Scientists baffled by ancient

carvings of civilisation that

invented the toilet
It is a mystery civilisation that has baffled the archaeological
world for decades.

The Indus - the largest yet least known of all the first great
urban cultures - thrived from 2600 to 1900 BC, and then
abruptly vanished from historical records.

Very little is known about the people, who strangely left no

archaeological evidence of warfare and communicated in
one of the world's most complex scripts

Now, one expert believes we may be closer to deciphering

the ancient script using digital technology that can find
patterns in its unusual symbols.
The Indus - the largest yet least known of all the first great urban
cultures - thrived from 2600 to 1900 BC, and then abruptly vanished
from historical records. Pictured is a seal found in one of the known
Indus settlements engraved with the motif of an animal and various
symbols that researchers are still trying to decipher

THE INDUS PEOPLE: KEY FACTS

Writing an in-depth
The Indus civilisation - also known as the
report in Nature,
Harappan civilisation - thrived from 2600 to
Andrew Robinson, 1900 BC.
author of 'The Indus: Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it
Lost Civilizations', says was one of three early civilisations of the Old
World.
research on the empire
The Empire stretched from the Arabian Sea to
has progressed the Ganges, over what is now Pakistan, India
dramatically. and Afghanistan.
The Indus Empire At its peak, the civilisation may have had a
population of more than 5 million, making up
stretched over more 10 per cent of the world's population.
than a million square Among their settlements, researchers have
miles across the plains uncovered the world's first known toilets,
along with complex stone weights, drilled
of the Indus River from gemstone necklaces and exquisitely carved
the Arabian Sea to the seal stone.
Ganges, over what is Etched in of these artefacts is an unusual and
now Pakistan, northwest complex script, which researchers are racing
to decipher.
India and eastern
Afghanistan.

Like their contemporaries, the Indus - who may have made

up 10 per cent of the world's population - lived next to rivers,
owing their livelihoods to the fertility of annually watered
lands.

But the remains of their settlements are located in a vast

desert region far from any flowing river.

They were forgotten until the 1920s, but since then, a flurry
of research has uncovered a sophisticated urban culture
with myriad internal trade routes.

So far, more than a thousand Indus settlements covering

Pakistan and northwestern India have been discovered.

The two largest settlements are Mohenjo-daro found and

Harappa near the Indus river.
'They hosted the world's first known toilets, along with
complex stone weights, elaborately drilled gemstone
necklaces and exquisitely carved seal stones,' writes
Robinson in his report.

Etched into these artefacts is an indecipherable script made

up between 400 and as many as 600 distinct Indus symbols,
including what some scientists describe as a 'unicorn'.

'Once seen, the seal stones are never forgotten. I became

smitten in the late 1980s when tasked to research the Indus
script by a leading documentary producer,' Robinson recalls.

'He hoped to entice the world's code-crackers with a

substantial public prize.'
The two largest settlements are Mohenjo-Daro found and Harappa near
the Indus river. Pictured is the Siddikui area of the ancient Indus Valley
civilisation of Mohenjo-Daro

The Indus Empire stretched over more than a million square miles across
the plains of the Indus River from the Arabian Sea to the Ganges, over
what is now Pakistan, northwest India and eastern Afghanistan

Collectively, the academic world has published more than

100 attempts at solving the script, and now, researchers may
be close to finally uncovering its meaning.

For instance, in recent years, the direction of writing — from

right to left — has been revealed by studying character
position in different inscriptions.

Robinson notes that the Technical University of Berlin, has

created the first, publicly available, electronic corpus of
Indus texts.

Meanwhile, computer scientist Rajesh Rao at the University

of Washington in Seattle has been using digital analysis to
find patterns in the symbols.

WERE THE INDUS WIPED OUT BY CLIMATE

CHANGE?

No one yet knows why such a

great civilisation disappeared.

One theory, which emerged in

2012, is that climate change
led to the collapse of the
ancient Indus civiliSation more
than 4,000 years ago.

