Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/ofqblnp Thanks to Benoy Behl for disseminating the photograph of an exquisite gold disc now in al-Sabah collection of Kuwait National Museum. This gold disc is a veritable metalwork catalogue, consistent with the entire Indus Script Corpora as catalogus catalogorum of metalwork. The uniqueness of the collection of hieroglyph-multiplexs on this gold disc is that a large number of metalwork catalogue items (more than 12) have been presented on a circular space with 9.6 cm diameter validating the Maritime Tin Route which linked Hanoi to Haifa through the Persian Gulf.
"Gold disc. al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait National Museum. 9.6 cm diameter, which was obviously from the Indus Valley period in India. Typical of that period, it depicts zebu, bulls, human attendants, ibex, fish, partridges, bees, pipal free an animal-headed standard." Benoy K. Behl https://www.facebook.com/BenoyKBehlArtCulture
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Source: http://tinyurl.com/nom5kkv
In the context of the bronze-age, the hieroglyphs are read rebus in Meluhha (mleccha) speech as metalware catalogs.
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/05/indus-writing-as-metalware-catalogs-and_21.html
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/05/tokens-and-bullae-evolve-into-indus.html
See examples of Dilmun seal readings at http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/05/see-httpbharatkalyan97.html
See examples of Sumer Samarra bowls: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/04/bronze-age-writing-in-ancient-near-east.html
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Phal. kāṅga ʻ combing ʼ in ṣiṣ k° dūm ʻI comb my hairʼ khyḗṅgia, kēṅgī f.;
kaṅghā m. ʻ large comb (Punjabi) káṅkata m. ʻ comb ʼ AV., n. lex., °tī -- , °tikã -- f. lex. 2. *kaṅkaṭa --2 . 3. *kaṅkaśa -- . [Of doubtful IE. origin WP i 335, EWA i 137: aberrant -- uta -- as well as -- aśa -- replacing -- ata -- in MIA. and NIA.]1. Pk. kaṁkaya -- m. ʻ comb ʼ, kaṁkaya -- , °kaï -- m. ʻ name of a tree ʼ; Gy. eur. kangli f.; Wg. kuṇi -- přũ ʻ man's comb ʼ (for kuṇi -- cf. kuṇälík beside kuṅälíks.v. kr̥muka -- ; -- přũ see prapavaṇa -- ); Bshk. kēṅg ʻ comb ʼ, Gaw. khēṅgīˊ, Sv. khḗṅgiā, Tor. kyäṅg ʻ comb ʼ (Dard. forms, esp. Gaw., Sv., Phal. but not Sh., prob. ← L. P. type < *kaṅgahiā -- , see 3 below); Sh. kōṅyi̯ f. (→ Ḍ. k*l ṅi f.), gil. (Lor.) kōĩ f. ʻ man's comb ʼ, kōũ m. ʻ woman's comb ʼ, pales. kōgō m. ʻ comb ʼ; K. kanguwu m. ʻ man's comb ʼ, kangañ f. ʻ woman's ʼ; WPah. bhad. kãˊke i ʻ a comb -- like fern ʼ, bhal. kãke i f. ʻ comb, plant with comb -- like leaves ʼ; N. kāṅiyo, kāĩyo ʻ comb ʼ, A. kã̄kai, B. kã̄kui; Or. kaṅkāi, kaṅkuā ʻ comb ʼ, kakuā ʻ ladder -- like bier for carrying corpse to the burning -- ghat ʼ; Bi. kakwā ʻ comb ʼ, kaka hā, °hī, Mth. kakwā, Aw. lakh. kakawā, Bhoj. kakahī f.; H. kakaiyā ʻ shaped like a comb (of a brick) ʼ; G. (non -- Aryan tribes of Dharampur)kākhāī f. ʻ comb ʼ; M. kaṅkvā m. ʻ comb ʼ, kã̄kaī f. ʻ a partic. shell fish and its shell ʼ; -- S. kaṅgu m. ʻ a partic. kind of small fish ʼ < *kaṅkuta -- ? -- Ext. with --l -- in Ku. kã̄gilo, kāĩlo ʻ comb ʼ.2. G. (Soraṭh) kã̄gaṛ m. ʻ a weaver's instrument ʼ?3. L. kaṅghī f. ʻ comb, a fish of the perch family ʼ, awāṇ. kaghī ʻ comb ʼ; P. kaṅghā m. ʻ large comb ʼ, °ghī f. ʻ small comb for men, large one for women ʼ (→ H. kaṅghā m. ʻ man's comb ʼ, °gahī, °ghī f. ʻ woman's ʼ, kaṅghuā m. ʻ rake or harrow ʼ; Bi. kãga hī ʻ comb ʼ, Or. kaṅgei, M. kaṅgvā); -- G. kã̄gsī f. ʻ comb ʼ, with metath. kã̄sko m., °kī f.; WPah. khaś. kāgśī, śeu. kāśkī ʻ a comblike fern ʼ or < *kaṅkataśikha -- .WPah.kṭg. kaṅgi f. ʻ comb ʼ; J. kāṅgṛu m. ʻ small comb ʼ.(CDIAL 2598)
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mũh ‘face’; rebus: mũh ‘ingot’ (Mu.)
