karã̄ 'wristlets,bangles', khãr 'ironsmith'

Section 2. Decipherment of inscriptions on 22 ceramic stoneware bangles; bangles with Indus Script inscriptions are professional calling cards of artisans

Section 3. Decipherment of inscriptions on seven seals and five tablets of Mohenjo-daro temple (kole.l 'smithy, forge' rebus: kole.l 'temple')

1. Itihāsa. With a large cache of Dilmun seals, Indus Script Corpora has grown to c. 30,000 insciptions of wealth-accounting ledgers 

https://tinyurl.com/y8rj5xpd

2. Itihāsa of Assur, metalsmiths of India, Ashur Ancient Near East. Two seals of Saar, Bahrain Indus Script hypertexts wealth-accounting metalwork ledgers 

https://tinyurl.com/ya5nzf6k

3. Itihāsa.Dilmun armourers, آهن ګران āhan-garān 'thunderbolt makers' of Sarasvati Civiliztion, Indus Script Meluhha Part 1 to 3 

https://tinyurl.com/y7vsvtdm

4. Dilmun seals should be included in Indus Script Corpora, artisans and seafaring merchants of Sarasvati Civiization in Qal'at al-Bahrain, 2050 BCE 

https://tinyurl.com/y8mc72kq

Section 1. Decipherment of a 'Unicorn' seal impression on Ceramic furnace (Kiln-jar) to make stoneware bangles

Impressions of two seals of the Proto-Elamite culture (c. 3200-2600 BCE). (After Amiet 1980: nos. 514 and 515).

Detail of the Mari Ishtar temple victory parade: thestand topped by the image of unicorn wild bull (excavationno. M-458), height 7cm. (After Parrot 1935: 134, fig. 15)

a)A procession of four men holding up stands topped by various things including a ‘unicorn’ bull. Terracotta tablet M-490 (HR 1443) from Mohenjo-daro; b) Terracotta tablet M-491 (HR 1546) from Mohenjo-daro; c) a unique tablet H-196 (262) from Harappa. After Asko Parpola Figure 6, 2018.

• कोंद kōnda 'young bull' rebus: कोंद kōnda 'engraver, turner' kundana 'fine gold' PLUS kōḍu'horn' rebus koḍ 'workplace' PLUS koḍiyum 'ring on neck' rebus:  koḍ 'workplace' PLUS  khōṇḍī खोंडी 'pannier sack' rebus: कोंद kōnda 'engraver, turner, fine gold'. Thus, the hypertext composition signifies workshop of a goldsmith, lapidary (turner, engraver). A remarkable cognate etymon signifying a young bull is seen in Telugu (Indian sprahbund, 'speech union'): kōḍe. [Tel.] n. A bullcalf. కోడెదూడ. A young bull. కాడిమరపదగినదూడ. Plumpness, prime. తరుణము. జోడుకోడయలు a pair of bullocks. కోడె adj. Young. కోడెత్రాచు a young snake, one in its prime. "కోడెనాగముం బలుగుల రేడుతన్ని కొని పోవుతెరంగు" రామా. vi. కోడెకాడు kōḍe-kāḍu. n. A young man. పడుచువాడు. A lover విటుడు. Rebus: kõdār 'turner' (Bengali). konda 'furnace, fire-altar'  kō̃da कोँद 'furnace for smelting':  payĕn-kō̃da पयन्-कोँद । परिपाककन्दुः f. a kiln (a potter's, a lime-kiln, and brick-kiln, or the like); a furnace (for smelting). -thöji - or -thöjü -; । परिपाक-(द्रावण-)मूषाf. a crucible, a melting-pot. -ʦañĕ -। परिपाकोपयोगिशान्ताङ्गारसमूहः f.pl. a special kind of charcoal (made from deodar and similar wood) used in smelting furnaces. -wôlu -वोलु&below; । धात्वादिद्रावण-इष्टिकादिपरिपाकशिल्पी m. a metal-smelter; a brick-baker. -wān -वान् । द्रावणचुल्ली m. a smelting furnace.
• 
  

On Indus Script hypertexts, three forms of bulls are signified:

1. Bos primigenius (unicorns as young bulls with one horn): khōṇḍa m A young bull, a bullcalf.  rebus: kunda, 'one of कुबेर's nine treasures', kundaṇa 'fine gold'

2. Bos primigenius Indicus (zebu): पोळ [pōḷa], 'zebu, dewlap' rebus: पोळ [pōḷa], 'magnetite, ferrite ore'' 

3. Bos primigenius taurus (old bull or ox): ḍhangra 'bull'. Rebus: ḍhangar 

'blacksmith'. barad, balad, 'ox' rebus: bharata 'metal alloy' (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin).

One-horned young bull is NOT a mythical species said to be 'unicorn' but in the genre of Indian aurochs (Bos primigenius).

The standard device has two componennts ligatured together: the bottom portion is a portable furnace; the top portion is gimlet of a lathe. Sometimes, the bottom part of portable furnace is decorated with dotted circles. Sometimes the top of the furnace is embellished with smoking rising from the charcoal embers.

The top portion, gimlet, lathe is: sãgaḍ 'lathe'   Rebus: S سنګر sangar, s.m. (2nd) A breastwork of stones, etc., erected to close a pass or road; lines, entrenchments. Pl. سنګرونه sangarūnah. See باره

The bottom portion, the portable furnace is: కమటము (p. 246) kamaṭamu kamaṭamu. [Tel.] n. A portable furnace for melting the precious metals. అగసాలెవాని కుంపటి. "చ కమటము కట్లెసంచియొరగల్లును గత్తెర సుత్తె చీర్ణముల్ ధమనియుస్రావణంబు మొలత్రాసును బట్టెడ నీరుకారు సా నము పటుకారు మూస బలునాణె పరీక్షల మచ్చులాదిగా నమరగభద్రకారక సమాహ్వయు డొక్కరుడుండు నప్పురిన్"హంస. ii. కమ్మటము (p. 247) kammaṭamu Same as కమటము. కమ్మటీడు kammaṭīḍu. [Tel.] A man of the goldsmith caste.  Rebus:  Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner.  (DEDR 1236)

Thus, together, the field symbol signifies: sangar kammaṭa 'mint (in) fortification.'

After Fig. 55, 56 in Massimo Vidale, 1984, Kilns, bangles and coated vessels: ceramic peosuxrion in xloaws xonrINWEA r Mohwnjoso, in: Interim reports Vol.1.Reports of Field Work carried out at Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan 1982083.IsMEO0Aachen-University Mission, pp.64-97

https://tinyurl.com/y39kvph8. Mohenjodaro, Moneer South-East Area (AA.40):ellipsoidal sealing with impression of ‘unicorn’ stamp seal on the mouth of jar E (MNSE/82/597).

After Fig. 40 Moenjodaro, Moneer South-East Area (AA.40):fragmentary terracotta bangles in the filling of the jar G during the internal excavation (MNSE/82/614).and Fig. 41 Moenjodaro,MoneerSouth-East Area (AA.40): group of fragmentary terracotta bangles recovered in association with jar G (MNSE/82/613,614) in Massimo Vidale, opcit.

After Fig. 63 in Massimo Vidale, 1984, opcit. Conjectural graphic reconstruction of the whole system assembled inside the kiln

After Fig. 69 in Massimo Vidale, opcit. Unbroken stoneware bracelet.(HW/83/621)

Sealing of a one-horned young bull identifies, marks the product from the ceramic furnace. (At 29:06 of the Archaeodoku youtube video documentary).

Reading of the text message on the seal impression suggested by Asko Parpola (Massimo Vidale, opcit., p.86):

 Rebus meaning: Supercargo, bronze equipment, workshop (for) smithy implements, workshop helmsman

kaṇī f. ʻ hard core of grain, pupil of eye, broken bit ʼ(Marathi)(CDIAL 2661) Rebus:कारणी or कारणीक kāraṇī or kāraṇīka a (कारण S) That causes, conducts, carries on, manages. Applied to the prime minister of a state, the supercargo of a ship (Marathi) Supercargo is a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale. PLUS met 'the eye' rebus: meḍ 'iron' (Mu.Ho.) med 'copper' (Slavic languages). मृदु mṛdu, mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'metal' meḍh ‘helper of merchant’ (Pkt.) meṛha, meḍhi  ‘merchant’s clerk (Gujarati) medha 'yajna' medhā 'dhanam'. 

Sign 293 may be seen as a ligature of Sign 287 PLUS 'corner' signifier: Thus, kanac 'corner' rebus: kancu 'bell-metal'.kaṁsá 1 m. ʻmetal cup ʼ AV., m.n. ʻ bell -- metalʼ PLUS kuṭila 'curve' rebus: kuṭila 'bronze/pewter' (Pewter is an alloy that is a variant brass alloy). The reading of Sign 293 is: kanac kuṭila 'pewter'.

Santali

Sign 287 'curve' hieroglyph The basic orthograph of Sign 287 is signifiedby the semantics of: kuṭila ‘bent’ CDIAL 3230 kuṭi— in cmpd. ‘curve’, kuṭika— ‘bent’ MBh. Rebus: kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) cf. āra-kūṭa, 'brass'  Old English ār 'brass, copper, bronze' Old Norse eir 'brass, copper', German ehern 'brassy, bronzen'. kastīra n. ʻ tin ʼ lex. 2. *kastilla -- .1. H. kathīr m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼ; G. kathīr n. ʻ pewter ʼ.2. H. (Bhoj.?) kathīl, °lā m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼ; M. kathīl n. ʻ tin ʼ, kathlẽ n. ʻ large tin vessel ʼ.(CDIAL 2984) कौटिलिकः kauṭilikḥ कौटिलिकः 1 A hunter.-2 A blacksmith. PLUS

'notch'  खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā 'tools, pots and pans, metal-ware'. Thus, kuṭila, katthīl khāṇḍā = Equipment made of bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin)

Sign 342 karṇaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebs: karṇī  'scribe, supercargo' 

karṇadhāra m. ʻ helmsman ʼ Suśr. [kárṇa -- , dhāra -- 1]Pa. kaṇṇadhāra -- m. ʻ helmsman ʼ; Pk. kaṇṇahāra -- m. ʻ helmsman, sailor ʼ; H. kanahār m. ʻ helmsman, fishermanʼ(CDIAL 2836)

Hieroglyph of long linear stroke: |koḍa'one' rebus: koḍ'workshop'.

