The Indus script
Around 4,000 short inscriptions, and nobody can read a single one.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 700 years
- Known to
- ± 50 years
- Era
- Bronze Age, Holocene
The Indus script appears on seals, tablets and pottery in sequences averaging five signs and never exceeding about twenty-six. There is no bilingual inscription, no known related language, and no long text, which is why a century of decipherment attempts has failed. A minority argue it is not writing at all but a system of non-linguistic symbols. Until it is read, one of the largest ancient civilisations remains effectively silent.