Priest of dhā̆vaḍ 'iron-smelters' with Indus script hieroglyphs signifies पोतृ,'purifier' of dhāū, dhāv 'red stone minerals' 

Hieroglyphs: dām 'garland, rope': Rebus 1: dhamma'dharma' (Pali); Rebus 2: dhamaga'blacksmith'; dhmātṛ'smelter'

Hieroglyphs: hangi, 'mollusc' tied to a fish: ayira 'fish' Rebus; ariya, ayira 'person of noble character'. 

Hieroglyphs: hangi 'mollusc' + dām 'rope, garland' dã̄u m. ʻtyingʼ; puci 'tail' Rebus: puja 'worship'

Rebus: ariya sanghika dhamma puja 'veneration of arya sangha dharma'.

m1356, m443 tablet 

Hieroglyph: मेढा [ mēḍhā ] 'a curl or snarl; twist in thread' (Marathi) .L. meṛh f. ʻrope tying oxen to each other'. 

मेढा [ mēḍhā ] A twist or tangle arising in thread or cord, a curl or snarl.(Marathi) mer.ha = twisted, crumpled, as a horn (Santali.lex.) meli, melika = a turn, a twist, a loop, entanglement; meliyu, melivad.u, meligonu = to get twisted or entwined (Te.lex.) [Note the endless knot motif]. Rebus: med. ‘iron’ (Mu.) sattva 'svastika glyph' Rebus: sattva, jasta 'zinc'.

The 'endless knot' hieroglyph on m1457 Copper plate of Mohenjo-daro has also orthographic variants of a twisted string.

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/04/ant-twisted-rope-and-other-meluhha.html

The 'endless knot' hieroglyph can be interpreted as composed of two related semantics: 1. strand of rope or string; 2. twist or curl

Twisted rope as hieroglyph:

dhāˊtu *strand of rope ʼ (cf. tridhāˊtu -- ʻ threefold ʼ RV., ayugdhātu -- ʻ having an uneven number of strands ʼ KātyŚr.)  S. dhāī f. ʻ wisp of fibres added from time to time to a rope that is being twisted ʼ, L. dhāī˜ f.(CDIAL 6773 ) Rebus: dhāˊtu n. ʻ substance ʼ RV., m. ʻ element ʼ MBh., ʻ metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour) ʼ Mn.Pk. dhāu -- m. ʻ metal, red chalk ʼ; N. dhāu ʻ ore (esp. of copper) ʼ; Or. ḍhāu ʻ red chalk, red ochre ʼ (whence ḍhāuā ʻ reddish ʼ; M. dhāū, dhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ (whence dhā̆vaḍ m. ʻ a caste of iron -- smelters ʼ, dhāvḍī ʻ composed of or relating to iron ʼ)(CDIAL 6773). 

Mohenjo-daro. m1457 Copper plate with 'twist' hieroglyph. Mohejodaro, tablet in bas relief (M-478) The first hieroglyph-multiplex on the left (twisted rope): 

m478a tablet

கோலம்¹ kōlam, n. [T. kōlamu, K. kōla, M. kōlam.] 1. Beauty, gracefulness, hand- someness; அழகு. கோலத் தனிக்கொம்பர் (திருக் கோ. 45). 2. Colour; நிறம். கார்க்கோல மேனி யானை (கம்பரா. கும்பக. 154). 3. Form, shape, external or general appearance; உருவம். மானுடக் கோலம். 4. Nature; தன்மை. 5. Costume; appropriate dress; attire, as worn by actors; trappings; equipment; habiliment; வேடம். உள்வரிக் கோலத்து (சிலப். 5, 216). 6. Ornament, as jewelry; ஆபரணம். குறங்கிணை திரண்டன கோலம் பொறாஅ (சிலப். 30, 18). 7. Adornment, decoration, embellishment; அலங்காரம். புறஞ்சுவர் கோலஞ்செய்து (திவ். திருமாலை, 6). 8. Ornamental figures drawn on floor, wall or sacrificial pots with rice-flour, white stone-powder, etc.; மா, கற்பொடி முதலியவற்றாலிடுங் கோலம். தரை மெழுகிக் கோலமிட்டு (குமர. மீனாட். குறம். 25). 

