13
Excavation at KanMER - 1 - Harappan Script Material from Kanmer Though more than four dozen Harappan sites have  been excavated horizontally or vertically (Possehl 2002: 421-482), there are several challenging issues yet to be addressed e.g., decline of the mighty Harappans, was it a state society or not, its hinterland trade mechanism and so on. The decipherment of Harappan script has been one of the most challenging issues. Several scholars (Parpola 1994, Mahadevan 1977, Koskenniemi and Parpola 1979, Zide, Arlane R.K. and K.V. Zvelebil 1976, Rao et al., 2009a, b, Yadav et al., 2008a, b, 2010) have made seminal contribution on this aspect, but in the absence of any bilingual text no con sensus has been reached. The Indus signs have generally been found on seals, sealings, seal impressions, terracotta objects and  potter y and approxi mately 400 signs have been identied. For comparison of signs from Kanmer, we have referred to Parpola’s and Mahadevan’s concordances.  At Kanmer cultural periods Pd I, II and III  belong to the Harapp ans and most of the scrip t material was discovered from Pd II i.e., belongin g to the urban phase. In all, five seals, three seal impressions, a sealing, a potsherd with seal impression, a few pot sherds with Harappan signs engraved and executed with colour and about three dozen potsherds with graffiti marks were discovered. The Indus signs painted on potsherds are identical to the ones found from Surkotada (Joshi 1990: 357-369). Most of the script material was discovered from KMR Pd IIb. As many as three seal impressions, a sealing and a square shaped button seal were some of the important nds of this phase, besides many inscribed potshards. In KMR Pd III also a faience seal with geometric design or Indus signs and a few pot sherds with graffiti marks were found, including three Indus signs. KMR I At Kanmer a circular button seal of shell was discovered from cultural period I besides a few  potshards with pre and post red grafti marks. It seems that the early settlers of Kanmer had started scratching certain signs on the potsherds, which may have been precursor of the writing system.  The round or circular button seal (No. 08- 1805) of shell has squarish design on obverse and smooth surface on the reverse (Tr. Z30, Layer 13). Its diameter is 19.38 mm and thickness 2.24 mm. This button seal appears to be somewhat similar to the ones reported from Mehrgarh (Jarrige et al., 1995: Fig. 3.17C: 204; Shah and Parpola 1991: Fig. no. Mr.-15A: 404), Harappa (Joshi and Parpola 1987: Fig. no. H-127A: 195), Shaher-e- Sokhta (Durante 1977: Fig. 9-12: 330) and Tarakai Qila (Allchin and Knox 1981: 245-250 Shah and Parpola 1991: Fig. no. Trq-4A: 414). Grafti marks As many as seven potsherds with graffiti marks were discovered, out of which ve were identied as pre red and two as post ring marks. 1. A thick fragment of jar or basin (Tr. AA28, Layer 12), perhaps belonging the lower part CHAPTER 8 SEALS, SEALING AND OTHER SCRIPT MATERIAL

Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 1/13

Excavation at KanMER

- 1 -

Harappan Script Material from

Kanmer 

Though more than four dozen Harappan sites have

 been excavated horizontally or vertically (Possehl

2002: 421-482), there are several challenging

issues yet to be addressed e.g., decline of the

mighty Harappans, was it a state society or not,

its hinterland trade mechanism and so on. The

decipherment of Harappan script has been one

of the most challenging issues. Several scholars

(Parpola 1994, Mahadevan 1977, Koskenniemi

and Parpola 1979, Zide, Arlane R.K. and K.V.

Zvelebil 1976, Rao et al., 2009a, b, Yadav et al.,

2008a, b, 2010) have made seminal contribution

on this aspect, but in the absence of any bilingual

text no consensus has been reached. The Indus

signs have generally been found on seals,

sealings, seal impressions, terracotta objects and

 pottery and approximately 400 signs have been

identied. For comparison of signs from Kanmer,

we have referred to Parpola’s and Mahadevan’s

concordances.

  At Kanmer cultural periods Pd I, II and III

 belong to the Harappans and most of the script

material was discovered from Pd II i.e., belonging

to the urban phase. In all, five seals, three seal

impressions, a sealing, a potsherd with seal

impression, a few pot sherds with Harappan signs

engraved and executed with colour and about

three dozen potsherds with graffiti marks were

discovered. The Indus signs painted on potsherds

are identical to the ones found from Surkotada

(Joshi 1990: 357-369).