Sign 112 kolom 'three' rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'.

gaṇḍa 'four' rebus: kaṇḍa 'fire-altar' khaṇḍa 'implements, metalware'.

koḍa 'sluice'; Rebus: koḍ 'artisan's workshop (Kuwi) Vikalpa: सांड [ sāṇḍa ] f (षद S) An outlet for superfluous water (as through a dam or mound); a sluice, a floodvent. सांडशी [ sāṇḍaśī ] f (Dim. of सांडस, or from H) A small kind of tongs or pincers.

Sign 342 karṇaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebs: karṇī  'scribe, supercargo' 

karṇadhāra m. ʻ helmsman ʼ Suśr. [kárṇa -- , dhāra -- 1]Pa. kaṇṇadhāra -- m. ʻ helmsman ʼ; Pk. kaṇṇahāra -- m. ʻ helmsman, sailor ʼ; H. kanahār m. ʻ helmsman, fishermanʼ(CDIAL 2836)

Section 2. Decipherment of inscriptions on 22 ceramic stoneware bangles; bangles with Indus Script inscriptions are professional calling cards of artisans

See: Indus Script catalogue of pot kiln for ceramic (stoneware) bangles. kō̃da कोँद 'young bull', kō̃da 'kiln'; karã̄'wristlets, bangles', khãr'ironsmith' ANE rod and ring, insignia of a guild functionary https://tinyurl.com/y959qsd9

A remarkable Mohenjo-daro Indus Script catalogue is presented on a pot kiln apparatus used to make karã̄ ceramic (stoneware) bangles which are badges of responsibility for guild functionaries.

Balakot, inscribed bangle Inscription: dhatu कारणी or कारणीक [ kāraṇī or kāraṇīka ] 'supercargo of a ship responsible for the cargo of mineral ores'

The catalogue is presented as a sealing of kō̃da 'young bull' seal affixed on the upper capping of the pot kiln apparatus. 

The pot kiln apparatus is an innovative design to produce inscribed bangles as dharma saṁjñā 'artisan responsibility badges' with Indus Script.

How were ceramic (stoneware) bangles made? Stoneware bangles are unique because they carry micro-inscriptions. “The term ‘stoneware’ was used by the early excavators to designate artifacts with a highly siliceous, partially sintered, homogeneous ceramic body, usually free from inclusions or voids visible to the naked eye, and characterized by a very low porosisity.”(J.M. Blackman, M. Vidale, 1992, The Production and Distribution of Stoneware Bangles at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa as Monitored by Chemical Charachterization Studies, in: Catherine Jarrige, ed., 1992, South Asian Archaeology 1989, Prehistory Press, p.38) See: https://www.academia.edu/5597400/J.M._Blackman_M._Vidale_The_Production_and_Distribution_of_Stoneware_Bangles_at_Mohenjo-Daro_and_Harappa_as_Monitored_by_Chemical_Charachterization_Studies'

View of the slag with the coated sub-cylindrical bowl enclosing the stoneware bangles in a pile, in central position, Mohenjodaro. (Massimo Vidale, in: Jansen and Urban, 1987, p. 109)

Kenoyer has shown that these bangles were formed by throwing clay cylinders on a fast wheel and trimming and burnishing them with sharp pointed tools which left distinctive, fine parallel marks on them. Smalll saggars or firing containers were used to stack these bangles for firing. *saṁgaḍha ʻ collection of forts ʼ. [*gaḍha -- ]L. sãgaṛh m. ʻ line of entrenchments, stone walls for defence ʼ.(CDIAL12845) S سنګر sangar, s.m. (2nd) A breastwork of stones, etc., erected to close a pass or road; lines, entrenchments. Pl. سنګرونه sangarūnah. See باره سنګ بر sang-bar or سنګ تراش sang-tarās̱ẖ, s.m. (5th) A stone cutter. Pl. سنګ بران sang barān or تراشان tarās̱ẖān.(Pashto)

A: Upper capping in clay; B: Oval sealing with imprint of a Indus ‘unicorn’ stamp seal, applied in sets of three around the mouth of the closed saggars before firing; C: Intermediate coating in chaff-tempered clay; D: Pottery semispherical lid; E,F: broken terracotta rings used to support the lid…K: Pile formed by superimposed small saggars. This type of firing container was made by throwing a ceramic mixture very close to the stoneware of the bangles…M: Sets of stoneware bangles, inserted in couples with in each saggar of type K.

 (After Fig.3, 4, 5, 7 in Massimo Vidale,  1986, Stoneware industry of the Indus civilization: an evolutionary dead-end in the history of ceramic technology, in: In: WD Kingery, ed., Vol. V, Ceramics and civilization. The changing roles of ceramics in society: 26000 BP to the present, Westerville, OH, The American Ceramic Society, Inc.)

Reconstruction of the stoneware bangles' firing apparatus; stoneware bracelets are piled up in five pairs and enclosed in a coated carinated jar. The jar is given red-slipped, chaff-tempered outer coating. The apparatus is mounted on a network of supporting terracotta bangles. A unicorn seal impression is affixed on the upper capping. (Massimo Vidale, in:Jansen and Urban, 1987, p. 111)

I suggest that this sealing documents the use of a pot as a kiln: kō̃da 'kiln': kō̃da कोँद । कुलालादिकन्दुः f. a kiln; a potter's kiln (Rām. 1446; H. xi, 11); a brick-kiln (Śiv. 133); a lime-kiln. -bal -बल् । कुलालादिकन्दुस्थानम् m. the place where a kiln is erected, a brick or potter's kiln (Gr.Gr. 165). -- khasüñü -- खस&above;ञू&below; । कुलालादिकन्दुयथावद्भावः f.inf. a kiln to arise; met. to become like such a kiln (which contains no imperfectly baked articles, but only well-made perfectly baked ones), hence, a collection of good ('pucka') articles or qualities to exist. Cf. Śiv. 133, where the causal form of the verb is used. (Kashmiri) *kandukara ʻ worker with pans ʼ. [kándu -- , kará -- 1]K. kã̄dar, kã̄duru dat. °daris m. ʻ baker ʼ.(CDIAL 2728) kándu f. ʻ iron pot ʼ Suśr., °uka -- m. ʻ saucepan ʼ.Pk. kaṁdu -- , kaṁḍu -- m.f. ʻ cooking pot ʼ; K. kō̃da f. ʻ potter's kiln, lime or brick kiln ʼ; -- ext. with -- ḍa -- : K. kã̄dur m. ʻ oven ʼ. -- Deriv. Pk. kaṁḍua -- ʻ sweetseller ʼ (< *kānduka -- ?); H. kã̄dū m. ʻ a caste that makes sweetmeats ʼ.  (CDIAL 2726) kāndavika m. ʻ baker ʼ Pañcad. [kándu -- ]Pk. kaṁdaviya -- , °dōiya -- , °duia -- (u from kaṁdua -- ) m. ʻ sweetmeat seller ʼ; G. kãdoī m. ʻ confectioner ʼ.Addenda: kāndavika -- : S.kcch. kandhoyo m. ʻ confectioner ʼ.(CDIAL 3734)

See: Massimo Vidale An article examining the construction of ceramic stoneware in the Indus Valley Civilization with a focus on Mohenjo-daro. 

https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/stoneware_bangles.pdf

kará1 ʻ doing, causing ʼ AV., m. ʻ hand ʼ RV. [√kr̥1] Pa. Pk. kara -- m. ʻ hand ʼ; S. karu m. ʻ arm ʼ; Mth. kar m. ʻ hand ʼ (prob. ← Sk.); Si. kara ʻ hand, shoulder ʼ, inscr. karā ʻ to ʼ < karāya. -- Deriv. S. karāī f. ʻ wrist ʼ; G. karã̄ n. pl. ʻ wristlets, bangles ʼ.(CDIAL 2779)



Rebus: khār 1 खार् । लोहकारः m. (sg. abl. khāra 1 खार; the pl. dat. of this word is khāran 1 खारन्, which is to be distinguished from khāran 2, q.v., s.v.), a blacksmith, an iron worker (cf. bandūka-khār, p. 111b, l. 46; K.Pr. 46; H. xi, 17); a farrier (El.). This word is often a part of a name, and in such case comes at the end (W. 118) as in Wahab khār, Wahab the smith (H. ii, 12; vi, 17). khāra-basta खार-बस््त । चर्मप्रसेविका f. the skin bellows of a blacksmith. -büṭhü -ब&above;ठू&below; । लोहकारभित्तिः f. the wall of a blacksmith's furnace or hearth. -bāy -बाय् । लोहकारपत्नी f. a blacksmith's wife (Gr.Gr. 34). -dŏkuru -द्वकुरु‍&below; । लोहकारायोघनः m. a blacksmith's hammer, a sledge-hammer. -gȧji -ग&above;जि&below; or -güjü -ग&above;जू&below; । लोहकारचुल्लिः f. a blacksmith's furnace or hearth. -hāl -हाल् । लोहकारकन्दुः f. (sg. dat. -höjü -हा&above;जू&below;), a blacksmith's smelting furnace; cf. hāl 5. -kūrü -कूरू‍&below; । लोहकारकन्या f. a blacksmith's daughter. -koṭu -क&above;टु&below; । लोहकारपुत्रः m. the son of a blacksmith, esp. a skilful son, who can work at the same profession. -küṭü -क&above;टू&below; । लोहकारकन्या f. a blacksmith's daughter, esp. one who has the virtues and qualities properly belonging to her father's profession or caste. -më˘ʦü 1 -म्य&above;च&dotbelow;ू&below; । लोहकारमृत्तिका f. (for 2, see [khāra 3] ), 'blacksmith's earth,' i.e. iron-ore. -nĕcyuwu -न्यचिवु&below; । लोहकारात्मजः m. a blacksmith's son. -nay -नय् । लोहकारनालिका f. (for khāranay 2, see [khārun] ), the trough into which the blacksmith allows melted iron to flow after smelting. -ʦañĕ -च्&dotbelow;ञ । लोहकारशान्ताङ्गाराः f.pl. charcoal used by blacksmiths in their furnaces. -wān वान् । -- 48 -- लोहकारापणः m. a blacksmith's shop, a forge, smithy (K.Pr. 3). -waṭh -वठ् । आघाताधारशिला m. (sg. dat. -waṭas -वटि), the large stone used by a blacksmith as an anvil.(Kashmiri)


The artisan preparing ceramic (stoneware) bangles with inscriptions is clearly the standard-bearer for the Indus Writing system which was stunningly uniform across time and space over an extensive contact area on the Vedic Sarasvati river basin and extended along the maritime tin route from Hanoi to Haifa. If such an organizational structure is posited, it is possible to explain the uniformity maintained in the writing system on over 2600 sites of the civilization and also in contact areas where Meluhha merchants had established colonies. As an extended hypothesis, it is suggested that the recipient of the ceramic (stoneware) bangles in the work areas (sites) of the civilization are authorised to be scribed for documenting and archiving the metalwork catalogues.