Why are animals shown in pairs?
dula ‘pair’ (Kashmiri); rebus: dul ‘cast metal’ (Mu.)
"Gold disc. al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait National Museum. 9.6 cm diameter, which was obviously from the Indus Valley period in India. Typical of that period, it depicts zebu, bulls, human attendants, ibex, fish, partridges, bees, pipal free an animal-headed standard." Benoy K. Behl https://www.facebook.com/BenoyKBehlArtCulture
Source: http://tinyurl.com/nom5kkv
In the context of the bronze-age, the hieroglyphs are read rebus in Meluhha (mleccha) speech as metalware catalogs.
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/05/indus-writing-as-metalware-catalogs-and_21.html
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/05/tokens-and-bullae-evolve-into-indus.html
See examples of Dilmun seal readings at http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/05/see-httpbharatkalyan97.html
See examples of Sumer Samarra bowls: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/04/bronze-age-writing-in-ancient-near-east.html
In this perspective, the hieroglyphs on the Kuwait Museum gold disc can be read rebus:
1. A pair of tabernae montana flowers tagara 'tabernae montana' flower; rebus: tagara 'tin'
2. A pair of rams tagara 'ram'; rebus: damgar 'merchant' (Akkadian) Next to one ram: kuTi 'tree' Rebus: kuThi 'smelter' Alternative: kolmo 'rice plant' Rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge'.
3. Ficus religiosa leaves on a tree branch (5) loa 'ficus leaf'; rebus: loh 'metal'. kol in Tamil means pancaloha'alloy of five metals'. PLUS flanking pair of lotus flowers: tAmarasa 'lotus' Rebus: tAmra 'copper' dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal' thus, denoting copper castings.
4. A pair of bulls tethered to the tree branch: barad, barat 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin' (Marathi) PLUS kola 'man' Rebus: kolhe 'smelter' kur.i 'woman' Rebus: kol 'working in iron' Alternative: ḍhangar 'bull'; rebus ḍhangar 'blacksmith' poLa 'zebu' Rebus: poLa 'magnetite'.
Two persons touch the two bulls: meḍ ‘body’ (Mu.) Rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.) Thus, the hieroglyph composition denotes ironsmiths.
5. A pair of antelopes looking back: krammara 'look back'; rebus: kamar 'smith' (Santali); tagara 'antelope'; rebus: damgar 'merchant' (Akkadian) Alternative: melh, mr..eka'goat' (Brahui. Telugu) Rebus: milakkhu 'copper' (Pali), mleccha-mukha 'copper' (Samskritam)