Most of the script material was discovered from

KMR Pd IIb. As many as three seal impressions, a

sealing and a square shaped button seal were some

of the important nds of this phase, besides many

inscribed potshards. In KMR Pd III also a faience

seal with geometric design or Indus signs and a

few pot sherds with graffiti marks were found,

including three Indus signs.

KMR I

At Kanmer a circular button seal of shell was

discovered from cultural period I besides a few

 potshards with pre and post red grafti marks. It

seems that the early settlers of Kanmer had started

scratching certain signs on the potsherds, which

may have been precursor of the writing system.

  The round or circular button seal (No. 08-

1805) of shell has squarish design on obverse and

smooth surface on the reverse (Tr. Z30, Layer 13).

Its diameter is 19.38 mm and thickness 2.24 mm.

This button seal appears to be somewhat similar

to the ones reported from Mehrgarh (Jarrige et

al., 1995: Fig. 3.17C: 204; Shah and Parpola

1991: Fig. no. Mr.-15A: 404), Harappa (Joshi and

Parpola 1987: Fig. no. H-127A: 195), Shaher-e-

Sokhta (Durante 1977: Fig. 9-12: 330) and Tarakai

Qila (Allchin and Knox 1981: 245-250 Shah and

Parpola 1991: Fig. no. Trq-4A: 414).

Grafti marks

As many as seven potsherds with graffiti marks

were discovered, out of which ve were identied

as pre red and two as post ring marks.

1. A thick fragment of jar or basin (Tr. AA28,

Layer 12), perhaps belonging the lower part

CHAPTER 8

SEALS, SEALING AND OTHER SCRIPT MATERIAL

Page 2: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 2/13

Chapter 8 Seals, Sealing and other Script Material

- 2 -

of the body (No. 09-2060) has a pre fired deep

grafti mark which looks like division sign

. It appears to be identical to the findings from

Rehman Dheri (Durrani 1988: 1-204 Shah and

Parpola 1991:352-378) and a few other sites.

2. Another pre-red deep incised fragment was a

 body sherd (No. 06-1253) of a red ware pot (Tr.

Y30, Layer 13). It has two marks i.e., a cross

which looks like English letter X and two parallel

lines. The signs are similar to Parpola’s 129b

and 245a and Mahadevan’s 87 and 137.

3. A pre red grafti mark (Tr. AA28, Layer 12),

which looked like tapered streak was found in a

 base fragment (No. 09-2058) of a Red Ware pot.

4. Fragment of a bowl with inverted rim (No. 09-

2059) of Red Slipped ware with pre-red grafti

on the external part (Tr. AA28, Layer 12).

5. Rim fragment (No. 08-1928) of a basin of a Red

slipped ware was found with post firing graffiti

marks on inner and outer face of the neck portion

(Tr. Z30, Layer 16). Grafti is similar to Parpola’s

200a and 245a and Mahadevan’s 134 and

137.

6. A body sherd of Red Ware with chocolate

slip pot (No. 06-1217) was found with post

ring grafti (Tr. Y30, Layer 20). It is similar to

Parpola’s 200a or 296e and Mahadevan’s

134 or 328.

7. Rim fragment of Red Slipped Ware pot with

seven pre red deep incised marks. Out of these

two sets have three streaks each whereas one

appears separate.

  Among these seven marks we could identify

only four as Indus signs and the remaining ones

could not be conrmed because either they were

 partially survived or broken.

KMR Pd IIA

Kanmer Pd IIA was represented by remains of

urban phase of the Harappans. In the ceramic

assemblage of this period we found several

 potsherds with incised or graffiti marks, besides

 painted Indus signs. Their detail is as follows:

1. Three signs were found painted

in black pigment on a red slipped surface of a

stand of a dish on stand (No. 09-2047). All these

have survived partially and appeared to have been

executed in pre firing stage (Tr. Z28, Layer 9).

These signs are identical to Parpola’s 118b

, 48c and 118h and Mahadevan’s 326,

182 and 326.

2. A circle with intersecting lines is a popular

Indus sign as has been reported from several

sites. At Kanmer it was found depicted in black

 pigment on the inner and outer surface of a pots

of Red Ware and Red Ware with buff slipped type

or on dishes, mostly in pre ring stage. As many

as five examples (No. 08-1948; Tr. Z30, Qua.