The hieroglyphs on m478a tablet are read rebus:

kuTi 'tree'Rebus: kuThi 'smelter'

bhaTa 'worshipper' Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' baTa 'iron' (Gujarati) This hieroglyph is a phonetic deterinant of the 'rimless pot': baṭa = rimless pot (Kannada) Rebus: baṭa = a kind of iron (Gujarati) bhaṭa 'a furnace'.  Hence, the hieroglyph-multiplex of an adorant with rimless pot signifies: 'iron furnace' bhaTa. 

bAraNe ' an offering of food to a demon' (Tulu) Rebus: baran, bharat (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi. Bengali) The narrative of a worshipper offering to a tree is thus interpretable as a smelting of three minerals: copper, zinc and tin.

Numeral four: gaNDa 'four' Rebus: kand 'fire-altar'; Four 'ones': koḍa ‘one’ (Santali) Rebus: koḍ ‘artisan’s workshop'. Thus, the pair of 'four linear strokes PLUS rimless pot' signifies: 'fire-altar (in) artisan's wrkshop'. 

Circumscript of two linear strokes for 'body' hieroglyph: dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal' koḍa ‘one’(Santali) Rebus: koḍ ‘artisan’s workshop'. Thus, the circumscript signifies 'cast metal workshop'. meD 'body' Rebus: meD 'iron'.

khareḍo = a currycomb (G.) Rebus: kharādī ‘turner’ (Gujarati)

The hieroglyph may be a variant of a twisted rope.

dhāu 'rope' rebus: dhāu 'metal' PLUS  मेढा [ mēḍhā ] 'a curl or snarl; twist in thread' rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ ‘iron’. Thus, metallic ore.

kōlam, n. [T. kōlamu, K. kōla, M. kōlam.]  'ornamental figure' Rebus: kol'working in iron'

The inscription on m478 thus signifies, reading hieroglyphs from r.: 

Tree: kuThi 'smelter'

Worshipper: bhaTa 'furnace' 

Four linear strokes + rimless pot: kanda baTa 'fire-altar for iron'

Circumscript two linear strokes + body: meD koDa 'metal workshop'

Currycomb:khareḍo 'currycomb' rebus: kharādī ‘turner’; dhāu 'metal' 

PLUS mẽṛhẽt, meḍ ‘iron’; kol 'working in iron'. Together, the two hieroglyphs 

signify metalworker, ironsmith turner.

m0478b tablet

erga = act of clearing jungle (Kui) [Note image showing two men carrying 

uprooted trees] thwarted by a person in the middle with outstretched hands

Aḍaru twig; aḍiri small and thin branch of a tree; aḍari small branches (Ka.); aḍaru twig (Tu.)(DEDR 67). Aḍar = splinter (Santali); rebus: aduru = native metal (Ka.) Vikalpa: kūtī = bunch of twigs (Skt.) Rebus: kuṭhi = furnace (Santali) ḍhaṁkhara — m.n. ʻbranch without leaves or fruitʼ (Prakrit) (CDIAL 5524)

Hieroglyph: era female, applied to women only, and generally as a mark of respect, wife; hopon era a daughter; era hopon a man’s family; manjhi era the village chief’s wife; gosae era a female Santal deity; bud.hi era an old woman; era uru wife and children; nabi era a prophetess; diku era a Hindu woman (Santali)

•Rebus: er-r-a = red; eraka = copper (Ka.) erka = ekke (Tbh. of arka) aka (Tbh. of arka) copper (metal); crystal (Ka.lex.) erako molten cast (Tu.lex.)  agasa_le, agasa_li, agasa_lava_d.u = a goldsmith (Te.lex.)

kuTi 'tree' Rebus: kuṭhi = (smelter) furnace (Santali) 

heraka = spy (Skt.); eraka, hero = a messenger; a spy (Gujarati); er to look at or for (Pkt.); er uk- to play 'peeping tom' (Ko.) Rebus: erka = ekke (Tbh. of arka) aka (Tbh. of arka) copper (metal); crystal (Ka.lex.) cf. eruvai = copper (Ta.lex.) eraka, er-aka = any metal infusion (Ka.Tu.) eraka ‘copper’ (Kannada) 

kōṭu  branch of tree, Rebus: खोट [ khōṭa ] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge. 