The ceramic (stoneware) bangles are of great significance because of the special care taken by the artisans to prepare the artifacts incised before firing. Massimo Vidale and others have done pioneering archaeo-research to reconstruct the processes involved in preparing these written artifacts, almos as data archiving of ancient times during the Bronze Age. 


The descriptions of the processes provided by Massimo Vidale are gratefully acknowledged.


Distinction between terracotta bangles and ceramic (stoneware) bangles)






Excavated Bangle, Harappa. Terracotta bangles are of sizes wearable as wristlets or armlets.


Harappa. Kot Diji phase streets were filled with debris, including potsherds, charcoal, ash, animal bones, and occasional bangles and steatite beads.




A distinction has to be made between terracotta bangles and these inscribed ceramic (stoneware) bangles. Most terracotta bangles are uninscribed and are of sizes which are wearable by men and women. The ceramic (stoneware) bangles are of a very small size and NOT meant to be worn but perhaps used as centre-pieces of the fillet band of the type worn by Mohenjo-daro priest king on his forehead and right shoulder, as insignia, as professional titles or functions






Randall Law and Shamoon excavating a red stoneware bangle in Period 3C levels just below the surface in Trench 43.https://www.harappa.com/indus4/76.html


 


Red stoneware bangle (H2000-4490/9843-01) with no inscription. The lack of inscription may indicate that this may have been a place where the bangles were stored prior to inscribing them for distribution.






Many of the terra cotta bangles were originally painted with black or red designs. Such ornaments are found in the thousands and may have been worn, broken and discarded much as glass bangles are used today throughout the subcontinent. (Terracotta bangles were worn.Inscribed stoneware bangles are too small in size and which could have been worn not as bangles as writlets or armlets, but tied with bands like fillets worn by th priest-king of Mohenjo-daro or as pendants on necklaces).






 




Balakot 06 bangle






ḍato 'claws or pincers (chelae) of crabs'; ḍaṭom, ḍiṭom to seize with the claws or pincers, as crabs, scorpions; ḍaṭkop = to pinch, nip (only of crabs) (Santali) Rebus: dhatu 'mineral' (Santali) Vikalpa: erā 'claws'; Rebus: era 'copper'. 



Variants of Sign 403


Sign 403 is a duplication of  dula 'pair, duplicated' rebus: dul 'metalcasting' PLUS  Sign'oval/lozenge/rhombus' hieoglyph Sign 373. Sign 373 has the shape of oval or lozenge is the shape of a bun ingot.mũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced atone time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed likea four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end; mūhā mẽṛhẽt = iron smelted by the Kolhes andformed into an equilateral lump a little pointed at each of four ends; kolhe tehen mẽṛhẽt komūhā akata = the Kolhes have to-day produced pig iron (Santali). Thus, Sign 373 signifies word, mũhã̄ 'bun ingot'. Thus, hypertext Sign 403 reads: dul mũhã̄ 'metalcast ingot'.




Sign403: Hypertext:dul mũhã̄ 'metalcast ingot' PLUS bārī , 'small ear-ring': H. bālā m. ʻbraceletʼ (→ S. ḇālo m. ʻbracelet worn by Hindusʼ), bālī, bārī f. ʻsmall ear -- ringʼ, OMārw. bālī f.; G. vāḷɔ m. ʻ wire ʼ, pl. ʻ ear ornament made of gold wire ʼ; M. vāḷā m. ʻ ring ʼ, vāḷī f. ʻ nose -- ring ʼ.(CDIAL 11573) Rebus: bārī 'merchant' vāḍhī, bari, barea 'merchant' bārakaśa 'seafaring vessel'.




 Sign 342 karNI 'rim of jar' rebus: 'supercargo', 'engraver'



Terracotta bangle fragments decorated with red trefoils outlined in white on a green ground from late Period 3C deposits in Trench 43. This image shows both sides of the two fragments (H98-3516/8667-01 & H98-3517/8679-01).

Detail of terracotta bangle 
with red and white trefoil on a green background (H98-3516/8667-01 from Trench 43). 
Trefoil motifs are carved on the robe of the so-called "priest-king" statuette from 
Mohenjo-daro and are also known from contemporary sites in western Pakistan, 
Afghanistan, and southern Central Asia. dhā̆vaḍ 'smelter' tri-dhAtu,
'‘three minerals
h1010bangle  'magnetite ingot' PLUS 'twig' a stalk/twig, sprout (or tree branch) kūdī, kūṭī bunch of twigs (Sanskrit)  kūdī (also written as kūṭī in manuscripts) occurs in the Atharvaveda (AV 5.19.12) and Kauśika Sūtra (Bloomsfield’s ed.n, xliv. Cf. Bloomsfield, American Journal of Philology, 11, 355; 12,416; Roth, Festgruss an Bohtlingk, 98) denotes it as a twig. This is identified as that of Badarī, the jujube tied to the body of the dead to efface their traces. (See Vedic Index, I, p. 177). Rebus: kuṭhi ‘smelting furnace‘ (Santali) For the 'oval' hieroglyph, see: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/decipherment-of-harappa-zebu-figurine.html The reading is: पोळ [pōḷa] खोट khōṭa, 'magnetite ingot or wedge'.
Slide 33. Early Harappan zebu figurine with incised spots from Harappa.पोळ [pōḷa], 'zebu' Rebus: magnetite, citizen.(See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/zebu-archaeometallurgy-legacy-of-india.html )
 mūhā mẽṛhẽt = iron smelted by the Kolhes and formed into an equilateral lump a little pointed at each of four ends (Santali) खोट (p. 212) [ khōṭa ] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge. (Marathi)
h2576Abangle
 Sign 216
Sign 221 dhatu PLUS koD 'minerals workshop'
 Sign 229 sanni 'smith's vice' rebus: seni 'guild'
The sequence of hieroglyphs Sign 221-Sign 229 is comparable to the sequence which occurs on the so-called Pasupati seal:
Text 2420 on m0304 Sign 216 (Mahadevan). See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/indus-script-evidence-pasupati-seal.html ḍato ‘claws or pincers (chelae) of crabs’; ḍaṭom, ḍiṭom to seize with the claws or pincers, as crabs, scorpions; ḍaṭkop = to pinch, nip (only of crabs) (Santali) Rebus: dhatu ‘mineral’ (Santali) Vikalpa: erā ‘claws’; Rebus: era ‘copper’. Allograph: kamaṛkom = fig leaf (Santali.lex.) kamarmaṛā (Has.), kamaṛkom (Nag.); the petiole or stalk of a leaf (Mundari.lex.) kamat.ha = fig leaf, religiosa (Skt.)
Sign 229. sannī, sannhī = pincers, smith’s vice (P.) śannī f. ʻ small room in a house to keep sheep in ‘ (WPah.) Bshk. šan, Phal.šān ‘roof’ (Bshk.)(CDIAL 12326). seṇi (f.) [Class. Sk. śreṇi in meaning "guild"; Vedic= row] 1. a guild Vin iv.226; J i.267, 314; iv.43; Dāvs ii.124; their number was eighteen J vi.22, 427; VbhA 466. ˚ -- pamukha the head of a guild J ii.12 (text seni -- ). -- 2. a division of an army J vi.583; ratha -- ˚ J vi.81, 49; seṇimokkha the chief of an army J vi.371 (cp. senā and seniya). (Pali) 
Long linear stroke:  
Ko. ko·ṛ 
   