SW, Layer 10), (No. 09-2048; Tr. Z28, Layer

10), (No. 09-2049; Tr. Z28, Layer 10), (No. 09-

2050; Tr. Z28, Qua. SE, Layer 10), (No. 09-2053;

Tr. Z28, Layer 11) of this sign were found in the

assemblage. This sign is identical to Parpola’s

368b and Mahadevan’s 391. These signs

(executed with paint) are identical to one reported

from Surkotda Pd Ia (Joshi 1990: 357-369). A few

sites like Harappa (Shah and Parpola 1991: Fig.

no. H-1007A: 348), Rehman Dheri (Durrani 1988:

1-204; Shah and Parpola 1991: Fig. no. Rhd-

226A: 373), Kalibangan (Joshi and Parpola 1987:

Fig. no. K-120A: 324) have also yielded Indus

signs executed with pigment on pottery. The nd

Page 3: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 3/13

Excavation at KanMER

- 3 -

of sign on inner wall of a pot sherd appears to be

interesting.

3. A Harappan Red Ware pot fragment was found

with a graffiti mark (Tr. AA28, Layer 9), which

looked somewhat like upside down English letter

Y (No. 09-2055). It was a post ring sign and it is

identical to Parpola’s 215d and Mahadevan’s

125.

4. A rectangular body sherd (No. 09-2051) of

a Harappan pot was found (Tr. Z28, Layer 10)

with two deep incised marks i.e., , .

Besides these, three horizontal streaks were also

noticed. These marks appear identical to the ones

reported by Parpola’s 219b , 245a and

Mahadevan’s 225 and 137.

5. An English letter U like sign (No. 09-2043) was

found in a Red Slipped pot sherd (Tr. Z28, Layer

8), which appear to identical to reported by

Parpola’s 319w and Mahadevan’s 347.

6. A base fragment of dish on stand of Red Slipped

ware (No. 09-2052) yielded a graffiti mark on

the inner surface (Tr. Z28, Layer11). It was a set

of two parallel lines, which may be similar to

Parpola’s 155d .

7. A rim sherd of Red Ware (No. 08-1283) has

an English letter X type mark (Surface finding),

identical to Parpola’s 245a and Mahadevan’s

137. It was made after ring the pot.

8. Another post-fired sign was found (Tr. Y30,

Layer 16) on a body sherd of a pot of Red ware

with chocolate slip (No. 06-905). This sign is

similar to English letter V. It is identical to the

sign documented by Parpola’s 200a or 296e

and Mahadevan’s 134 or 328.

9. A thin rectangular grafti mark was discovered

(Tr. AA28, Layer 12) from a pot sherd of Red

Ware (No. 09-2057), belonging to KMR IIA.

It was also a post fired mark and appears to be

similar to Parpola’s 266a and Mahadevan’s

237.

10. A rim sherd of Red Ware has two parallel lines

(No. 08-1928), which appeared to be post fired

signs (Tr. Z30, Qua. NW, Layer 13). Such parallel

streaks were quite common to several areas of the

Indus settlements. They are similar to Parpola’s

129b and Mahadevan’s 87.

11. On the base of Red Ware pot were found two

streaks (No. 09-2056). The left one is smaller

whereas the right one longer and slightly curved

towards left at the lower end (Tr. AA28, Qua.

SW, Layer 11). This set appears to be similar to

Parpola’s 126a and Mahadevan’s 123.

  A sherd of Red ware with buff slip was found

(Tr. AA28, Qua. SW, Layer 8) with an squarish

impression, which looked like a seal impression

(No. 09-2186). The impression indicates that the

seal may have been squarish with deep engraved

lines.

  Besides incised or graffiti marks and seal

impression, two shell tablets (No. 09-1242; Tr.

Z28, Qua. SW, Layer 9), (No. 08-1549; Tr. Z30,

Qua. SE, Layer 9) were discovered from this

cultural period. One of them was circular whereas

another one rectangular. We are not sure if they

were used as seals. As button seals have been

reported from many site e.g., Mehrgarh, Harappa,

Shaher-E-Sokhta and Tarakai Qila and so on, we

have included these objects under seals.

