Bactria and Margiana Seals-- Sandro Salvatori; stepped

lozenge seals are Indus Script hieroglyphs signify

sacred fire-altars
+ hieroglyph on ancient coins (creating Ujjain symbol):

The shape of a sacred fire-altar in Malhar is a +

Emphatic archaeological evidence discovered at Malhar, Dist. Bilaspur on the Ganga River
Basin validates + hieroglyph as the shape of yajna kunda, fire-altar.
What was processed in this fire-altar? Dotted circle hieroglyphs define the process. They
are dhāv, dāya 'one in dice' + vaṭṭa 'circle' rebus धावड dhāvaḍa 'red ferrite ore smelter'. Thus,
the Yajna kunda, fire-altar is an iron metal smelter.

Malhar.Yajna Kunda.

Tablets Indus Script with + hieroglyph,

stylized geometric designs of wavy water flows

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 h101 Ivory stick Hypertext 4561 dhātu
'layer, strand'; dhāv 'strand, string' Rebus: dhāu, dhātu 'ore'.(smelter) koDa 'one' rebus: koD
'workshop' khANDA 'notch' rebus: kaNDa 'implements'. Thus, Smelter (ores) and
implements workshop.

Fillets with Indus script hieroglyphs of dotted circles, lathe, brazier signify पोतृ purifier priest
of kole.l 'smithy, temple'

http://tinyurl.com/nacgzus

Another reading for the dotted circle as Indus Script hieroglyph: pot 'gold bead' pot 'hole,
perforation' rebus: potr 'purifier priest';

koṇḍa 'live coals in a pit', अग्नि-कुण्ड agni-kuṇḍa 'sacred fire altar'

Standard device: kunda 'lathe' rebus: kunda 'fine gold' kammaṭamu Same as కమటము (p.
246) kamaṭamu kamaṭamu. [Tel.] n. A portable furnace for melting the precious metals.
అగసాలెవాని కుంపటి. "చ కమటము కట్లస ె ుంచి యొరగల్లెను గత్తెర సుత్తె చీర ణముల్
ధమనియుస్రసావణుంబు మొలస్రాసును బట్లడ ె నీరుకారు సా నము పటుకారు మూస
బల్లనాణె పరీక్షల మచ్చు లాదిగా నమరగభస్రరకారక సమాహ్వ యు డొకక రుడుండ
నప్పు రిన్" హ్ుంస. ii. కమమ టము kammaṭamu Same as కమటము. కమమ టీడ 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)
Four dotted circles: gaṇḍā m. ʻ a group of four, four cowries'Rebus: kāṇḍa 'tools, pots and
pans and metal-ware'. PLUS dotted circle:
dhã̄ī 'strand' rebus: dhatu 'mineral ore'. Another example of Indus Script seal is presented
with a decipherment.

m0352 cdef The + glyph of Sibri

evidence is comparable to the large-sized 'dot', dotted circles and + glyph shown on this
Mohenjo-daro seal m0352 with dotted circles repeated on 5 sides A to F. Mohenjo-daro Seal
m0352 shows dotted circles in the four corners of a fire-altar and at the centre of the altar

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together with four raised 'bun' ingot-type rounded features. Rebus readings of m0352
hieroglyphs:

dhātu 'layer, strand'; dhāv 'strand, string' dāya 'one in dice' Rebus: dhāu, dhātu 'ore' PLUS
'circle' hieroglyph: vr̥ttá ʻ turned ʼ RV., ʻ rounded ʼ ŚBr. 2. ʻ completed ʼ MaitrUp., ʻ passed,
elapsed (of time) ʼ KauṣUp. 3. n. ʻ conduct, matter ʼ ŚBr., ʻ livelihood ʼ Hariv. [√vr̥t1]
1. Pa. vaṭṭa -- ʻ round ʼ, n. ʻ circle ʼ; Pk. vaṭṭa -- , vatta -- , vitta -- , vutta -- ʻ round ʼ; L.
(Ju.) vaṭ m. ʻ anything twisted ʼ; Si. vaṭa ʻ round ʼ, vaṭa -- ya ʻ circle, girth (esp. of trees) ʼ;
Md. va' ʻ round ʼ GS 58; -- Paš.ar. waṭṭəwīˊk, waḍḍawik ʻ kidney ʼ ( -- wĭ̄k vr̥kká -- ) IIFL iii
3, 192?(CDIAL 12069) வட்டம் ¹ vaṭṭam , < Pkt. vaṭṭa < vṛtta. n. 1. Circle, circular form,
ring-like shape; மண்ட லம் . (த ொல் . த ொல் . 402, உரை.) 2. Halo round the sun or
moon, a karantuṟai-kōḷ; பைிவவடம் . (சிலப் . 10, 102, உரை.) (சிவேந். 164.) 3.
Potter's wheel; குயவே் திைிரை. (பிங் .) 4. Wheel of a cart; வண்டி ் ை்ைைம் .
(யொழ் . அை.) Together, the dot PLUS circle are read rebus: धवड (p. 436) [ dhavaḍa
] m (Or धावड) A class or an individual of it. They are smelters of iron
(Marathi) धावड dhāvaḍa m A class or an individual of it. They are smelters of iron. In these
parts they are Muhammadans.धावडी dhāvaḍī a Relating to the class धावड. Hence 2
Composed of or relating to iron. (Marathi)