line marked out (DEDR 2200) rebus: koD 'workshop' 
  Ma. koṭṭil cowhouse, shed, workshop, house. (DEDR 2058)
m1629bangle
Sign 47 kaśēru ‘the backbone’ (Bengali. Skt.); kaśēruka id. (Skt.) Rebus: kasērāʻ metal worker ʼ (Lahnda)(CDIAL 2988, 2989) 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).
Faience tablet (H2001-5082/2920-02) made from two colors of faience was found eroding from the Trench 54 South workshop area. Identical tablets made from two colors of faience were recovered in Area J, at the south end of Mound AB, in the excavations of Vats during the 1930s. gaNDa 'four' rebus: kanda 'fire-altar' baTa 'rimless pot' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' baraḍo = spine; backbone (Tulu) Rebus: baran, bharat ‘mixed alloys’ (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi) ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal'.
Copper tablet (H2000-4498/9889-01) with raised script found in Trench 43. Harappa. (Source: Slide 351. harappa.com) Eight such tablets have been found (HARP, 2005); these were recovered from circular platforms. This example of a uniquely scripted tablet with raised Indus script glyphs shows that copper tablets were also used in Harappa, while hundreds of copper tablets with indus script inscriptions were found in Mohenjo-daro. See also:http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2011/11/decoding-longest-inscription-of-indus.html The copper tablet with raised script contains a 'backbone' glyph; decoding: kaśēru ‘the backbone’ (Bengali. Skt.); kaśēruka id. (Skt.) Rebus: kasērāʻ metal worker ʼ (Lahnda)(CDIAL 2988, 2989)mũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced at one time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed like a four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end (Santali). 
‘Backbone, spine’ hieroglyph: baraḍo = spine; backbone; the back; baraḍo thābaḍavo = lit. to strike on the backbone or back; hence, to encourage; baraḍo bhāre thato = lit. to have a painful backbone, i.e. to do something which will call for a severe beating (Gujarati)bārṇe, bāraṇe = an offering of food to a demon; a meal after fasting, a breakfast (Tulu) barada, barda, birada = a vow (Gujarati)bharaḍo a devotee of S’iva; a man of the bharaḍā caste in the bra_hman.as (Gujarati) baraṛ = name of a caste of jat- around Bhaṭiṇḍa; bararaṇḍā melā = a special fair held in spring (Punjabi) bharāḍ = a religious service or entertainment performed by a bharāḍi_; consisting of singing the praises of some idol or god with playing on the d.aur (drum) and dancing; an order of aṭharā akhād.e = 18 gosāyi_ group; bharād. and bhāratī are two of the 18 orders of gosāyi_ (Marathi).
Sign 1  कर्णकm. du. the two legs spread out AV. xx , 133 , 3 karNaka 'spread legs' rebus: karNaka 'helmsman' karNI 'supercargo', engraver meD 'body' rebus: rebus: meD 'iron' med 'copper' (Slavic) 
Sign 249 ranku 'liquid measure' rebus: ranku 'tin'
Sign 87 dula ‘pair’; rebus dul ‘cast (metal)’
Sign 336 baTa 'rimless pot' rebus: baTa 'iron' bhaTa 'furnace' PLUS Te. garĩṭe, gaṇṭe, geṇṭe spoon, ladle rebus:  To. köḍm (obl. köḍt-) live coal. Ka. keṇḍa id.; keṇḍavisu to put live coals on (for blasting rocks). Tu. keṇḍa, geṇḍa live coal. (DEDR 1950) 
Thus, furnace worker, metal casting, tin supercargo helmsman, metal worker are signified.
m1630bangle 
Sign 17 bhaTa 'warrior' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'
 Sign 342 karNI 'rim of jar' rebus: 'supercargo', 'engraver'
 'magnetite ingot'
m1631bangle
Sign 343 karNI kaNDa 'supercargo implements'
  dhā̆vaḍ 'smelter' Sign 180 Hieroglyph: tántu m. ʻ thread, warp ʼ RV. [√tan] Pa. tantu -- m. ʻ thread, cord ʼ, Pk. taṁtu -- m.; Kho. (Lor.) ton ʻ warp ʼ < *tand (whence tandeni ʻ thread between wings of spinning wheel ʼ); S. tandu f. ʻ gold or silver thread ʼ; L. tand (pl. °dũ) f. ʻ yarn, thread being spun, string of the tongue ʼ; P. tand m. ʻ thread ʼ, tanduā, °dūā m. ʻ string of the tongue, frenum of glans penis ʼ; A. tã̄t ʻ warp in the loom, cloth being woven ʼ; B. tã̄t ʻ cord ʼ; M. tã̄tū m. ʻ thread ʼ; Si. tatu, °ta ʻ string of a lute ʼ; -- with -- o, -- ā to retain orig. gender: S. tando m. ʻ cord, twine, strand of rope ʼ; N. tã̄do ʻ bowstring ʼ; H. tã̄tā m. ʻ series, line ʼ; G. tã̄tɔ m. ʻ thread ʼ; -- OG. tāṁtaṇaü m. ʻ thread ʼ < *tāṁtaḍaü, G.tã̄tṇɔ m.(CDIAL 5661) Rebus: 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); dhāˊtu n. ʻ substance ʼ RV., m. ʻ element ʼ MBh., ʻ metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour) ʼ; Pk. dhāu -- m. ʻ metal, red chalk ʼ; N. dhāu ʻ ore (esp. of copper) ʼ; Or. ḍhāu ʻ red chalk, red ochre ʼ (whence ḍhāuā ʻ reddish ʼ; (CDIAL 6773) धातु  primary element of the earth i.e. metal , mineral, ore (esp. a mineral of a red colour) Mn. MBh. &c element of words i.e. grammatical or verbal root or stem Nir. Pra1t. MBh. &c (with the southern Buddhists धातु means either the 6 elements [see above] Dharmas. xxv ; or the 18 elementary spheres [धातु-लोक] ib. lviii ; or the ashes of the body , relics L. [cf. -गर्भ]) (Monier-Williams. Samskritam). 
Sign 342 PLUS notch: Sign 342. kaṇḍa kanka 'rim of jar' (Santali): karṇaka rim of jar’(Skt.) Rebus: karṇaka ‘scribe, accountant’ (Te.); gaṇaka id. (Skt.) (Santali) copper fire-altar scribe (account)(Skt.) Rebus: kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar’ (Santali) Thus, the 'rim of jar' ligatured glyph is read rebus: fire-altar (furnace) scribe (account) karNI 'supercargo' (Marathi) karNaka 'helmsman' PLUS  खााडा [ kāṇḍā ] 'A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon)' Rebus: kaNDa 'implements' (Santali). 
m1632bangle
Sign 86 koD 'one' rebus: koD 'workshop'
Sign 59 ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' fish fins khambhaṛā 'fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint'
Sign 87 dula ‘pair’; rebus dul ‘cast (metal)’
m1633bangle
Sign 1  कर्णकm. du. the two legs spread out AV. xx , 133 , 3 karNaka 'spread legs' rebus: karNaka 'helmsman' karNI 'supercargo meD 'body' rebus: rebus: meD 'iron' med 'copper' (Slavic) 
Sign 336 baTa 'rimless pot' rebus: baTa 'iron' bhaTa 'furnace' PLUS Te. garĩṭe, gaṇṭe, geṇṭe spoon, ladle rebus:  To. köḍm (obl. köḍt-) live coal. Ka. keṇḍa id.; keṇḍavisu to put live coals on (for blasting rocks). Tu. keṇḍa, geṇḍa live coal. (DEDR 1950) 
Sign 86 koD 'one' rebus: koD 'workshop' PLUS 'notch': खााडा [ kāṇḍā ] 'A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon)' Rebus: kaNDa 'implements' (Santali). Thus, implements workshop, furnace work, helmsman of supercargo signified.
m1634bangle
 Read from r. to l.: The prefixSign403: Hieroglyph: bārī , 'small ear-ring': H. bālā m. ʻbraceletʼ (→ S. ḇālo m. ʻbracelet worn by Hindusʼ), bālī, bārī f. ʻsmall ear -- ringʼ, OMārw. bālī f.; G. vāḷɔ m. ʻ wire ʼ, pl. ʻ ear ornament made of gold wire ʼ; M. vāḷā m. ʻ ring ʼ, vāḷī f. ʻ nose -- ring ʼ.(CDIAL 11573) Rebus: bārī 'merchant' vāḍhī, bari, barea 'merchant' bārakaśa 'seafaring vessel'.
Hieroglyph: squirrel (phonetic determinant): खार (p. 205) [ khāra ] A squirrel, Sciurus palmarum. खारी (p. 205) [ khārī ] f (Usually खार) A squirrel. (Marathi) 
A homonymous hieroglyph or allograph: arms with bangles: karã̄ n.pl.ʻwristlets, banglesʼ.(Gujarati)(CDIAL 2779) 
khār खार् । लोहकारः m. (sg. abl. khāra 1 खार; the pl. dat. of this word is khāran 1 खारन्, which is to be distinguished from khāran 2, q.v., s.v.), a blacksmith, an iron worker (cf. bandūka-khār, p. 111b,l. 46; K.Pr. 46; H. xi, 17); a farrier (El.). This word is often a part of a name, and in such case comes at the end (W. 118) as in Wahab khār, Wahab the smith (H. ii, 12; vi, 17). khāra-basta 'bellows of blacksmith'.
m1635bangle 
Sign 244 kolmo 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy' kole.l 'smithy, forge' rebus: kole.l 'temple'
Sign 86 koD 'one' rebus: koD 'workshop' PLUS 'notch': खााडा [ kāṇḍā ] 'A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon)' Rebus: kaNDa 'implements' (Santali). Thus, implements workshop, furnace work, helmsman of supercargo signified.
m1636bangle (Identical to m1635 inscription)
Sign 244 kolmo 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy' kole.l 'smithy, forge' rebus: kole.l 'temple'
Sign 86 koD 'one' rebus: koD 'workshop' PLUS 'notch': खााडा [ kāṇḍā ] 'A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon)' Rebus: kaNDa 'implements' (Santali). Thus, implements workshop, furnace work, helmsman of supercargo signified.
m1637bangle
Sign 99 sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop'
Sign 87 dula ‘pair’; rebus dul ‘cast (metal)’
m1638bangle
 'magnetite ingot'
Sign 301 The 'curve' hieroglyph is a splitting of the ellipse. kuṭila ‘bent’ CDIAL 3230 kuṭi— in cmpd. ‘curve’, kuṭika— ‘bent’ MBh. 
Rebus: कुटिल kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) cf. āra-kūṭa, 'brass'  Old English ār 'brass, copper, bronze' Old Norse eir 'brass, copper', German ehern 'brassy, bronzen'. kastīra n. ʻ tin ʼ lex. 2. *kastilla -- .1. H. kathīr m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼ; G. kathīr n. ʻ pewter ʼ.2. H. (Bhoj.?) kathīl, °lā m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼ; M. kathīl n. ʻ tin ʼ, kathlẽ n. ʻ large tin vessel ʼ.(CDIAL 2984) PLUS खााडा [ kāṇḍā ] 'A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon)' Rebus: kaNDa 'implements' (Santali). 
m1639bangle
Sign 86 koD 'one' rebus: koD 'workshop' PLUS 'notch': खााडा [ kāṇḍā ] 'A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon)' Rebus: kaNDa 'implements' (Santali).
Sign 186 *śrētrī ʻ ladder ʼ. [Cf. śrētr̥ -- ʻ one who has recourse to ʼ MBh. -- See śrití -- . -- √śri]Ash. ċeitr ʻ ladder ʼ (< *ċaitr -- dissim. from ċraitr -- ?).(CDIAL 12720)*śrēṣṭrī2 ʻ line, ladder ʼ. [For mng. ʻ line ʼ conn. with √śriṣ2 cf. śrḗṇi -- ~ √śri. -- See śrití -- . -- √śriṣ2]Pk. sēḍhĭ̄ -- f. ʻ line, row ʼ (cf. pasēḍhi -- f. ʻ id. ʼ. -- < EMIA. *sēṭhī -- sanskritized as śrēḍhī -- , śrēṭī -- , śrēḍī<-> (Col.), śrēdhī -- (W.) f. ʻ a partic. progression of arithmetical figures ʼ); K. hēr, dat. °ri f. ʻ ladder ʼ.(CDIAL 12724) Rebus: śrḗṣṭha ʻ most splendid, best ʼ RV. [śrīˊ -- ]Pa. seṭṭha -- ʻ best ʼ, Aś.shah. man. sreṭha -- , gir. sesṭa -- , kāl. seṭha -- , Dhp. śeṭha -- , Pk. seṭṭha -- , siṭṭha -- ; N. seṭh ʻ great, noble, superior ʼ; Or. seṭha ʻ chief, principal ʼ; Si. seṭa, °ṭu ʻ noble, excellent ʼ. śrēṣṭhin m. ʻ distinguished man ʼ AitBr., ʻ foreman of a guild ʼ, °nī -- f. ʻ his wife ʼ Hariv. [śrḗṣṭha -- ]Pa. seṭṭhin -- m. ʻ guild -- master ʼ, Dhp. śeṭhi, Pk. seṭṭhi -- , siṭṭhi -- m., °iṇī -- f.; S. seṭhi m. ʻ wholesale merchant ʼ; P. seṭh m. ʻ head of a guild, banker ʼ, seṭhaṇ, °ṇī f.; Ku.gng. śēṭh ʻ rich man ʼ; N. seṭh ʻ banker ʼ; B. seṭh ʻ head of a guild, merchant ʼ; Or. seṭhi ʻ caste of washermen ʼ; Bhoj. Aw.lakh. sēṭhi ʻ merchant, banker ʼ, H. seṭh m., °ṭhan f.; G. śeṭh, śeṭhiyɔ m. ʻ wholesale merchant, employer, master ʼ; M. śeṭh, °ṭhī, śeṭ, °ṭī m. ʻ respectful term for banker or merchant ʼ; Si. siṭu, hi° ʻ banker, nobleman ʼ H. Smith JA 1950, 208 (or < śiṣṭá -- 2?)(CDIAL 12725, 12726)
Sign 86 koD 'one' rebus: koD 'workshop' PLUS 'notch': खााडा [ kāṇḍā ] 'A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon)' Rebus: kaNDa 'implements' (Santali). Thus, implements workshop, furnace work, helmsman of supercargo signified.PLUS Sign 99 sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop'

Mahadevan concordance Sign 130 variants. This hieroglyph may signify: tutta 'goad' Rebus: tuttha 'pewter-zinc alloy'


Allograph: tutta (goad) (Pali) tṓttra n. ʻ goad for cattle or elephants ʼ ŚBr. [√tud]
Pa. tutta -- n. (with u from tudáti?), Pk. totta -- , tutta<-> n.; Si. tutta ʻ elephant goad ʼ.(CDIAL 5966) It is possible that one of the 500+ 'signs' or hieroglyph-multiplexes of Indus Script Corpora signifies this etymon cluster: tutta 'goad' Rebus: tuttha 'pewter-zinc alloy'.  A crook maybe signified by: मेंढा [ mēṇḍhā ] A crook or curved end rebus: meḍ 'iron' (Ho.Mu.)

