and the Jaina group of 5 a little away to the north from the other two groups. The temple that attracts our attention the most strongly is the huge rock-carved Kailasa Temple, cave 16 in the Hindu group, soaring on an overwhelming scale. Its Gopura (gateway) and Prakaras (enclosure walls) on both sides are carved out in the foreground from the rock in situ, behind which spreads a precincts as extensive as 45m in width and 85m in depth. In the center is the gigantic sculpted monolithic main shrine, the substance of which is continuous to the ground. Around the precincts, there are some subordinate cave temples excavated in the rock cliffs on both sides. When passing through the gate, one faces a rock-carved pavilion for a Nandi (bull or the vehicle of the god Shiva) of two stories, accompanied with a colossal monumental Dhvaja Stambha (freestanding pillar) on both sides. The second floor of the Nandi Pavilion is connected to the upper floor of the gate and the porch of the main shrine by stone bridges. The temple consists of the Garbhagriha (sanctum) and the Mandapa (worship hall) as usual. The tower-like Vimana (main shrine) containing the sanctum attains to 32m in height from the ground, so everybody who visits here holds onefs breath in its magnificence. 3. SCULPTURAL ARCHITECTURE The Vimana of the Kailasa Temple seen from the rear mountain. What astonishes visitors most deeply is that this spectacular temple complex was not made by piling ashlar but by carving directly into a rock mountain. Even though there are great stone buildings all over the world, especially in the Middle East and Europe, such a huge example, which was carved into a rock and is continuous to the ground, is never seen other than in India. Moreover its walls are entirely carved out with mythical scenes, Hindu gods, fanciful animals, and architectural elements, and its interior has formally carved columns and beams as if it were a stonemasonry edifice. Rock-carved temples of this sort began in the 7th century in Mahabalipuram in south India, spreading subsequently throughout India such as at Masrur in the north, Damnar in the middle, Karugmalai in the extreme south, and eventually the Jain temples at Ellora. This fact indicates that Indians loved sculpture most of all formative arts and were not fully satisfied with cave temples as caverns without sculptural exterior. When broadly classifying world architecture into three: the membranous, sculptural and framework architectures, Indian stone architecture that developed greatly in mediaeval times can be substantially called sculptural. It can be said that rock-carved temples above all most remarkably represent the Indian spirit in its desire to make even architectural works as if they were sculptures. 4. CONSTRUCTION METHOD A sculpted wall of the Kailasa Temple at Ellora One would feel faint thinking about the awful amount of labor to necessary carve out an edifice of as high as 32 meters by hand from a rock mountain to perfection, but actually it can be considered that it was technically easier and more economical than the construction of a stone building of the same scale on the ground. First of all, in order to construct a stone building it required immense cost and labor for cutting out ashlars in a quarry and transporting them to the building site. Then at the site masons had to chisel the ashlars into accurate shapes based on the detailed temple design, set up scaffolding to carry them up to high positions, and assemble them exactly in using tenons or clamps. Compared with this, it was much more economical in terms of labor and expense to cut out a huge mass from a rock mountain and sculpt it into an colossal temple in situ. Moreover, it did not need the high technology of combining ashlars so tightly to be able to endure earthquakes. For a stone building ashlars were piled up from the bottom to the top, while in a rock-carved temple masons carved out a temple in the opposite way: from the top to the bottom. From the beginning, cave temples were excavated in that way, in order to work without scaffolding and thus lower costs. The construction work was usually divided into two stages, those of masons and sculptors, but in this case, both must have been done together at the same time. Since rock carved temples were completed in a rather short time, the sites would have always been crowded with a great number of workers. 