Hieroglyph: Looking back: krammara'look back' (Telugu) kamar'smith, artisan' (Santali)

kola ‘tiger, jackal’ (Kon.); rebus: kol working in iron, blacksmith, ‘alloy of five metals, panchaloha’ (Tamil) kol ‘furnace, forge’ (Kuwi) kolami ‘smithy’ (Telugu) 

^  Inverted V, m478 (lid above rim of narrow-necked jar) The rimmed jar next to the tiger with turned head has a lid. Lid ‘ad.aren’; rebus: aduru ‘native metal’ karnika 'rim of jar' Rebus: karni 'supercargo' (Marathi) Thus, together, the jar with lid composite hieroglyhph denotes 'native metal supercargo'. karn.aka = handle of a vessel; ka_n.a_, kanna_ = rim, edge; kan.t.u = rim of a vessel; kan.t.ud.iyo = a small earthen vessel; kan.d.a kanka = rim of a water-pot; kan:kha, kankha = rim of a vessel

Comparable hieroglyph of kneeling adorant with outstretched hands occurs on a Mohenjo-daro seal m1186, m478A tablet and on Harappa tablet h177B:

Rebus readings: maṇḍa ‘ 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. Rebus: M. mã̄ḍ m. ʻ array of instruments &c. ʼ; Si. maḍa -- ya ʻ adornment, ornament ʼ. (CDIAL 9736) kamaḍha 'penance' (Pkt.)Rebus: kampaṭṭam 'mint' (Tamil) battuḍu. n. A worshipper (Telugu) Rebus: pattar merchants (Tamil), perh. Vartaka (Skt.)

m1186 seal. kaula— m. ‘worshipper of Śakti according to left—hand ritual’, khōla—3 ‘lame’; Khot. kūra— ‘crooked’ BSOS ix 72 and poss. Sk. kōra— m. ‘movable joint’ Suśr.] Ash. kṓlƏ ‘curved, crooked’; Dm. kōla ‘crooked’, Tir. kṓolƏ; Paš. kōlā́ ‘curved, crooked’, Shum. kolā́ṇṭa; Kho. koli ‘crooked’, (Lor.) also ‘lefthand, left’; Bshk. kōl ‘crooked’; Phal. kūulo; Sh. kōlu̯ ‘curved, crooked’ (CDIAL 3533). 

Rebus: kol ‘pancaloha’ (Tamil)

bhaTa 'worshipper' Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' baTa 'iron' (Gujarati)

saman 'make an offering (Santali) samanon 'gold' (Santali)

minDAl 'markhor' (Torwali) meDho 'ram' (Gujarati)(CDIAL 10120) Rebus: me~Rhet, meD 'iron' (Mu.Ho.Santali)

heraka 'spy' (Samskritam) Rebus:eraka 'molten metal, copper'

maNDa 'branch, twig' (Telugu) Rebus: maNDA 'warehouse, workshop' (Konkani)\karibha, jata kola Rebus: karba, ib, jasta, 'iron, zinc, metal (alloy of five metals)

maNDi 'kneeling position' Rebus: mADa 'shrine; mandil 'temple' (Santali)

dhatu 'scarf' Rebus: dhatu 'mineral ore' (Santali)

The rice plant adorning the curved horn of the person (woman?) with the pig-tail is kolmo; read rebus, kolme ‘smithy’. Smithy of what? Kol ‘pancaloha’. The curving horn is: kod.u = horn; rebus: kod. artisan’s workshop (Kuwi)

The long curving horns may also connote a ram on h177B tablet:

h177B4316 Pict-115: From R.—a person standing under an ornamental arch; a kneeling adorant; a ram with long curving horns.