6. A pair of antelopes mē̃ḍh 'antelope, ram'; rebus: mē̃ḍ 'iron' (Mu.)
7. A pair of combs kāṅga'comb' Rebus: kanga'brazier, fireplace'
Phal. kāṅga ʻ combing ʼ in ṣiṣ k° dūm ʻI comb my hairʼ khyḗṅgia, kēṅgī f.;
kaṅghā m. ʻ large comb (Punjabi) káṅkata m. ʻ comb ʼ AV., n. lex., °tī -- , °tikã -- f. lex. 2. *kaṅkaṭa --
Rebus: large furnace, fireplace: kang कंग् । आवसथ्यो &1;ग्निः m. the fire-receptacle or fire-place, kept burning in former times in the courtyard of a Kāshmīrī house for the benefit of guests, etc., and distinct from the three religious domestic fires of a Hindū; (at the present day) a fire-place or brazier lit in the open air on mountain sides, etc., for the sake of warmth or for keeping off wild beasts. nāra-kang, a fire-receptacle; hence, met. a shower of sparks (falling on a person) (Rām. 182). kan:gar `portable furnace' (Kashmiri)Cf. kã̄gürü, which is the fem. of this word in a dim. sense (Gr.Gr. 33, 7). kã̄gürü काँग्् or
kã̄gürüकाँग or kã̄gar काँग््र्् । हसब्तिका f. (sg. dat. kã̄grĕ काँग्र्य or kã̄garĕ काँगर्य , abl. kã̄gri काँग्रि ), the portable brazier, or kāngrī, much used in Kashmīr (K.Pr. kángár, 129, 131, 178; káṅgrí, 5, 128, 129). For particulars see El. s.v. kángri; L. 7, 25, kangar;and K.Pr. 129. The word is a fem. dim. of kang, q.v. (Gr.Gr. 37). kã̄gri-khŏphürü kã̄gri-khŏphürü काँग्रि-ख्वफ््&above;रू&below; । भग्ना काष्ठाङ्गारिका f. a worn-out brazier. -khôru -खोरु&below; । काष्ठाङ्गारिका<-> र्धभागः m. the outer half (made of woven twigs) of a brazier, remaining after the inner earthenware bowl has been broken or removed; see khôru. -kŏnḍolu -क्वंड । हसन्तिकापात्रम् m. the circular earthenware bowl of a brazier, which contains the burning fuel. -köñü -का&above;ञू&below; । हसन्तिकालता f. the covering of woven twigs outside the earthenware bowl of a brazier.
It is an archaeometallurgical challenge to trace the Maritime Tin Route from the tin belt of the world on Mekong River delta in the Far East and trace the contributions made by seafaring merchants of Meluhha in reaching the tin mineral resource to sustain the Tin-Bronze Age which was a revolution unleashed ca. 5th millennium BCE. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/indus-script-corpora-as-catalogus.html
kã̄gürü
It is an archaeometallurgical challenge to trace the Maritime Tin Route from the tin belt of the world on Mekong River delta in the Far East and trace the contributions made by seafaring merchants of Meluhha in reaching the tin mineral resource to sustain the Tin-Bronze Age which was a revolution unleashed ca. 5th millennium BCE. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/indus-script-corpora-as-catalogus.html
8. A pair of fishes ayo 'fish' (Mu.); rebus: ayo 'metal, iron' (Gujarati); ayas 'metal' (Sanskrit)
9.A pair of buffaloes tethered to a post-standard kāṛā ‘buffalo’ கண்டி kaṇṭi buffalo bull (Tamil); rebus: kaṇḍ 'stone ore'; kāṇḍa ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’; kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar, consecrated fire’.
mũh ‘face’; rebus: mũh ‘ingot’ (Mu.) ṭhaṭera ‘buffalo horns’. ṭhaṭerā ‘brass worker’ (Punjabi)
Pe. kaṇga (pl. -ŋ, kaṇku) eye. Rebus: kanga ' large portable brazier, fire-place' (Kashmiri).