5. DIFFUSION of THE SOUTHERN TYPE TEMPLE FORM Plan of the Virupaksha Temple in Pattadakal, 745 of the Early Chalukya Dynasty (From "The Hindu Temple" by George Michell) As cave temples were only small caverns cut into enormous rock mountains, columns and beams had no actual role in a structural point of view, being nothing but replicas to make them look like true edifices imitating real independent buildings on flat land. However, at the rock-carved temples in the round, pillars and girders must have sustained real loads, so the workers must have estimated the thickness of each member. In order to accomplish such a huge rock-carved temple as the Kailasa Temple without failure, with much higher level of technology than in cave temples, there must have been architects who were able to conduct every kind of workers, possessing structural knowledge and imagining the final figure of the magnificent temple. Despite not knowing the name(s) of the architect(s) of the Kailasa Temple, he was bound to be from southern India. The reason is that the Kailasa Temple at Ellora is in the style of the south Indian type, and moreover a stone temple, after which the Kailasa Temple was modelled, exists in Pattadakal, the city of the Early Chalukya Dynasty. In mediaeval south India the Pallavas and Chalukyas were destined to always be in confrontation with each other, while the Rashtrakutas in the Deccan assumed hegemony in southern India in the middle of the 8th century, acquiring at the same time a mastery of those two dynastyfs cultures. The Chalukyans took the capital of the Pallava Dynasty, Kanchipuram, and used its masons and craftsmen in the construction of the temples in Pattadakal. It can be supposed that furthermore the Rashtrakutas brought those architects and craftsmen to Ellora. 6. THE RASHTRAKUTA DYNASTY Plan of the Kailasanatha Temple in Kanchipuram, early 8th century during the Pallava Dynasty. (From "The Art of Ancient India" by Susan L. Huntington, 1985) According to an inscripition left at Ellora, it was the second Rashtrakuta king, Krishna I (reign 756-773), who completed the Kailasa Temple. When he participated in the campaign by which his father, the former king, Dantidurga, defeated the Chalukyas, which was a very advanced country in terms of culture at that time, Krishna seemed to have been affected by their architecture, especially by the Virupaksha Temple in Pattadakal (745). After succeeding his father to the throne, he ordered the Kailasa Temple at Ellora to be carved out three and a half times larger than the model in Pattadakal. As he was able to accomplish it during his reign, the temple was called the Krishneshvara Temple after his name in those days. It indicates that such an enormous temple was completed within as short a period as only 17 years, showing how efficient the making a rock-carved temple could be in comparison with a stone temple. When comparing the plans of both temples, one can find they are almost the same, composed with a gate, a Nandi Pavilion, a Mandapa with three porches, and a Garbhagriha encircled with a circumambulatory gallery, even the same number of pillars. However, the setting up of sub-shrines around the gallery was the influence of the Pallava temple of Kailasanatha in Kanchipuram, after which Chalukyan temples were modelled. The sacred Himalayan mountain Kailasa was believed to be the abode of the god Shiva, so temples with this name all enshrine Shiva and symbolize that sacred mountain by its soaring Vimana. 7. THE COMPOSITION OF VIMANA Interior of Cave 16, the Kailasa Temple, Ellora The main shrine itself of the Kailasa Temple stands on a high podium of two parts, the upper Adhisthana and the lower Upapitha, around which is sculpted a line of large elephants. Access to the main floor is through staircases on either side of the main porch. In the extensive interior of the Mandapa are 16 independent pillars and 20 pilasters carved on the walls. Since light comes in only through the openings of entrance and balconies on both sides, the hall gives an impression of a dusky solemn forest of pillars. On the rear is an Antarala (small antechamber), then the Garbhagriha (sanctum) where is enshrined a Linga (phallus) symbolizing Shiva. A Garbha means a womb in a female body as the source of life, and this space is the center of the temple. Over the thick wall surrounding the sanctuary soars the pyramidal tower of the Vimana with stepped stories in a figure of the Southern Type, surmounted with a large dome-like crown stone on the top. Further on the top was a pitcher-like finial, now lost, which was called a Stupi in southern India, while in northern India a Kalasha, which was derived from the sacred mountain Kailasa. The invisible vertical line that penetrates from the Linga to the finial is interpreted as an axis of the universe that connects the earth for men and the heaven for gods. Together with carvings and sculptures throughout, both in and out, Hindu temples, it indicates that they are eHouses of the Godsf where heavenly gods reign. https://www.slideshare.net/vikashsaini78/kailash-temple-ellora