The ram read rebus: me~d. ‘iron’; glyph: me_n.d.ha ram; min.d.a_l markhor (Tor.); meh ram (H.); mei wild goat (WPah.) me~r.hwa_ a bullock with curved horns like a ram’s (Bi.) me~r.a_, me~d.a_ ram with curling horns (H.)

https://kalyan97.wordpress.com/2007/06/29/mleccha-written-read-rebus/

Ganweriwala tablet. Ganeriwala or Ganweriwala (Urdu: گنےریوالا‎ Punjabi: گنیریوالا) is a Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization site in Cholistan, Punjab, Pakistan.

Glyphs on a broken molded tablet, Ganweriwala. The reverse includes the 'rim-of-jar' glyph in a 3-glyph text. Observe shows a  person seated on a stool and a kneeling adorant below.

Hieroglyph: kamadha 'penance' Rebus: kammata 'coiner, mint'.

Reading rebus three glyphs of text on Ganweriwala tablet: brass-worker, scribe, turner:

1. kuṭila ‘bent’; rebus: kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) [cf. āra-kūṭa, ‘brass’ (Skt.) (CDIAL 3230) 

2. Glyph of ‘rim of jar’: kárṇaka m. ʻ projection on the side of a vessel, handle ʼ ŚBr. [kárṇa -- ]Pa. kaṇṇaka -- ʻ having ears or corners ʼ; (CDIAL 2831) kaṇḍa kanka; Rebus: furnace account (scribe). kaṇḍ = fire-altar (Santali); kan = copper (Tamil) khanaka m. one who digs , digger , excavator Rebus: karanikamu. Clerkship: the office of a Karanam or clerk. (Telugu) káraṇa n. ʻ act, deed ʼ RV. [√kr̥1] Pa. karaṇa -- n. ʻdoingʼ; NiDoc. karana,  kaṁraṁna ʻworkʼ; Pk. karaṇa -- n. ʻinstrumentʼ(CDIAL 2790)

3. khareḍo = a currycomb (G.) Rebus: kharādī ‘ turner’ (G.) 

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/07/witzels-breath-taking-announcement-of.html 

Hieroglyph: मेढा [mēḍhā] A twist or tangle arising in thread or cord, a curl or snarl (Marathi). Rebus: meḍ 'iron, copper' (Munda. Slavic) mẽṛhẽt, meD 'iron' (Mu.Ho.Santali)

meď 'copper' (Slovak)

Santali glosses:

Wilhelm von Hevesy wrote about the Finno-Ugric-Munda kinship, like "Munda-Magyar-Maori, an Indian link between the antipodes new tracks of Hungarian origins" and "Finnisch-Ugrisches aus Indien". (DRIEM, George van: Languages of the Himalayas: an ethnolinguistic handbook. 1997. p.161-162.) Sumerian-Ural-Altaic language affinities have been noted. Given the presence of Meluhha settlements in Sumer, some Meluhha glosses might have been adapted in these languages. One etyma cluster refers to 'iron' exemplified by meD (Ho.). The alternative suggestion for the origin of the gloss med 'copper' in Uralic languages may be explained by the word meD (Ho.) of Munda family of Meluhha language stream:

Sa. <i>mE~R~hE~'d</i> `iron'.  ! <i>mE~RhE~d</i>(M).

Ma. <i>mErhE'd</i> `iron'.

Mu. <i>mERE'd</i> `iron'.

  ~ <i>mE~R~E~'d</i> `iron'.  ! <i>mENhEd</i>(M).

Ho <i>meD</i> `iron'.

Bj. <i>merhd</i>(Hunter) `iron'.

KW <i>mENhEd</i>

@(V168,M080)

http://www.ling.hawaii.edu/austroasiatic/AA/Munda/ETYM/Pinnow&Munda

— Slavic glosses for 'copper'

Мед [Med]Bulgarian

Bakar Bosnian

Медзь [medz']Belarusian

Měď Czech

Bakar Croatian

KòperKashubian

Бакар [Bakar]Macedonian

Miedź Polish

Медь [Med']Russian

Meď Slovak

BakerSlovenian

Бакар [Bakar]Serbian

Мідь [mid'] Ukrainian[unquote]

http://www.vanderkrogt.net/elements/element.php?sym=Cu 

Miedź, med' (Northern Slavic, Altaic) 'copper'.  