 Sign 59 ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' fish fins khambhaṛā 'fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint'
m1640bangle
 Sign 391 Ligatured hieroglyph multiplex. ara 'spoke' rebus: ara 'brass'. era, er-a = eraka =?nave; erako_lu = the iron axle of a carriage (Ka.M.); cf. irasu (Ka.lex.)[Note Sign 391 and its ligatures Signs 392 and 393 may connote a spoked-wheel,nave of the wheel through which the axle passes; cf. ara_, spoke]erka = ekke (Tbh.of arka) aka (Tbh. of arka) copper (metal);crystal (Ka.lex.) cf. eruvai = copper (Ta.lex.) eraka, er-aka = anymetal infusion (Ka.Tu.); erako molten cast (Tu.lex.) Rebus: eraka= copper (Ka.)eruvai =copper (Ta.); ere - a dark-red colour (Ka.)(DEDR 817). eraka, era, er-a= syn. erka, copper, weapons (Ka.)Vikalpa: ara, arā (RV.) = spokeof wheel  ஆரம்² āram , n. < āra. 1. Spokeof a wheel.See ஆரக்கால். ஆரஞ்சூழ்ந்தவயில்வாய்
நேமியொடு (சிறுபாண். 253). Rebus: ஆரம் brass; பித்தளை.(அக. நி.) pittal is cognate with 'pewter'.
m1641bangle
Sign 169 kolom 'sprout, rice plant' Rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' Thus, ingot smithy Rebus: kol metal (Ta.) kol = pan~calōkam (five metals) (Tamil)  
kolmo ‘rice plant' (Mu.)   
kolom = cutting, graft; to graft, engraft, prune; kolmahoṛo = a variety of the paddy plant (Desi)(Santali.) 
kolime, kolume, kulame, kulime, kulume, kulme fire-pit, furnace (Ka.); kolimi furnace (Te.); pit (Te.); kolame a very deep pit (Tu.); kulume kanda_ya a tax on blacksmiths (Ka.); kol, kolla a furnace (Ta.) kole.l smithy, temple in Kota village (Ko.); kwala.l Kota smithy (To.); konimi blacksmith; kola id. (Ka.); kolleblacksmith (Kod.); kollusa_na_ to mend implements; kolsta_na, kulsa_na_ to forge;ko_lsta_na_ to repair (of plough-shares); kolmi smithy (Go.); kolhali to forge (Go.)(DEDR 2133).] kolimi-titti = bellows used for a furnace (Te.lex.) kollu- to neutralize metallic properties by oxidation (Ta.lex.) kol brass or iron bar nailed across a door or gate; kollu-t-tat.i-y-a_n.i large nail for studding doors or gates to add to their strength (Ta.lex.) kollan--kamma_lai < + karmas'a_la_, kollan--pat.t.arai, kollan-ulai-k-ku_t.am blacksmith's workshop, smithy (Ta.lex.) cf. ulai smith's forge or furnace (Na_lat.i, 298); ulai-k-kal.am smith's forge; ulai-k-kur-at.u smith's tongs; ulai-t-turutti smith's bellows; ulai-y-a_n.i-k-ko_l smith's poker, beak-iron (Ta.lex.) [kollulaive_r-kan.alla_r: nait.ata. na_t.t.up.); mitiyulaikkollan- mur-iot.ir.r.an-n-a: perumpa_)(Ta.lex.) Temple; smithy: kol-l-ulai blacksmith's forge (kollulaik ku_t.attin-a_l : Kumara. Pira. Ni_tiner-i. 14)(Ta.lex.) cf. kolhua_r sugarcane milkl and boiling house (Bi.); kolha_r oil factory (P.)(CDIAL 3537). kulhu ‘a hindu caste, mostly oilmen’ (Santali) kolsa_r = sugarcane mill and boiling house (Bi.)(CDIAL 3538). Alternative reinforcing semantics:  
 pajhaṛ = to sprout from a root (Santali) Rebus: pasra 'smithy' 
m1643bangle
 'magnetite ingot'
 Sign 99 sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop'
Sign403: Hieroglyph: bārī , 'small ear-ring': H. bālā m. ʻbraceletʼ (→ S. ḇālo m. ʻbracelet worn by Hindusʼ), bālī, bārī f. ʻsmall ear -- ringʼ, OMārw. bālī f.; G. vāḷɔ m. ʻ wire ʼ, pl. ʻ ear ornament made of gold wire ʼ; M. vāḷā m. ʻ ring ʼ, vāḷī f. ʻ nose -- ring ʼ.(CDIAL 11573) Rebus: bārī 'merchant' vāḍhī, bari, barea 'merchant' bārakaśa 'seafaring vessel
m1641bangle
Kur. goṭā any seed which forms inside a fruit or shell. Malt. goṭa a seed or berry(DEDR 069) N. goṭo ʻ piece ʼ, goṭi ʻ chess piece ʼ; A. goṭ ʻ a fruit, whole piece ʼ, °ṭā ʻ globular, solid ʼ, guṭi ʻ small ball, seed, kernel ʼ; B. goṭā ʻ seed, bean, whole ʼ; Or. goṭā ʻ whole, undivided ʼ, M. goṭā m. ʻ roundish stone ʼ (CDIAL 4271) <gOTa>(P)  {ADJ} ``^whole''.  {SX} ``^numeral ^intensive suffix''.  *Kh., Sa., Mu., Ho<goTA>,B.<goTa> `undivided'; Kh.<goThaG>(P), Sa.<goTAG>,~<gOTe'j>, Mu.<goTo>; Sad.<goT>, O., Bh.<goTa>; cf.Ju.<goTo> `piece', O.<goTa> `one'. %11811.  #11721. <goTa>(BD)  {NI} ``the ^whole''.  *@. #10971. (Munda etyma) Rebus: gota (laterite) 
Rebus: <gota>  {N} ``^stone''.  @3014. #10171. Note: The stone may be gota, laterite mineral ore stone. khoṭ m. ʻbase, alloyʼ (Punjabi) Rebus: koṭe ‘forging (metal)(Mu.) Rebus: goṭī f. ʻlump of silver' (G.) goṭi = silver (G.) koḍ ‘workshop’ (Gujarati).
m1646bangle 
Sign 261 kana, kanac = corner (Santali); Rebus: kañcu = bronze (Telugu).
m1647bangle
Sign 87 dula ‘pair’; rebus dul ‘cast (metal)’
 Sign 342 karNI 'rim of jar' rebus: 'supercargo', 'engraver'
m1659bangle
Sign 336 baTa 'rimless pot' rebus: baTa 'iron' bhaTa 'furnace' PLUS Te. garĩṭe, gaṇṭe, geṇṭe spoon, ladle rebus:  To. köḍm (obl. köḍt-) live coal. Ka. keṇḍa id.; keṇḍavisu to put live coals on (for blasting rocks). Tu. keṇḍa, geṇḍa live coal. (DEDR 1950) 
Sign 17 bhaTa 'warrior' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'

Ceramic stoneware ring Indus Script signifies vāḍhī, bari, barea 'seafaring metalware merchant' kāraṇī 'helmsman, scribe, supercargo' 

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/j7f7f5p 21 stoneware badges with inscriptions signify 21 metalwork responsibilities, each ring signifies vāḍhī, bari, barea 'seafaring metalware merchant' kāraṇī 'helmsman, scribe, supercargo' (Kernunnos) بار برداري bār-bārdārī, s.f. (3rd) Means of conveyance, carriage, beasts of burden. Pl. ئِي aʿī. بارداره ښڅه bārdāraʿh ḵ́ẖaḏẕaʿh, s.f. (3rd) A pregnant woman. Pl. يْ ey. باري bārī, A beast of burden, carriage, fit for a load. هندو بار hindū bār, A place where Hindūs assemble, Hindūstān.rāh barī, s.f. (3rd) Guiding, conducting, guidance. Pl. ئِي aʿī. راه بري کول rāh barī kawul, verb trans. To guide, to conduct, to lead. راه دار rāh-dār, s.m. (5th) A collector of transit duties. Pl. راه داران rāh-dārān. راه داري rāh-dārī, s.f. (3rd) Collection of transit duties on roads. Pl.(Pashto) 22 Ceramic stoneware rings (bangles) with Indus Script inscriptions found in Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Balakot have been discussed. http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/04/dharma-samjna-corporate-badges-of-indus.html The deciphered sharply defined inscriptions on each of the 22 ceramic (stoneware) bangles indicate 22 sharply assigned responsibilities within the guild for metalwork, for e.g. 22 functional allocations of responsibilitie of artisans delineated in a Vedic village:

iron smelting, furnace work (m1659)

metal casting, engraving, documenting supercargo (m1647)

bronze (casting)(m1646)

gota (laterite) (m1641)

Seafaring merchant, magnetite ingot workshop (m1643)

Smithy, forge (m1641)

Moltencast copper, brass (m1640)

Alloy metal mint, weapons, implements workshop, guild master workshop (m1639)

Bronze ingots, implements, magnetite ingots (m1638)

Metalcasting workshop (cire perdue?)(m1637)

Metal implements, weapons, smithy, forge (m1636)

Blacksmith, seafaring merchant (m1634)

Helman for supercargo boat, iron furnace work, metals workshop (m1633)

Metal casting, alloy mixing workshop (m1632)

dhā̆vaḍ 'smelter', supercargo of implements (m1631)

Magnetite ingots, furnace work, supercargo engraver (m1630)

Iron furnace work, metal casting of tin, helmsman supercargo of metals, bharat ‘mixed alloys’  metalworker (m1629)

Minerals workshop guild (h2576)

Magnetite ingots, smelter (h1010)

dhā̆vaḍ 'smelter' tri-dhAtu, '‘three minerals (H98-3516/8667-01)

Seafaring merchant, supercargo engraver(Blkt-6)


The ring is: Sign403: Hieroglyph: bārī , 'small ear-ring': H. bālā m. ʻbraceletʼ (→ S. ḇālo m. ʻbracelet worn by Hindusʼ), bālī, bārī f. ʻsmall ear -- ringʼ, OMārw. bālī f.; G. vāḷɔ m. ʻ wire ʼ, pl. ʻ ear ornament made of gold wire ʼ; M. vāḷā m. ʻ ring ʼ, vāḷī f. ʻ nose -- ring ʼ.(CDIAL 11573) Rebus: bārī 'merchant' vāḍhī, bari, barea 'merchant' bārakaśa

 'seafaring vessel'. Thus, bārī is a seafaring merchant.