Page 4: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 4/13

Page 5: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 5/13

Excavation at KanMER

- 5 -

Figure 8.1 H-156 Figure 8.2 No. 06-1054 (Kanmer)

cm, weight 15.7 g. the sign is partially broken (Tr.

Z28, Qua. SW, Layer 8). Our close observation

of 3D image and drawing indicated that it may

 be similar to Parpola’s 341e or f twin

times or 337b / c / d and 326 and

Mahadevan’s 261 twins or 403 and 317.

  A broken clay sealing (No. 06-1054, Figure 8.2)

Length 2.05 cm, width 2.03 cm, thickness 0.90

cm, weight 2.7 g. or impression was discovered

from the south eastern area of the fortified

settlement associated with st. 16 (Tr. GG30, Qua.

 NE, Layer 8). This sealing depicts a unicorn motif

and a few Indus signs on top .

This sealing is also circular in shape and perhaps

there was a perforation in this object too like the

earlier ones. The Indus sings are comparable to

Parpola’s 368b , 127a , 140a and

311j and Mahadevan’s 391, 99, 111 and 342.

  Two signs appear to be identical

to the ones reported from a seal at Harappa (Joshi

and Parpola 1987: Fig. no. H-156: 202).

  A seal from Mohenjo-daro also has these two

letters with some others. Besides, a pot sherd

discovered from Chandigarh has Indus signs

 prepared by engraving (Joshi and Parpola 1987:

Fig. no. Ch-2A: 351). Two of them are identical to

the seal impression of Kanmer.

  Unlike Mahadevan’s sign 391 in the text

from Kanmer, the text from Mohenjo-daro starts

with Mahadevan’s 267 as we go from right

to left direction. It must be noted that both

and are very frequent text beginner signs

of the Harappan script and both are known to

 be succeeded by Mahadevan’s 99 . Also,

Mahadevan’s 342 is a very common ender

of the text (Yadav et al., 2008a, 2010). Hence

grammatically, the text from Kanmer is consistent

with the general pattern of sign sequencing in

Harappan texts even though its meaning is not

known (Nisha Yadav pers. comm.).

  A squarish steatite seal (No. 09-1997),

length 1.06 cm, width 1.10 cm, thickness 0.48

cm, weight 0.4 g. with a perforated knob on

the reverse and depiction of an animal on the

Page 6: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 6/13

Chapter 8 Seals, Sealing and other Script Material

- 6 -

obverse (Tr. X30, Qua. SE, Layer 9) is one of the

most interesting and impressive find of the site

(Kharakwal et al., 2009: 147-163). It is a small

 button seal showing a standing animal facing left.

The neck part of the animal has two streaks. The

animal looks like an excited goat with its raised

short tail. There are two Indus signs at the top of

the gure, which are (Parpola’s 128b and 189b

and Mahadevan’s 97 and 211). This seal was

found in association with structure number 29 on

top of layer 9. Parpola (pers. com.) thinks that this

animal may be wild ass, a rare animal found in

Kachchh. He informed that this animal was earlier

identified in a seal from Mohenjo-daro (Parpola

 pers. com.). It may be a common seal type in

Kachchh and eventually an identification of

Kachchh Harappans. Its similarity with seals from

Mohenjo-daro may also indicate contacts between

two sites or areas, if this identication is correct.

  A broken steatite seal (No. 09-1996), length

1.03 cm, width 2.85 cm, thickness 0.67 cm,

weight 2.6 g. was discovered from st. 29I (Tr.

X30, Qua. SE, Layer 9). It is lower half of the

seal as legs of an animal besides some motifs

are visible. Perhaps it is a unicorn motif as the

style of legs and other associated survived motifs

match well with the depiction of seal impressions

discovered from the site.

2. A squarish object of shell with criss-cross motif

(No. 06-1007) Length 2.13 cm, width 2.17 cm,

thickness 0.26 cm, weight 2.6 g. was discovered

from north western corner of the settlement

(Tr. R21, Qua. SE, Layer 7). It is yellowish in

appearance and has two small perforations in the

central part, perhaps made for inserting thread for

hanging in the neck (!). Its reverse part is smooth.

It looks like a button seal, though we are not sure

as it may also be simply a pendant. As such seals

have also been reported as button seals from a few

Harappan sites, we therefore described this object

under this group. A sealing with somewhat similar

impression to this object has also been reported

from Gilund (Possehl et al., 2004: 18-29). It seems

that at Kanmer seal made of shell remained in use

throughout the Harappan as they were found from

all the cultural phases, though their type, size and

design pattern differs.