Vikalpa 1. Round dot like a blob -- . Glyph: raised large-sized dot -- (gōṭī ‘round
pebble);goTa 'laterite (ferrite ore)A (गोटा) gōṭā Spherical or spheroidal, pebble-form.
(Marathi) goTa 'laterite ferrite ore'. Rebus: khoṭā ʻalloyedʼ (metal) (Marathi) खोट [khōṭa] f A
mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge (Marathi).
P. khoṭ m. ʻalloyʼ *khaḍḍa ʻ hole, pit ʼ. [Cf. *gaḍḍa -- and list s.v. kartá -- 1]Pk. khaḍḍā -- f.
ʻ hole, mine, cave ʼ, ˚ḍaga -- m. ʻ one who digs a hole ʼ, ˚ḍōlaya -- m. ʻ hole ʼ; Bshk.
(Biddulph) "kād" (= khaḍ?) ʻ valley ʼ; K. khŏḍ m. ʻ pit ʼ, &obrevdotdot; f. ʻ small pit
ʼ, khoḍu m. ʻ vulva ʼ; S. khaḍ̠a f. ʻ pit ʼ; L. khaḍḍ f. ʻ pit, cavern, ravine ʼ; P. khaḍḍ f. ʻ pit,
ravine ʼ, ˚ḍī f. ʻ hole for a weaver's feet ʼ (→ Ku. khaḍḍ, N. khaḍ; H. khaḍ, khaḍḍā m. ʻ pit,
low ground, notch ʼ; Or. khãḍi ʻ edge of a deep pit ʼ; M. khaḍḍā m. ʻ rough hole, pit ʼ);
WPah. khaś. khaḍḍā ʻ stream ʼ; N. khāṛo ʻ pit, bog ʼ, khāṛi ʻ creek ʼ, khāṛal ʻ hole (in ground
or stone) ʼ. -- Altern. < *khāḍa -- : Gy. gr. xar f. ʻ hole ʼ; Ku. khāṛ ʻ pit ʼ; B. khāṛī ʻ creek,
inlet ʼ, khāṛal ʻ pit, ditch ʼ; H. khāṛī f. ʻ creek, inlet ʼ, khaṛ -- har, ˚al m. ʻ hole ʼ;
Marw. khāṛo m. ʻ hole ʼ; M. khāḍ f. ʻ hole, creek ʼ, ˚ḍā m. ʻ hole ʼ, ˚ḍī f. ʻ creek, inlet ʼ.
khaḍḍukā -- see khaṭū -- .Addenda: *khaḍḍa -- : S.kcch. khaḍḍ f. ʻ pit ʼ; WPah.kṭg. kháḍ m.
ʻ hole in the earth, ravine ʼ, poet. khāḍ (obl. -- o) f. ʻ small stream ʼ, J. khāḍ f.(CDIAL 3931)

Excerpts from Sandro Salvatori's article:

A learned and detailed look at seals and seal types from the central Asia just north of
Afghanistan, Afghanistan and western Iran in relationship to the ancient Indus valley seal
types, and how different kinds of seals seem to have predominated at different times and in
different places. Not only are there a myriad of connections, but the paper reinforces the fact
that seals, while highly specific to a certain place (or even person) were also part of a larger
system of trade and representation across the wider region.

For example, the Image 1, above, shows examples of "stepped lozenge" seals; "overall this
type is distributed over a time span ranging from the 27th to the 22nd century B.C. and
covers an area taking in central-eastern Iran, central-northern Afghanistan, southern

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Turkmenistan, Margiana and southern Bactria" writes Salvatori. Other types show similarly
extensive distribution indicating, once again, how even in the earliest part of the Bronze Age,
objects and practices traveled widely. This rigorous paper breaks out all the different kinds of
geometric – cloverleaf, star and corolla-like, Maltese cross, etc. – and even zoomorphic and
anthropmorphic designs to be found across cultures. Most helpfully, it then lists different, as
far as is known chronologically by major types [Image 2].
The focus on seals – both the smallest physically, but broadest cultural self-representation –
allows the author to draw important insights: "However, it is clear that as regards figurative
complexity inside the Bactria-Margiana macro-region, at the present state of our knowledge,
Bactria takes on a configuration of its own that is to some extent distinct from that of
Margiana. This obvious situation at the level of seal production is in our opinion to be
interpreted as a definite indication of an expected phenomenon, that of regional specificity
within a substantially macro-regional cultural koine [common cultural language]. The
possible determinants of these regional differences is still a field to be explored at the level of
both the mechanism of relations with other regions and perhaps also as regards the levels of
socio-economic structuring inside the two regions. What appears undeniable is the fact that,
from the point of view of the material culture in its broad outlines the two regions display a
clear-cut and substantial homogeneity during the second half of the 3rd millennium B.C.,
which justifies speaking of a Bactro-Margiana civilization until this period" (p. 124).

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Images
1: Fig. 11-1. Type 5.1 (redr. from Ferioli, Fiandra & Tusa 1979: fig. 1e). Type 5.2 (redr.
from Casal 1961: pl. XLV.B.i); 3. Type 5.3 (redr. from Tosi 1983: fig. 74); 4. Type 5.4 (redr.
from Tosi 1969: fig. 280); 5. Type 5.5 (redr. from Masson 1981a: pl. XVI. 10); 6. Type 5.6
(redr. from Casal 1961: pl. XLV.B J);
2: Chronological Assessment of the main classes of seals.
https://www.harappa.com/content/bactria-and-margiana-seals-new-assessment-their-
chronological-position-and-typological