An exquisite ceramic toneware badge discovered in Harappa (HARP team) may be worn as a fillet on the forehead and on right shoulder as shown on the 'priest-king' statue of Mohenjo-daro. Such stoneware rings are badges signified on the statue of Kernunnos on Pillar of Boatmen.


Kernunnos is named in an inscription on the 1st cent. CE Pillar of the Boatmen (French Pilier des nautes) with bas-relief depictions.The cognate word is: कारणी or कारणीक (p. 159) [ kāraṇī or kāraṇīka ] the supercargo of a ship &c. कर्णधार (p. 140) [ karṇadhāra ] m S (A holder of the ear.) A helmsman or steersman.


बारकश or बारकस (p. 575) [ bārakaśa or bārakasa ] n ( P) A trading vessel, a merchantman.(Marathi) 




The torcs hanging from the horns are such stoneware rings or badges. The horns are twigs: kūdī 'bunch of twigs' (Sanskrit) Rebus: kuṭhi 'smelter furnace' (Santali) कूदी [p= 300,1] f. a bunch of twigs , bunch (v.l. कूट्/ई) AV. v , 19 , 12 Kaus3.ccord. to Kaus3. , Sch. = बदरी, "Christ's thorn".(Monier-Williams). Rebus: kuṭhi 


'smelter furnace' (Santali) Thus, Kernunnos is described by the hieroglyph-multiplexes to be 1. a smelter; and 2. a seafaring merchant.


A torc held in the right hand of Kernunnos on Gundestrup cauldron may also signify a seafaring merchant. The hood of snake held on the left hand signifies: kulA 'hood of snake' rebus: kolhe 'smelter' kol 'working in iron' kolle 'blacksmith'.


http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/04/karani-helmsman-scribe-supercargo-of.html 

kāraṇī 'helmsman, scribe, supercargo' of Indus Script~~Kernunno of Pilier des Nautes 

Randall Law and Shamoon excavating a red stoneware bangle in Period 3C levels just below the surface in Trench 43.https://www.harappa.com/indus4/76.html


 


Red stoneware bangle (H2000-4490/9843-01) with no inscription. The lack of inscription may indicate that this may have been a place where the bangles were stored prior to inscribing them for distribution.



 An "eye bead" made of gold with steatite inlay, Harappa. Fired steatite beads appear to have been extremely important to the Indus people because they were incorporated into exquisite ornaments, such as this "eye bead" made of gold with steatite inlay found in 1995 at Harappa [Harappa Phase]. https://www.harappa.com/slide/gold-disc The central ornament worn on the forehead of the famous "priest-king" sculpture from Mohenjo-daro appears to represent an eye bead, possibly made of gold with steatite inlay in the center. https://www.harappa.com/slide/priest-king-forehead 

 Cancho Roano is an archaeological site located in the municipality of Zalamea de la Serena, in the province of Badajoz, Spain. 550 BCE,. A ring PLUS staff was discovered. A view of Amparo Hernando Grande is that such rings of concentric circles found in some sites, signified warrior shields:  Examples of typical warrior shield engraved in the Southwestern Stelae from the Iberian Peninsula, of which there are presented.https://repositorio.uam.es/handle/10486/616



Inana's descent to the nether world line 25. The Sumerian has: gi-diš-nindan eš2-gana2 za-gin3 šu ba-ni-in-du8 i.e. taken literally the rod would have the length of one nindan (6 cubit = 5.94m) and the eš2-gana2 the surveyor's line - would be ten nindan in length.




Marduk’s fourth tabletnotes: ‘They rejoiced and they did homage (unto him, saying), ‘Marduk is king’. Next line, line 29 says: ‘They bestowed upon him the scepter, and the throne, and the ring.’ Mr King’s translation in Seven Tablets of Creation, is that ‘the translation of patu as ‘ring’ is provisional; the patu was certainly a symbol of power’.(loc.cit. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/473623 Arthur E Whatham , 1905, The Meaning of the Ring and Rod in Babylonian-Assyrian Sculpture, in: The Journal of Religion. Vol. 26, No. 2, Aug., 1905, pp. 120–123). See: http://www.etana.org/sites/default/files/coretexts/14907.pdf LW King, ed., 1902, The Seven tablets of creation, Or the Babylonian and Assyrian legends concerning the creation of the world and of mankind, Vol. 1),


Side view showing the depth of the Burney relief. The relief is a terracotta (fired clay) plaque, 50 by 37 centimetres (20 in × 15 in) large, 2 to 3 centimetres (0.79 to 1.18 in) thick, with the head of the figure projecting 4.5 centimetres (1.8 in) from the surface. 


Approximate red ochre colour scheme of the painted relief. Her necklace is composed of squares (like coins of Nishka). She wears bracelets with three rings. She has flight feathers. Lines on ankles and toes depict scules, with talons on visible toes. She stands atop two lions and flanked by two owls. The sculptural frieze is a hieroglyp-multiplex.




The goddess of the Burney relief presenting rod-and-ring symbol in each hand. British Museum. Loan 1238 / Registration:2003,0718


"The Burney Relief (also known as the Queen of the Night relief) is aMesopotamian terracotta plaque in high relief of the Isin-Larsa- or Old-Babylonian period, depicting a winged, nude, goddess-like figure with bird's talons, flanked by owls, and perched upon two lions. The relief is displayed in the British Museum in London, which has dated it between 1800 and 1750 BCE. It originates from southern Iraq, but the exact find-site is unknown. Apart from its distinctive iconography, the piece is noted for its high relief and relatively large size, which suggest that it was used as a cultrelief, making it a very rare survival from the period. However, whether it represents Lilitu, Inanna/Ishtar, or Ereshkigal, is under debate."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burney_Relief




Top part of the Code of Hammurabi, c. 1760 BCE.Hammurabi before the sun-god Shamash. Note the four-tiered, horned headdress, the rod-and-ring symbol and the mountain-range pattern beneath Shamash' feet. Black basalt. Louvre, Sb 8. Rod and ring are apparently insignia of authority or royalty..




Ishtar. Moulded plaque, Eshnunna, early 2nd. millennium. Louvre, AO 12456 holds a rod and ring mounted staff on her left hand. A reclining lion is at her feet.


The "Ishtar Vase", early 2nd millennium BCE, Larsa. Note how the schematic depiction of the goddess' feet corresponds to the feet of the birds walking above her. Louvre, AO 1700.Fish and turtle flank Ishtar with a parade of birds above. 




Vase décoré de déesses nues dit "vase d'Ishtar" Début du IIe millénaire vant J.-C. LarsaTerre cuite, décor incisé, moulé, peint. Fouilles Parrot, 1933, Department des Antiquites orientales.


The rod and ring symbol "may depict the measuring tools of a builder or architect or a token representation of these tools. It is frequently depicted on cylinder seals and steles, where it is always held by a god – usually either Shamash, Ishtar, and in later Babylonian images also Marduk– and often extended to a king." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burney_Relief (Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992). Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, an Illustrated Dictionary. (illustrations by Tessa Rickards). Austin: University of Texas Press.) 




Relief image on the Tablet of Shamash, British Library room 55. Found in Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah), in Ancient Babylonia ; it dates from the 9th century BCE and shows the sun god Shamash on the throne, in front of the Babylonian king Nabu-apla-iddina (888-855 BCE) between two interceding deities. The text tells how the king made a new cultic statue for the god and gave privileges to his temple. Image credit: Prioryman – Wikipedia http://www.messagetoeagle.com/shamash-mesopotamian-god-of-sun-truth-justice-and-healing/#ixzz47NiejlbE




Shamash holds the insignia of rod and ring in front of arka 'sun' rebus: arka 'gold, copper'.




Stick or staff ma signify kōla (Old Marathi) rebus:  kola- boat, raft (Prakritam): Ta. kōl stick, staff, branch, arrow. Ma. kōl staff, rod, stick, arrow. Ko. ko·l stick, story of funeral car. To. kw&idieresisside;s̱ stick. Ka. kōl, kōlustick, staff, arrow. Koḍ. ko·lï stick. Tu. kōlů, kōlu stick, staff. Te. kōlaid., arrow; long, oblong; kōlana elongatedness, elongation; kōlani elongated. Kol. (SR.) kolā, (Kin.) kōla stick. Nk. (Ch.) kōl pestle. Pa. kōl shaft of arrow. Go. (A.) kōla id.; kōlā (Tr.) a thin twig or stick, esp. for kindling a fire, (W. Ph.) stick, rod, a blade of grass, straw; (G. Mu. Ma. Ko.) kōla handle of plough, sickle, knife, etc. (Voc. 988); (ASu.) kōlā stick, arrow, slate-pencil; (LuS.) kola the handle of an implement. Konḍa kōl big wooden pestle.Pe. kōl pestle. Manḍ. kūl id. Kui kōḍu (pl. kōṭka) id. Kuwi (F.) kōlū (pl. kōlka), (S. Su.) kōlu (pl. kōlka) id. Cf. 2240 Ta. kōlam (Tu. Te. Go.). / Cf. OMar. (Master) kōla stick.(DEDR 2237) Rebus 1 : Ta. kōl, kōlam 2238 Ta. kōl, kōlam raft, float. Ma. kōlam raft. Ka. kōl raft, float. Te. (B.) kōlamu id. / Cf. Skt., BHS kola- boat, raft, Pali kulla- id. (CDIAL 2238) Rebus 2: kolhe 'smelter' kol 'working in iron' kolle 'blacksmith'.