Grafti

Besides seals and seal impressions several pot

sherds were discovered with graffiti marks

from KMR IIB deposit. Both pre firing and post

firing examples were found in the assemblage.

Following is the detail of the representative ones:

1. A body sherd of a large Red ware jar (No. 08-

1285) has sign, which appears to have been

engraved in pre firing stage (Tr. Z30, Qua. NE,

Layer 8). It is identical to Parpola’s 41b

and Mahadevan’s 32 or 33 . Similar

sign on jar has also been reported from Harappa

(Kenoyer 2009: 13-32).

2. A popular Indus fish sign was found (Tr.

Z28, Qua. NW, Layer 8) engraved before firing

on the inner face of a dish (No. 09-1203), which

matches well with sign of Parpola’s 60a and

Mahadevan’s 59.

3. An interesting jig-jag kind of sign was

found (Tr. AA17, Qua. SW, Layer 4) on a basin

fragment of buff ware with chocolate slip, which

was created after ring. Grafti: sign - post ring

deep incision on top of rim shard (No. 08-1950).

It appears to be similar to Parpola’s 204a to g.

and Mahadevan’s 130.

4. A star like sign was found (from sondage

W2) on a rim of a pot (No. 08-1947), which is

similar to Parpola’s 256 and Mahadevan’s 141.

Page 7: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 7/13

Excavation at KanMER

- 7 -

Figure 8.3 Perforated script pottery (No. 06-410)

5. Two post fired swastika signs (Nos. 06-168;

Tr. Z15, Qua. SW, Layer 2), (1226; Tr. GG29,

Qua. SW, Layer 5) were discovered on fragments

of jars of Red slipped ware and match well with

Mahadevan’s 148.

6. A plus or cross sign (No. 09-1878) was found

on the base of a Red Ware pot (Tr. AA28, Qua.

SW, Layer 9), which appears to be identical to

Parpola’s 245a and Mahadevan’s 137.

7. A cross and an English U type pre fired signs

were found (Tr. AA28, Qua. NW, Layer 6) close

to the base of a jar of Red Ware (No. 09-2061),

which appear to be identical to the ones recorded

 by Parpola’s 245a and 296a or b and

Mahadevan’s 137 and 328.

8. A Red Ware pot sherd yielded interesting

grafti mark (No. 06-410, Figure 8.3) , which

was made during pre ring stage by perforations

forming a triangular sign (Tr. Y30, Qua. SW,

Layer 7). There are five small perforations in

each line, which makes the sign enigmatic and

interesting. We do know if this kind of sign has

something to do with astronomy.

9. A Red Ware rim sherd (No. 08-807) was found

with seven streaks. (Tr. Z29, Layer 5).

10. Two streaks were found (Tr. II30, Layer 1) on

the rim of a large black slipped jar (No. 06-1232),

which were made after ring.

11. Three incised marks (small parallel lines) were

found (Tr. Z28, Layer 9) on a body sherd of a Red

Ware pot (No. 09-2046), which were executed

 before ring.

Page 8: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 8/13

Chapter 8 Seals, Sealing and other Script Material

- 8 -

12. A star like sign was discovered (Tr. Z16,

Layer 1) on a large Red Slipped Ware jar (No. 08-

202), which was made after ring. It matches well

with Parpola’s 256 and Mahadevan’s 141.

13. A Red ware pot yielded three streaks near the

 base (No. 09-2045), made before ring (Tr. Z28,

Qua. SW, Layer 8).

14. A large Red Slipped ware jar fragment

revealed (Tr. Z17, Qua. NE, Layer 3) an

interesting grafti mark. It has a set of two parallel

lines intersected by an oblique line . This

type of grafti has also been reported from Kotdiji

(Shah and Parpola 1991: Fig. no. Kd-13A: 399).

  In several triangular and musthika type cakes

discovered from the site also have incised marks.

These marks may have some relation either with

the potter or with the Indus script.

  Thus, besides several known Indus signs such

as fish, star, human type and swastika, we have

 been able to record various other interesting signs

from the urban deposit at Kanmer, which appear

to be rare or unknown on pottery.