A study also resolves a long-

standing debate over the No one yet knows why such a great
source and fate of the
Sarasvati, the sacred river of
Hindu mythology, the authors
believe.
civilisation disappeared. Pictured
are the remains of the Granaries of
Harappa, Pakistan

Over five years an international team combined satellite

photos and topographic data to make digital maps of
landforms constructed by the Indus and neighbouring rivers.

They then probed in the field by drilling, coring, and even

manually-dug trenches and samples were tested.

Co-author Dorian Fuller, an archaeologist with University

College London, said: 'Once we had this new information on
the geological history, we could re-examine what we know
about settlements

'This brought new insights into the process of eastward

population shift, the change towards many more small
farming communities, and the decline of cities during late
Harappan times.'

The study suggests the decline in monsoon rains led to

weakened river dynamics, and played a critical role both in
the development and the collapse of the Indus culture.

The team has calculated the amount of randomness in the

script using the computer programming language Fortran.
They've found the Indus script seem to be most similar to
those of Sumerian cuneiform.

But deciphering the script is not just an intellectual puzzle, it

has also become deeply intertwined with the cultural history
of South Asia.

'In fact, the script has become a battleground of sorts

between three different groups of people,' Rajesh Rao, an
Indus expert at Washington University said in a Ted Talk.

'First, there's a group of people who are very passionate in

their belief that the Indus script does not represent a
language at all.

'There's a second group of people who believe that the

Indus script represents an Indo-European language.
The left image shows the remains of an Indus settlement
in the Sahiwal District of Pakistan. The right image is of
an artefact found among its ruins

'There's a last group of THE FIRST EVER TOILET

people who believe that One of the biggest known accomplishments of
the Indus people were the Indus civilisation was the invention of the
world's first toilet.
the ancestors of people
In Mohenjo-daro, one of the largest Indus
living in South India sites in Pakistan, archaeologists have
today.' discovered what look like brick lined toilets.
They have also found pipes protruding from
the ground, which could been used as ancient
Along with the difficulty urinals, along with small bathing platforms.

in deciphering the text, The toilets and baths were connected to a

brick drainage system that ran along the
no one yet knows why streets. They were also covered by bricks to
such a great civilisation disguise them from view. Waste would have
been flushed away using water.
disappeared.

One theory, which emerged in 2012, is that climate change

led to the collapse of the ancient Indus civilization more than
4,000 years ago.

A study also resolves a long-standing debate over the

source and fate of the Sarasvati, the sacred river of Hindu
mythology, the authors believe.

Over five years an international team combined satellite

photos and topographic data to make digital maps of
landforms constructed by the Indus and neighbouring rivers.

They then probed in the field by drilling, coring, and even

manually-dug trenches and samples were tested.
The toilets and baths (pictured) were connected to a brick drainage
system that ran along the streets. They were also covered by bricks to
disguise them from view. Waste would have been flushed away using
water
=These copper spearheads are from the Indus Valley civilisation and are
currently housed in the National Museum of New Delhi. | Location:
National Museum of New Delhi. If the remaining sites could be
excavated, then researchers may finally unravel the secrets to the Indus
script

Co-author Dorian Fuller, an archaeologist with University

College London, said: 'Once we had this new information on
the geological history, we could re-examine what we know
about settlements

'This brought new insights into the process of eastward

population shift, the change towards many more small
farming communities, and the decline of cities during late
Harappan times.'

The study suggests the decline in monsoon rains led to

weakened river dynamics, and played a critical role both in
the development and the collapse of the Indus culture.

Whatever happened, there remains a great deal to be

unearthed about this great civilisation.

'On the ground in Pakistan and India, more inscriptions

continue to be discovered — although not, as yet, any texts
longer than 26 characters,' said Robinson.

'Unfortunately, less than 10 per cent of the known Indus sites

have been excavated. The difficulty — apart from funding —
is the politically troubled nature of the region.

If the remaining sites could be excavated, then researchers

may finally unravel the secrets to the Indus script.
A board game discovered from the Indus Valley Civilisation. Along with
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilisations of
the Old World