Thus, together, the rod and ring signify raft, smelter and merchant.

Section 3. Decipherment of inscriptions on seven seals and five tablets of Mohenjo-daro temple (kole.l 'smithy, forge' rebus: kole.l 'temple')

One house in Mohenjo-daro, said to be a temple, revealed 12 objects with Indus Script Inscriptions.

Michael Jansen’s analysis of house 1 in the HR-A area of Mohenjo-daro.. After Jansen 1986:200:91, fig. 125; a) isometry; (b) distribution of the seal finds, Courtesy: Michael Jansen.

Twelve Indus Script imetalwork catalogues from one Mohenjo-daro house -- kole.l 'smithy/forge' guild artisans of kole.l 'temple' http://tinyurl.com/glaltdl

Distribution of seals/tablets within House AI, Block 1, HR at Mohenjodaro (After Jansen, M., 1987, Mohenjo-daro -- a city on the Indus, in Forgotten Cities on the Indus (M. Jansen, M. Mulloy and G. Urban Eds.), Mainz, Philip Von Zabern, p. 160). Jansen speculated that the house could have been a temple. 

All seven seals out of the 12 inscriptions depicted the same animal 'one-horned young bull in front of a standard device'

Hieroglyph: sãgaḍ, 'lathe' (Meluhha) Rebus 1: sãgaṛh , 'fortification' (Meluhha). Rebus 2:sanghAta 'adamantine glue'. Rebus 3: 

sangāṭh संगाठ् 'assembly, collection'. Rebus 4: sãgaḍa 'double-canoe, catamaran'.

Hieroglyph: one-horned young bull: खोंड (p. 216) [ khōṇḍa ] m A young bull, a bullcalf. 

Rebus: कोंद kōnda ‘engraver, lapidary setting or infixing gems’ (Marathi)  खोदगिरी [ khōdagirī ] f Sculpture, carving, engraving. 

The inscriptions on the seven seals and five tablets are:

dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting' khANDa 'notch' rebus: khaNDa 'implements'

khaNDa 'arrow' rebus:khaNDa 'implements'

muka 'ladle' rebus:muhA 'quantity of smelted metal produced from a furnace' PLUS baTa 'rimless pot' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' ayo, aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' PLUS aDaren 'lid' rebus: aduru 'unsmelte metal' muh 'ingot' PLUS kolom 'rice plant' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop' muh 'ingot' PLUS baTa 'quail' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'. Thus, the inscription on the seal signifies: workshop smithy/forge with furnace working to produce metal castings, ingots, implements, iron, unsmelted ore.

karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' कुटिल kuṭila, katthīl 'curve' kuṭila 'bent' CDIAL 3230 Rebus: kuTila 'bronze' (8 parts copper, 2 parts tin).. Thus, a bronze worker handing over produce to the Supercargo as shipment.

karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting' Bshk. sum -- tac̣h ʻ hoe ʼ (< ʻ *earth -- scratcher ʼ),tec̣h ʻ adze ʼ (< *takṣī -- ?); Sh. tac̣i f. ʻ adze ʼ; -- Phal. tērc̣hi ʻ adze ʼ (with "intrusive" r).Rebus: takṣa in cmpd. ʻ cutting ʼ, m. ʻ carpenter ʼ VarBr̥S., vṛkṣa -- takṣaka -- m. ʻ tree -- feller ʼ R. [√takṣ]Pa. tacchaka -- m. ʻ carpenter ʼ, taccha -- sūkara -- m. ʻ boar ʼ; Pk. takkha -- , °aya -- m. ʻ carpenter, artisanʼ (CDIAL 5618) PLUS khaNDa 'arrow' rebus: khaNDa 'implements'. Thus, a carpenter artisan implements.

kolom 'rice plant' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' karã̄ n. pl. wristlets, banglesRebus: khAr 'blacksmith, iron worker' ayo, aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting' *śrēṣṭrī1 ʻ clinger ʼ. [√śriṣ1]Phal. šē̃ṣṭrĭ̄ ʻ flying squirrel ʼ?(CDIAL 12723) Rebus: guild master khāra, 'squirrel', rebus: khār खार् 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri). Thus, the inscription signifies: blacksmith guild-master working in iron in smithy/forge, metal castings handed over to Supercargo for shipment. 

 dATu 'cross' rebus: dhAtu 'element, mineral' karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' ayo, aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' khambhaṛā 'fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint' khANDa 'notch' rebus: khaNDa 'implements'. Thus, minerals, metal, alloys handed over to Supercargo for shipment.

karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' ranku 'liquid measure' rebus: ranku 'tin' muh 'ingot' PLUS kolom 'rice plant' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop' baTa 'quail' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' Thus workshop smithy/forge (working with) furnace ingots, tin handed over to Supercargo for shipment.

kuTi 'water carrier' rebus: kuThi 'smelter' PLUS karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' koDa 'one' rebus: koD 'workshop' kANDA 'notch' kaNDa 'arrow' rebus: kaNDa 'implements' kolmo 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' baTa 'rimless pot' PLUS muka 'ladle' rebus: muhA 'quantity of metal produced from furnace, ingot'. Thus, Supercargo of smelter workshop produce, metal implements furnaced metal for smithy, forge/

 karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' kole.l 'temple' rebus:kole.l 'smithy, forge' kaNDa 'backbone' rebus:khaNDa 'implements' sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop' kolmo 'rice plant' rebus:kolimi 'smithy, forge' muh 'ingot' Thus, Supercargo from smithy, forge, implements, ingots workshop of smithy/forge.

bhaTa 'warrior' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' karNika 'spread legs' rebus: karNI 'Supercargo' Thus, furnace  (produce) worker.and a Supercargo, merchant's representative responsible for the cargo.

kuTi 'water carrier' rebus: kuThi 'smelter' PLUS karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' muh 'ingot' PLUS kolom 'rice plant' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' tec̣h ʻadze' rebus: takSa 'carpenter' sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop' kanac 'corner' rebus: kancu 'bronze'. Thus, Supercargo-carpente of smelter workshop, smithy, forge, bronze.

karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting'  karã̄ n. pl. wristlets, banglesRebus: khAr 'blacksmith, iron worker' kolmo 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy/forge' baTa 'rimless pot' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' PLUS khANDA 'notch' rebus: khaNDa 'implements' dhaTo 'claws of crab' rebus: dhatu 'mineral' Thus,Supercargo of metal castings, blacksmith, smithy/forge furnace implements.

karNaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karNaka 'scribe, account' muh 'ingot' PLUS khANDA 'notch' rebus: khaNDa 'implements'. Thus, Supercargo of metal ingots, implements.

Thus, it is seen that all the 12 inscriptions are metalwork catalogues of artisans of the guild preparing products (ingots, implements) for shipment to be handed to Supercargo responsible for the cargo.

The building HR1 was thus a smithy, forge. kole.l signified 'smithy/forge'. The same word kole.l also signified 'temple'. Thus, all the artisans at work documenting 12 inscriptions were members of the smithy/forge guild which was the temple.

Section 4. Decipherment of Meluhha seal inscriptions in Ancient Near East

"The adaptation of Harappan motifs and script to the Dilmun seal form may be a further indication of the acculturative phenomenon, one indicated in Mesopotamia by the adaptation of Harappan traits to the cylinder seal." (Robert H. Brunswig, Jr. et al, 1983, New Indus Type and Related Seals from the Near East, 101-115 in: Daniel T. Potts (ed.), Dilmun: New Studies in the Archaeology and Early History of Bahrain, Berlin, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 1983; each seal is referenced by a four-digit number which is registered in the Finnish concordance.)

Indus Script hieroglyphs on Ancient Near East seals as metalwork catalogues karaḍū 'a kid, young antelope' Rebus: karaḍā 'hard metal alloy'http://tinyurl.com/q9z5mje

 Rove goat kid, one month old. A two-month-old goat kid in a field of capeweed.

A kid as a hieroglyph is repeated on tens of seals of Dilmun and Persian Gulf. What does the kid as a hieroglyph signify? 

It signifies a hard metal alloy.

This note provides examples of Indus Script inscriptions which are technical product descriptions of a smithy/forge. 

Note: As demonstrated by hundreds of cuneiform clay tablets of Kanesh, Kultepe of Ancient Near East, Indus Script hieroglyhphs (as production speciications) are complemented by inscriptions in cuneiform Akkadian to provide additional bill of lading information such as contracting trade partners and contract conditions.

Clearly, the hieroglyphs of Indus Script are created by very literate artisans who were experimenting during the Bronze Age with invention of new metal alloys and with techniques of metalcastings using techniques such as cire perdue (lost-wax). It will be a non-falsifiable hypothesis, a faith-based statement to aver that the hieroglyphs are created by illiterate people and that Indus Script is not a writing system. A writing system which could convey production specifications of products using about 500 hieroglyphs as texts, construction of hieroglyph-multiplexes and over 100 hieroglyphs as pictorial hieroglyphs are outstanding evidence of a cipher for rebus-metonymy-layered Prakritam glosses for communications among Meluhha trading community with trading colonies or caravanserai or as seafaring merchants. The metalwork catalogues which emerge are veritable catalogus catalogorum of the Bronze Age competence of Meluhha (Prakritam-speaking) artisans. The Prakritam glosses yield tadbhava and tatsama in a Samskritam lexicon and lexicons of almost all ancient Indian languages which constituted a linguistic area, an Indian sprachbund of the Bronze Age.

117 antelope; sun motif. Dholavira seal impression. arka 'sun' Rebus: araka, eraka 'copper, moltencast' PLUS करडूं karaḍū 'kid' Rebus: karaḍā 'hard alloy'. Thus, together, the rebus message: hard alloy of copper.

On arka in compound expressions: அருக்கம்¹ arukkam, n. < arka. (நாநார்த்த.) 1. Copper; செம்பு (Tamil) అగసాలి (p. 0023) [ agasāli ] or అగసాలెవాడు agasāli. [Tel.] n. A goldsmith. కంసాలివాడు.(Telugu) Kannada (Kittel lexicon):

Bet Dwaraka seal. करडूं karaḍū 'kid' Rebus: karaḍā 'hard alloy'. barad 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin' khond 'young bull' koD 'horn' Rebus: khond 'turner' koD 'workshop'. Thus workshop of hard alloys of copper, pewter, tin.