KMR III

A faience seal, a shell object and some graffiti

marks were discovered from cultural deposit

identied as KMR III.

Seal

An interesting rectangular seal of faience (No. 09-

1995), length 1.97 cm, width 1.38 cm, thickness

1.15 cm, weight 2.1 g. was discovered from

KMR III deposit (Tr. Q27, Layer 4) close to the

western arm of the fort. It depicts a geometrical

 pattern with bold engraving. The design shows

comprtmented plans at four corners and a central

space separated by a cross like design. Could

this be depicting the inner plan of the fortified

settlement of Kanmer? The seal has a perforated

knob on the reverse. Though this object is dull

white in appearance, our close examination

revealed that it has light greenish glazed coating

all around. This squarish design is somewhat

similar to an Indus sign documented by Parpola’s

270a or d and Mahadevan’s 242.

Somewhat similar seal has also been reported

from Pirak but the design or sign are different

(Jarrige and Santoni 1979; Shah and Parpola

1991: Fig. no. Pk-18A: 381).

Shell object

A circular shell object (No. 158) discovered at

Kanmer has nine streak on the obverse which

look like representation of sun rays. Its reverse is

slightly bulging. We are not sure if it was used as

seal. It may also be a pendant. Somewhat similar

object was also reported from Sutka-gen-dor

(Stein 1931).

Incised pot sherds

1. A rim sherd of Red slip ware yielded (Tr. Z28,

Qua. NE, Layer 8) four streaks (No. 09-2044),

which were engraved after ring.

2. Two deep circular marks are found on the base

fragment of a Red Slipped ware bowl.

3. A Buff ware basin revealed three streaks (No.

09-2042), which were engraved before ring (Tr.

X31, Qua. SW, Layer 6).

4. A Red ware pot (No. 09-2054) yielded two

circular marks (Tr. AA15, Qua. SW, Layer 2).

5. Fragment of a Red slipped ware bowl (No. 08-

1951) yielded two streaks (Tr. MM28, Qua. SE,

Layer 6), which were made before ring.

Page 9: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 9/13

Excavation at KanMER

- 9 -

6. Fragment of a Red Ware pot (No. 06-519)

yielded a rectangular sign. This pre red sign was

further divided into four equal parts (Tr. HH30,

Layer 2). This kind of sign reminds the geometric

design of faience seal described above.

7. A Red ware pot has a post ring sign perhaps

 prepared by a sharp object . It looked like a

diamond shape.

8. A Red slipped ware pot (No. 808) yielded a

cross sign (Tr. Y12, Layer 4), which was prepared

after ring the pot.

  Thus, signs recovered from KMR III were

mostly geometric, non-iconic or pictographic. The

urban phase tradition of sign making appears to

continue in KMR III. The discovery of faience

seal with plus or cross sign appears to be quite

interesting.

An overview of grafti marks

As the lower levels could be exposed in a very

small area at Kanmer, we have only about half a

dozen examples of graffiti, apart from a button

seal of shell. All the identified signs are as

follows:

  Among these, nos. 3, 4 and 5 match with the

Indus signs whereas nos. 2, 3 and a broken button

seal with central perforation have parallels in the

Ravi phase at Harappa (Kenoyer 2009: 13-32).

The deep graffiti mark no.1 is quite similar to

the findings from Rehman Dheri (Durrani 1988:

1-204 Shah and Parpola 1991: 352-378). We do

Figure 8.4 Grafti marks①

1. 6.5.4.3.2.

1. 6.5.4.3.2. 7. 8. 9. 10.

1. 6.5.4.3.2. 7. 8. 9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

1. 6.5.4.3.2. 7.

Figure 8.5 Grafti marks ②

Figure 8.6 Grafti marks③

Figure 8.7 Grafti marks④

Page 10: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 10/13

Chapter 8 Seals, Sealing and other Script Material

- 10 -

not know how far these early signs of Kanmer are

global in Harappan context.

  The number of signs and symbols increased

in subsequent cultural deposit i.e., Kanmer IIA,

in which as many as 10 following signs were

identied:

  Most of these are well known Indus signs. Sign

no. 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 have parallels in Kotdiji phase

remains at Harappa (Kenoyer 2009: 13-32).

  KMR IIB: The quantity as well variety of signs

increased in the later half of the urban deposit

at Kanmer (KMR IIB). Apart from pot and pot

sherds the Indus signs were also found from

several seals, seal impressions and shell objects.

