Chinese lead ingots with barbarous Greek inscriptions, in Coin Hoards, vol.IV (London 1978), pp.76-8 (original) (raw)
Appendix 1: Inscribed Sculptures
Contribution to G.Snagupta and S.Saha, Vibrant Rock: Catalogue of Stone Sculptures in the State Archaeological Museum, West Bengal, 2014
Inscribed tin ingots of Haifa, Hishule Carmel Late Bronze shipwrecks are Mlecchita vikalpa hypertexts of seafaring merchants The hypothesis of this monograph is that Meluhha seafaring merchants reached Canaan region (Haifa, Hishule Carmel) during Late Bronze Age (c. 14th cent. BCE) delivering copper and tin ingots. The evidence for transport of oxhide ingots (tin or copper) is provided on a Mohenjo-daro prism tablet with Mlecchita vikalpa hypertexts. This hypothesis is tested deciphering inscribed tin ingots of Late Bronze shipwrecks at Haifa, Hishule Carmel. The cipher texts are Mlecchita vikalpa hypertexts of Meluhha seafaring merchants who use Indus Script hieroglyphs. I agree with the conclusion of Vasiliki Kassianidou: “The Bronze Age metals’ trade has been a subject of paramount concern to many scholars, even so many questions remain unanswered and there is clearly a lot that remains to be learned. I do believe that what is critically needed is a detailed study of the marks on all metal ingots, not just the ones from Uluburun but also those from Cyprus, Crete, Sardinia, and elsewhere, by an expert in very much the same way as it was done for pottery.” Such a detailed study will resolve the contentions of Iberian or Cypro-Minoan scripts and the validity of the readings suggested in mlecchita vikalpa (Meluhha cipher). Two inscribed tin ingots from Hishule Carmel After Galili et al, pp. 29, 30 (Galili, E., Shmueli, N. and M. Artzy, 1986, Bronze Age ship’s cargo of copper and tin. The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Exploration 15/1, pp. 25-37 Comparable hieroglyphs composed as hypertexts are found in examples of copper tablets with Indus Script inscriptions. Indus Script inscriptions on 14 examples of copper tablets inscribed on two sides (C6 figure) Indus Script inscriptions on 7 examples of copper tablets inscribed on two sides (B19 figure) These two sets of inscriptions include the following hypertext (hieroglyph components) (with variants): The hieroglyph components in these hypertext variants are: 1. dhāḷ, 'slanted stroke' 2. khāṇḍā, 'notch, jag' Both together signify rebus: dhāḷako 'ingot' PLUS khaṇḍa 'implement'. dhāḷ 'slanted stroke' A. ḍhaliba ʻto leanʼ, B. ḍhalā; Or. ḍhaḷibā ʻto inclineʼ(CDIAL 5581) Rebus: dhāḷako 'large ingot'(Gujarati) खांड (p. 116) khāṇḍa f (खंड S) A break or opening in a dam or mound; a crack or fissure in a wall &c. 2 A jag, indentation, denticulation. 3 A gap in the teeth; a notch खांडा (p. 116) khāṇḍā A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). Rebus: khaṇḍa 'metal implements' as in:lokhaṇḍa ^ adaren 'lid' rebus: aduru 'native metal' | koḍa 'one' rebus: koḍ 'workshop' Thus, the two sets of hypertexts on the tin ingots of Hishule Carmel are read rebus in Meluhha: 1. dhāḷako 'ingot' PLUS khaṇḍa 'implement'. 2. aduru 'native metal' PLUS koḍ 'workshop' These two examples of tin ingots are also cited in: Kassianidou, Vasiliki, 2003, The trade of tin and island of copper, in: Alessandra Giumlia-Mair & Fulvia Lo Schiavo, 2003, Le probleme de l’etain a l’origine de la metallurgie, The problem of early tin, Bronze Age in Europe and the Mediterranean, Colloque/Symposium 11.2, 2-8 Sept. 2001, University of Liege, Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, Archaeopress, Oxford, England, pp.109-119 https://www.academia.edu/4038201/The\_trade\_of\_tin\_and\_the\_island\_of\_copper Map of Cyprus showing Middle and Late Bronze Age sites and sites where copper oxhide ingots have been found (After Fig. 1 in Kassianidou, Vasiliki, 2003) Map of the Mediterranean showing sites where copper oxide and tin ingots have been found (After Fig. 2 in Kassianidou, Vasiliki, 2003) After the publication in 1977, of the two pure tin ingots found in a shipwreck at Haifa, Artzy published in 1983 (p.52), two more ingots found in a car workshop in Haifa which wasusing the ingots for soldering broken radiators. Artzy's finds were identical in size and shape with the previous two; both were also engraved with two marks. In one of the ingots, at the time of casting, a moulded head was shown in addition to the two marks. Artzy compares this head to