Thus the stylized standard is read rebus: Hieroglyph components: kanga + ṭhaṭerā 'one eye + buffalo horn' Rebus: kanga'large portable barzier' (Kashmiri) + ṭhaṭerā ‘brass worker’ (Punjabi)
Ta. kaṇ eye, aperture, orifice, star of a peacock's tail. Ma. kaṇ, kaṇṇu eye, nipple, star in peacock's tail, bud. Ko. kaṇ eye. To. koṇ eye, loop in string.Ka. kaṇ eye, small hole, orifice. Koḍ. kaṇṇï id. Tu. kaṇṇů eye, nipple, star in peacock's feather, rent, tear. Te. kanu, kannu eye, small hole, orifice, mesh of net, eye in peacock's feather. Kol. kan (pl. kanḍl) eye, small hole in ground, cave. Nk. kan (pl. kanḍḷ) eye, spot in peacock's tail. Nk. (Ch.) kan (pl. -l) eye. Pa.(S. only) kan (pl. kanul) eye. Ga. (Oll.) kaṇ (pl. kaṇkul) id.; kaṇul maṭṭa eyebrow; kaṇa (pl. kaṇul) hole; (S.) kanu (pl. kankul) eye. Go. (Tr.) kan (pl.kank) id.; (A.) kaṛ (pl. kaṛk) id. Konḍa kaṇ id. Pe. kaṇga (pl. -ŋ, kaṇku) id. Manḍ. kan (pl. -ke) id. Kui kanu (pl. kan-ga), (K.) kanu (pl. kaṛka) id. Kuwi(F.) kannū (pl. kar&nangle;ka), (S.) kannu (pl. kanka), (Su. P. Isr.) kanu (pl. kaṇka) id. Kur. xann eye, eye of tuber; xannērnā (of newly born babies or animals) to begin to see, have the use of one's eyesight (for ērnā, see 903). Malt. qanu eye. Br. xan id., bud. (DEDR 1159) kāṇá ʻ one -- eyed ʼ RV. Pa. Pk. kāṇa -- ʻ blind of one eye, blind ʼ; Ash. kã̄ṛa, °ṛī f. ʻ blind ʼ, Kt. kãŕ, Wg. kŕãmacrdotdot;, Pr. k&schwatildemacr;, Tir. kāˊna, Kho. kāṇu NTS ii 260,kánu BelvalkarVol 91; K. kônu ʻ one -- eyed ʼ, S. kāṇo, L. P. kāṇã̄; WPah. rudh. śeu. kāṇā ʻ blind ʼ; Ku. kāṇo, gng. kã̄&rtodtilde; ʻ blind of one eye ʼ, N. kānu;A. kanā ʻ blind ʼ; B. kāṇā ʻ one -- eyed, blind ʼ; Or. kaṇā, f. kāṇī ʻ one -- eyed ʼ, Mth. kān, °nā, kanahā, Bhoj. kān, f. °ni, kanwā m. ʻ one -- eyed man ʼ, H. kān,°nā, G. kāṇũ; M. kāṇā ʻ one -- eyed, squint -- eyed ʼ; Si. kaṇa ʻ one -- eyed, blind ʼ. -- Pk. kāṇa -- ʻ full of holes ʼ, G. kāṇũ ʻ full of holes ʼ, n. ʻ hole ʼ (< ʻ empty eyehole ʼ? Cf. ã̄dhḷũ n. ʻ hole ʼ < andhala -- ).S.kcch. kāṇī f.adj. ʻ one -- eyed ʼ; WPah.kṭg. kaṇɔ ʻ blind in one eye ʼ, J. kāṇā; Md. kanu ʻ blind ʼ.(CDIAL 3019) Ko. kāṇso ʻ squint -- eyed ʼ.(Konkani)
Alternative: dol ‘eye’; Rebus: dul ‘to cast metal in a mould’ (Santali)Alternative: kandi ‘hole, opening’ (Ka.)[Note the eye shown as a dotted circle on many Dilmun seals.]; kan ‘eye’ (Ka.); rebus: kandi (pl. –l) necklace, beads (Pa.);kaṇḍ 'stone ore' Alternative: kã̄gsī f. ʻcombʼ (Gujarati); rebus 1: kangar ‘portable furnace’ (Kashmiri); rebus 2: kamsa 'bronze'.
khuṇḍ ʻtethering peg or post' (Western Pahari) Rebus: kūṭa ‘workshop’; kuṭi= smelter furnace (Santali); Rebus 2: kuṇḍ 'fire-altar'
Why are animals shown in pairs?
dula ‘pair’ (Kashmiri); rebus: dul ‘cast metal’ (Mu.)
Thus, all the hieroglyphs on the gold disc can be read as Indus writing related to one bronze-age artifact category: metalware catalog entries.
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
August 31, 2015