Following are the Indus signs obtained from this

cultural phase:

  Among these sign no 1, 6, 7 were found from

urban phase at Harappa (Kenoyer 2009: 13-32).

The Swastika sign and vertical streaks appear to

 be quite common through the cultural deposit at

several Indus sites.

In KMR III most of the Indus sign disappear

from the pottery. Besides, seals, terracotta cakes,

weights also disappear from the deposit. About

half a dozen following marks were identied:

  These marks appear to be continuation of

earlier phase. Among these only three marks no. 5,

6 and 7 were identied as urban phase signs and

remaining appeared to be simple marks, though

sign no 1 or 2 are also known from Kotdiji and

Harappa phase (Kenoyer 2009: 13-32).

  In brief the graffiti at Kanmer was largely

dominated from beginning to end by geometrical

signs, though iconic figures appear only during

the later half of the urban phase and disappear

towards its end.

Indus script and modern tattoos

of Kanmer

Rebari and Bharwad communities of Kanmer form

a major component of modern Kanmer village.

These communities get tattoos executed on their

hands, legs and other parts of the body in order

to beautify or ornate. An intensive documentation

of tattoos was carried out at Kanmer during the

excavation by Shahida Ansari (Ansari 2011) and

the authors to understand their meaning. Many

of these tattoos betray the Indus signs. Some of

the following signs documented by Ansari appear

to be exactly identical to the Harappan signs. It

is difcult to ascertain if the Harappans also had

the same meaning for these symbols. On the left

hand are modern tattoos whereas on the right side

matching Indus sign (s).

  These marks include Swastika, animals, birds,

miscellaneous objects, male and female figure,

ower and so on.

Conclusion

Thus, grafti and Indus signs were found from all

the cultural phases at Kanmer. Their quantity and

variety increased during the later half of the urban

 phase when iconic gures also become part of the

grafti. These nds appear to be similar in nature

to Dholavira and other Indus sites. The discovery

of certain seals indicate direct contacts of Kanmer

with main centres of the Harappa civilization.

Further study is required on this line if the seals or

script material has some direct relationship with

the local craft, resource management, production

and trade.

  The find of over half a dozen seal and seal

impression indicate that the Harappan settlement

of Kanmer may have been quite important

for trade or certain craft. The discovery of

three identical seal impressions with different

symbols on the reverse suggests that they may

 be names of different business families and look

like passports or identity cards (Kharakwal et

al. 2009). This kind of discovery seems to be

important, when the script is challenged by some

experts. Besides, careful study of development

Page 11: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 11/13

Excavation at KanMER

- 11 -

Sl. No. Modern Tattoos at Kanmer  Indus Signs

(Sign No. from Parpola’ s sign list)

1

2

8

7

6

5

4

3

46a

47a

81a

88a

88a

5

260c

91k

Figure 8.8a Indus script and modern tattoos of Kanmer 

Page 12: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 12/13

Chapter 8 Seals, Sealing and other Script Material

- 12 -

Figure 8.8b Indus script and modern tattoos of Kanmer 

Sl. No. Modern Tattoos at Kanmer  Indus Signs

(Sign No. from Parpola’ s sign list)

9

10

16

15

14

13

12

11

91b

246

246

341h

120c

91g

245a

Page 13: Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

8/12/2019 Kanmer: seals, sealing and other script material (Chapter 8)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kanmer-seals-sealing-and-other-script-material-chapter-8 13/13

Excavation at KanMER

- 13 -

of strokes of Indus signs from early to late phase

and understanding the relationship of seals with

local craft production and trade may enhance

our understanding for decipherment of script.

The reference to ethnographic parallel also

appears quite interesting, which also needs to be

understood properly.

(Hansmukh Seth and J.S. Kharakwal, R.

Menaria and H. Bunker)

Sl. No.Modern Tattoos

at Kanmer Sl. No.

Indus Signs

(Sign No. from

Parpola’ s sign list)

Indus Signs

(Sign No. from

Parpola’ s sign list)

Modern Tattoos

at Kanmer 

17

18

24

23

22

21

20

19

91m7c

150b

97a

26

25

105i

7c

380a

33a

190b

256

Figure 8.8c Indus script and modern tattoos of Kanmer