 40 Three-headed animal, plant; sun motifDholavira. Seal. Readings as above. PLUS kolmo 'rice plant' Rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'. Thus, the message of the hieroglyph-multiplex is: smithy/forge for moltencast coper and hard alloys of copper, pewter, tin.

Hieroglyph: करडूं or करडें (p. 137) [ karaḍū or karaḍēṃ ] n A kid. कराडूं (p. 137) [ karāḍūṃ ] n (Commonly करडूं) A kid. (Marathi) Rebus: करडा (p. 137) [ karaḍā ] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi. Molesworth). 

 Glyph: svastika; rebus: jasta ‘zinc’ (Kashmiri). Svastika: sathiyā (H.), sāthiyo (G.); satthia, sotthia (Pkt.) Rebus: svastika pewter (Kannada)

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

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

ranku 'antelope' Rebus: ranku 'tin' 

m417 Glyph: ‘ladder’: H. sainī, senī f. ʻ ladder ʼ Rebus: Pa. sēṇi -- f. ʻ guild, division of army ʼ; Pk. sēṇi -- f. ʻ row, collection ʼ; śrḗṇi (metr. often śrayaṇi -- ) f. ʻ line, row, troop ʼ RV. The lexeme in Tamil means: Limit, boundary; எல்லை. நளியிரு முந்நீரேணி யாக (புறநா. 35, 1). Country, territory.

The glyphics are:
Semantics: ‘group of animals/quadrupeds’: paśu ‘animal’ (RV), pasaramu, pasalamu = an animal, a beast, a brute, quadruped (Te.) Rebus: pasra ‘smithy’ (Santali)

Glyph: ‘six’: bhaṭa ‘six’. Rebus: bhaṭa ‘furnace’.
Glyph (the only inscription on the Mohenjo-daro seal m417): ‘warrior’: bhaṭa. Rebus: bhaṭa ‘furnace’. Thus, this glyph is a semantic determinant of the message: ‘furnace’. It appears that the six heads of ‘animal’ glyphs are related to ‘furnace’ work.

This guild, community of smiths and masons evolves into Harosheth Hagoyim, ‘a smithy of nations’.
It appears that the Meluhhans were in contact with many interaction areas, Dilmun and Susa (elam) in particular. There is evidence for Meluhhan settlements outside of Meluhha. It is a reasonable inference that the Meluhhans with bronze-age expertise of creating arsenical and bronze alloys and working with other metals constituted the ‘smithy of nations’, Harosheth Hagoyim.

Dilmun seal from Barbar; six heads of  antelope radiating from a circle; similar to animal protomes in Failaka, Anatolia and Indus. Obverse of the seal shows four dotted circles. [Poul Kjaerum, The Dilmun Seals as evidence of long distance relations in the early second millennium BC, pp. 269-277.] A tree is shown on this Dilmun seal.

Glyph: ‘tree’: kuṭi ‘tree’. Rebus: kuṭhi ‘smelter furnace’ (Santali).

baTa 'six' Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' ranku 'antelope' Rebus: ranku 'tin'

Izzat Allah Nigahban, 1991, Excavations at Haft Tepe, Iran, The University Museum, UPenn, p. 97. furnace’ Fig.96a.

There is a possibility that this seal impression from Haft Tepe had some connections with Indian hieroglyphs. This requires further investigation. “From Haft Tepe (Middle Elamite period, ca. 13th century) in Ḵūzestān an unusual pyrotechnological installation was associated with a craft workroom containing such materials as mosaics of colored stones framed in bronze, a dismembered elephant skeleton used in manufacture of bone tools, and several hundred bronze arrowpoints and small tools. “Situated in a courtyard directly in front of this workroom is a most unusual kiln. This kiln is very large, about 8 m long and 2 and one half m wide, and contains two long compart­ments with chimneys at each end, separated by a fuel chamber in the middle. Although the roof of the kiln had collapsed, it is evident from the slight inturning of the walls which remain in situ that it was barrel vaulted like the roofs of the tombs. Each of the two long heating chambers is divided into eight sections by partition walls. The southern heating chamber contained metallic slag, and was apparently used for making bronze objects. The northern heating chamber contained pieces of broken pottery and other material, and thus was apparently used for baking clay objects including tablets . . .” (loc.cit. Bronze in pre-Islamic Iran, Encyclopaedia Iranica, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bronze-i Negahban, 1977; and forthcoming).

Many of the bronze-age manufactured or industrial goods were surplus to the needs of the producing community and had to be traded, together with a record of types of goods and types of processes such as native metal or minerals, smelting of minerals, alloying of metals using two or more minerals, casting ingots, forging and turning metal into shapes such as plates or vessels, using anvils, cire perdue technique for creating bronze statues – in addition to the production of artifacts such as bangles and ornaments made of śankha or shell (turbinella pyrum), semi-precious stones, gold or silver beads. Thus writing was invented to maintain production-cum-trade accounts, to cope with the economic imperative of bronze age technological advances to take the artisans of guilds into the stage of an industrial production-cum-trading community.

Tablets and seals inscribed with hieroglyphs, together with the process of creating seal impressions took inventory lists to the next stage of trading property items using bills of lading of trade loads of industrial goods. Such bills of lading describing trade loads were created using tablets and seals with the invention of writing based on phonetics and semantics of language – the hallmark of Indian hieroglyphs.

9351; Nippur; ca. 13th cent. BC; white stone; zebu bull and two pictograms. poLa 'zebu' Rebus: poLa 'magnetite'. goTa 'round object' Rebus: khoTa 'ingot'; bartI 'partridge/quail' (Khotanese); bharati id. (Samskritam) Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin'. kuTi 'water-carrier' Rebus: kuThi 'smelter'. Thus, the message is: kuThi poLa khoTa bharata smelter for magnetite, alloy ingot (copper, pewter, tin alloy).

9851; Louvre Museum; Luristan; unglazed, gray steatite; short-horned bull and 4 pictograms. barad 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin'. dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'; PLUS meD 'body' Rebus: meD 'iron' thus, the pair of 'bodies' signify: iron cast metal. 

dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal' PLUS goTa 'seed' Rebus: khoTa 'ingot'. Thus, cast metal ingot. (Next two hieroglyhphs not legible).

9908. Iraq museum; glazed steatite; perhaps from an Iraqi site; the one-horned bull, the standard are below a six-sign inscription. kõdā 'young bull calf' Rebus: kõdā 'turner-joiner' (forge) sã̄gāḍ  lathe, portable furnace Rebus: stone-cutter sangatarāśū ). sanghāḍo (Gujarati) cutting stone, gilding (Gujarati); sangsāru karaṇu = to stone (Sindhi) sanghāḍiyo, a worker on a lathe (Gujarati) sangaDa 'cargo boat' sanghAta 'collection of articles'; samghAta 'adamantine glue' (Varahamihira)

aya 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron, metal' PLUS kANDa 'notch' Rebus: khaNDa 'metal implements'; ayas 'fish' aduru' native metal' (unsmelted) eraka 'nave of wheel' Rebus: eraka 'copper, moltencast' arA 'spokes' Rebus: Ara 'brass'.

Foroughi collection; Luristan; medium gray steatite; bull, crescent, star and net square; of the Dilmun seal type. barad 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin'; khaNDa 'square divisions' Rebus: khaNDa 'metal implements'; meDha 'polar star' Rebus: meD 'iron'

3255; Louvre Museum; Luristan; light yellow stone; seal impression; one side shows four eagles; the eagles hold snakes in their beaks; at the center is a human figure with outstretched limbs; obverse of the seal shows an animal, perhaps a hyena or boar striding across the field, with a smaller animal of the same type depicted above it; comparable to the seal found in Harappa, Vats 1940, II: Pl. XCI.255.

garuDa 'eagle' Rebus: karaDa 'hard alloy' gaNDa 'four' Rebus: khaNDa 'metal implements' arye 'lion' Rebus: Ara 'brass'.

9701; Failaka; unglazed steatite; an arc of four pictograms above the hindquarter of a bull. meD 'body' Rebus: meD 'iron'; sal 'splinter' Rebus: sal 'workshop' goTa 'seed' Rebus: khoT 'ingot' kolmo 'three' Rebus: kolami 'forge, smithy'. kamaDa 'bow' Rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner'.

9702; seal, impression, inscription; Failaka; brownish-grey unglazed steatite; Indus pictograms above a short-horned bull. aya 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron, metal' kanca 'corner' Rebus: kancu 'bronze'

9602; seal, impression; Qala'at al-Bahrain; green steatite; short-horned bull and five pictograms. Found in association with an Isin-Larsa type tablet bearing three Amorite names. barad 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin'.

Qala'at al-Bahrain; ca. 2050-1900 BC; tablet, found in the same level where 8 Dilmun seals and six Harappan type weights were found. Three Amorite names are: Janbi-naim; Ila-milkum; Jis.i-tambu (son of Janbi-naim)

Two seals from Gonur 1 in the Murghab delta; dark brown stone (Sarianidi 1981 b: 232-233, Fig. 7, 8); eagle engraced on one face. garuDa 'eagle' Rebus: karaDa 'hard alloy' nAga 'serpent' Rebus: nAga 'lead'

9601; Qala'at al-Bahrain; light-grey steatite; hindquarters of a bull and two pictograms. barad 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin'

Seal impression; Dept. of Antiquities, Bahrain; three Harapan-style bulls. barad 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin' kolmo 'three' Rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'.

Hieroglyph: meṇḍā ʻlump, clotʼ (Oriya) 

On mED 'copper' in Eurasian languages:

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’. 

"The adaptation of Harappan motifs and script to the Dilmun seal form may be a further indication of the acculturative phenomenon, one indicated in Mesopotamia by the adaptation of Harappan traits to the cylinder seal." (Brunswig et al, 1983, p. 110).

Image 2 below: Right: A single Seal from Falaika Bears an Inscription in the Unread Indus Script. Left: From one of the Falaika Seals. A Man Holds a Monkey at Arm's Length; Monkeys were Imported as Pets from Meluha. (Bibby, pp. 253, 211). 

Failaka seal; unglazed steatite; an arc of four pictograms above the hindquarter of a bull. meD 'body' Rebus: meD 'iron'; sal 'splinter' Rebus: sal 'workshop' goTa 'seed' Rebus: khoT 'ingot' kolmo 'three' Rebus: kolami 'forge, smithy'. kamaDa 'bow' Rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner'.

https://www.harappa.com/content/looking-dilmun

Resources:

Thousands of seals have been found with over 400 recurring signs; discovery of the oldest signboard in the world of Dholavira; seafaring Meluhha merchants in Persian Gulf  (At 30:23, 31:11; 31:50 to 36:10; 43:20 of the Archaeodoku youtube video documentary).