Arethusa. (Artzy, M., 1983, Arethusa of the Tin Ingot, Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research, 250, p. 51-55). Artzy went on to suggest the ingots may have been produced in Iberia and disagreed with the suggestion that the ingot marks were Cypro-Minoan script. I suggest an alternative to with both suggestiosns identifying the script as Iberian or Cypro-Minoan script. I suggest that the script is Sindhu-Sarasvati (Indus) Script. My monograph on this conclusion has been published in Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies, Vol. 1, Number 11 (2010), pp.47-74 — The Bronze Age Writing System of Sarasvati Hieroglyphics as Evidenced by Two “Rosetta Stones” By S. Kalyanaraman (Editor of JIJS: Prof. Nathan Katz)http://www.indojudaic.com/index.php?option=com\_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=8 All these hieroglyphs on the three tin ingots of Haifa are read rebus in Meluhha: Hieroglyph: ranku = liquid measure (Santali) Hieroglyph: raṅku m. ʻa species of deerʼ Vās., rankuka id., Śrīkaṇṭh. (Samskrtam)(CDIAL 10559). Rebus: ranku ‘tin’ (Santali) raṅga3 n. ʻ tin ʼ lex. Pk. raṁga -- n. ʻ tin ʼ; P. rã̄g f., rã̄gā m.ʻpewter, tinʼ (← H.); Ku. rāṅ ʻ tin, solder ʼ, gng. rã̄k; N. rāṅ, rāṅo ʻ tin, solder ʼ, A. B. rāṅ; Or. rāṅga ʻ tin ʼ, rāṅgā ʻ solder, spelter ʼ, Bi. Mth. rã̄gā, OAw. rāṁga; H. rã̄g f., rã̄gā m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼ; Si. ran̆ga ʻ tin ʼ. (CDIAL 10562) Hieroglyph: dāṭu = cross (Telugu) Rebus: dhatu = mineral ore (Santali) Rebus: dhāṭnā ‘to send out, pour out, cast (metal)’ (Hindi)(CDIAL 6771). Hieroglyph: mũh 'a face' Rebus: mũh, 'ingot' or muhã 'quantity of metal produced at one time from the furnace’ (Santali) Thus, two tin ingots reported from Haifa contain the following plain texts: raṅku m. ʻa species of deerʼ PLUS dāṭu = cross rebus: plain text: ranku 'tin' PLUS dhatu 'cast mineral' Thus, together, the plain text reads:tin mineral casting raṅku m. ʻliquid measureʼ PLUS dāṭu = cross rebus: plain text: ranku 'tin' PLUS dhatu 'cast mineral' Thus, together, the plain text reads: tin mineral casting. The ingot reported from a Haifa car repair workshop contains the following plain text: raṅku m. ʻliquid measureʼ PLUS dāṭu = cross PLUS mũh 'a face' rebus: plain text: ranku 'tin' PLUS dhatu 'cast mineral' PLUS mũh, 'ingot'. Thus, together, the plain text reads: tin mineral cast ingot Late Bronze Canaan (regions and sites) - Titus Israel Museum. Metal ingots from coast of Kefar Samir, Neve Yam, Hishule Carmel, 14th-13th c. BCE. TB032014147.jpg One side of Mohenjo-daro tablet with Indus Script hieroglyphs/inscriptions on all three sides This suggestion is reinforced by the fact that a Mohenjo-daro prism tablet shows on one side a boat carrying oxhide ingots, establishing the Meluhha-Cypriot link. The administrative unit in Cyprus transacting seafaring trade in copper and tin ingots may have acted as intermediaries for trade from Meluhha or community of Meluhha traders settled in Cyprus handling imports from Meluhha. Meluhha had received the tin (cassiterite) from the largest tin belt of the globe in Ancient Far East in the basins of Himalayan rivers, Irrawaddy-Salween, Mekong River Basins which had accumulated cassiterite as placer deposits after grinding down granite rocks of the river basins. "Secondly it is probable that, both metals necessary in the making or bronze, were distributied by an administrative complex centred on Cyprus. Although the source of the tin is unknown, it passed through Cyprus where it received the markings, which are also found on copper ingots of LBA date." (p.46) Maddin, R. Wheeler, TS and JD Muhly, 1977, Tin in the ancient Near East, Old questions and new finds. Expedition 19/2, p. 35-47 What was an ox-hide called in the contact area of Ancient Near East of the Bronze Age where such large ingots were found (including the shipwrecks of Uluburn and Cape Gelidonya)? The objective of this addendum is to answer this question based on deciherment of Indus Script Corpora of inscriptions. The ox-hide ingot was called ḍhāla 'large ingot'. Artisans who use this word belong to the Prakrtam Indian sprachbund (linguistic area).Whether these Prakrtam speakers had colonies in Cyprus calls for further researches becauee a large number of ox-hide ingots have been discovered in Cyprus and other parts of Ancient Near East.Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/jnnf8n4