One suggestion is that corruptions from the German "Schmied", "Geschmeide" = jewelry. Schmied, a smith (of tin, gold, silver, or other metal)(German) result in med ‘copper’.

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/svastika-indus-script-hieroglyph.html On decipherment of svastika hieroglyph as satthiya‘svastika glyph’; rebus: satthiya‘zinc’, jasta‘zinc’ (Kashmiri.Hindi), satva, ‘zinc’ (Prakritam) svastika pewter (Kannada); yasada id.(Jaina Pkt.)

 The āyāgapaṭṭa Jaina homage tablet is now in the Lucknow Museum. 

 http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/a/largeimage58906.html

Hieroglyphs on āyāgapaṭṭa अयागपट्ट: from L. two fishes dula 'two' rebus: dul 'cast metal' aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'metal, alloy'; puccha 'fish-tail' rebus: puja 'worship'; rope tying molluscs and fish aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'meta, alloy' dām 'rope' rebus: ध्मातृ dhmātṛ 'smelter', dhamaga'blacksmith' (Prakritam); s'ankha 'conch' rebus: sanga 'community, guild'. sangi 'mollusc', Rebus: sangi 'pilgrim'.

The word दामा dāmā 'string' evokes the metalwork of the smelters using bellows: ध्मातृ m. a blower , smelter or melter (of metal) Rigveda RV. v , 9 , 5 Sukta appended. A derived etymon is dhamaga 'blacksmith' (Prakritam).
Hieroglyph: दामा dāmā A string, cord. (Samskritam) தாமம்¹ tāmam, n. dāman. Rope, cord, string; கயிறு. (பிங்.) Wreath, flower garland, chaplet, especially worn on shoulders.

Rebus: N. dhāu ʻ ore (esp. of copper) ʼ; Or. ḍhāu ʻ red chalk, red ochre ʼ (whence ḍhāuā ʻ reddish ʼ; M. dhāū, dhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ (whence dhā̆vaḍ m. ʻ a caste of iron -- smelters ʼ, dhāvḍī ʻ composed of or relating to iron ʼ)

Zinc ore, sphalerite is referred to as black and hence may signify zinc sulphide ZnS. The 'endless knot' hieroglyph of Indus Script Corpora can be read as: dhāu sattva, jasta ore PLUS 'zinc', or zinc ore. It is notable that zinc occurs commonly as mineral sphalerite. This mineral is usually black because of various impurities, the pure material is white, and it is widely used as a pigment.

PS: A note on ancient rope-making with two/three strands

Three rope-makers working in the marshes making a two strand rope.

Above the labourers are depicted the tools of their trade, a bundle of raw material, and four finished coils of rope.The same three-men technique was still in use in the 20th century CE

Tomb of Ti Quibell 1896, Pl.32

At times a worker would tie the rope around his waist using the weight of his body to keep the rope taught, freeing his hands for manipulating it.Source: Maude 1862, p.375

Fragment of papyrus rope, Late Period, length: 42 cm, diameter: 9 cm

Source: Petrie Museum website. "Cordage was occasionally made by braiding three strands of material together, but the main manufacturing technique consisted in twisting two or more yarns of the same thickness individually in the same direction and then combining the strands by twisting them together in the opposite direction. The resulting cord could be twisted together with similar chords to form a rope of even greater girth. The ends of twisted rope were tied up to keep them from unravelling. The finished rope was beaten with a wooden implement or brushed ^[9], coiled up while paying attention that no kinking occurred and stored as a coil." http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/trades/rope.htm

Three-strand twisted natural fibre rope  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope
See: Thomas R., Tengberg M., Moulhérat C., Marcon V. & Besenval R.  – 2012. Analysis of a Protohistoric net from Shahi Tump, Baluchistan (Pakistan).Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 4 (1) : 15-23.

See: http://www.mae.u-paris10.fr/arscan/IMG/article_PDF/article_a1412.pdf

See: https://www.academia.edu/2557263/A_Late_Neolithic_fishing_net_from_Kurdistan_Northern_Iraq

S. Kalyanaraman 
Sarasvati Research Center 
November 21, 2015