Shinde, V and Willis, R J 2014 A New Type of Inscribed Copper Plate Ancient Asia from Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation. Ancient Asia, 5: 1, pp. 1-10, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/aa.12317 RESEARCH PAPER A New Type of Inscribed Copper Plate from Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation Vasant Shinde* and Rick J. Willis† A group of nine Indus Valley copper plates (c. 2600–2000 BC), discovered from private collections in Pakistan, appear to be of an important type not previously described. The plates are significantly larger and more robust than those comprising the corpus of known copper plates or tablets, and most signifi- cantly differ in being inscribed with mirrored characters. One of the plates bears 34 characters, which is the longest known single Indus script inscription. Examination of the plates with x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrophotometry indicates metal compositions, including arsenical copper, consistent with Indus Valley technology. Microscopy of the metal surface and internal structure reveals detail such as pitting, microcrystalline structure, and corrosion, consistent with ancient cast copper artifacts. Given the relative fineness of the engraving, it is hypothesised that the copper plates were not used as seals, but have char- acteristics consistent with use in copper plate printing. As such, it is possible that these copper plates are by far the earliest known printing devices, being at least 4000 years old. Background The peak of Indus Valley (also known as Harappan) civili- sation ranged from about 2600 BC to 2000 BC. The set- tled life in the Indian subcontinent started, as is evident at Mehrgarh in Baluchistan (Jarrige, et al., 1995), around 7000 BC and there has been gradual growth in the cul- tures culminating into the formation of the Harappan cul- ture starting around 4000 BC. While there were minor discoveries of Indus Valley arti- facts in the 19th century, it was not until the 1920’s that discoveries and subsequent excavations at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa revealed that a complex and sophisticated society had once thrived along the Indus River region. Indus Valley civilisation seems to have been relatively sec- ular, insofar as no temples or similar structures have been found, although certain dwellings and artifacts indicate that priests and the worship of gods were an integral part of life. The society seems to have been largely mercantile, well organised and relatively peaceful, as there are com- paratively few traces of armaments. Mohenjo-daro and Harappa have become celebrated for their comprehen- Figure 1: Map of Indus Valley region showing extent, and sive urban planning that included sophisticated sewerage key sites mentioned in the text. and control of water movement that allowed structures such as public baths. Almost 90 years since excavations to Haryana, India, and even into Afghanistan (Figure 1). began at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, it is now apparent One of the largest known cities is now being excavated at that there were dozens of cities and towns in a region that Rakhigarhi in Haryana (Kaur, 2012). It is likely that Indus extended across the Indus River region from Baluchistan Valley cities have largely escaped notice as their construc- tion was based almost entirely on brick; and the millions of bricks have survived poorly, as many have been recycled or have eroded to rubble. Indus Valley civilisation is espe- * Deccan College, Pune, India [email protected] cially noted for two types of artifact: pottery and seals. † University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia The region was likely a production centre for fine utili- [email protected] tarian pottery and much was exported. The iconic seals Art. 1, page 2 of 10 Shinde and Willis: A New Type of Inscribed Copper Plate from Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation realized that the plates were unusual, as they were large and robust, and bore mirrored Indus script as found in seals, but the inscriptions were relatively finely incised and unlikely capable of leaving satisfactory impressions, as with a seal. General Description of The Plates The copper plates superficially resemble large Indus Valley seals, as seven of the plates bear an image of an ani- mal or person, plus reversed text. Two of the copper plates bear only mirrored Indus characters boldly engraved in two rows. The plates are illustrated in Figure 2 and basic attributes are given in Table 1. Inscribed Indus Valley metal objects include seals, small tablets (or wafers) and occasionally tools. Seals similar to steatite seals are known in both copper and silver, but are very rare, and were likely cast for wealthy individuals from sealings taken from crisp steatite seals. Steatite seals were prone to breakage and loss, as the stone is soft and brit- tle; broken seals, or seals with a broken boss have often been found in excavated streets at Indus Valley sites. Over 200 small inscribed copper tablets have been found at Mohenjo-daro, and these are discussed by Parpola (1994; Figure 2: The nine copper plates. Top row: Plates 1–3. p. 111); see Figure 3. They comprise three groups based Middle row: Plates 4–6. Bottom row: Plates 7–9. Scale on shape: square, rectangular, and long and narrow. Their in centimetres. average dimensions respectively are: 26.6mm by 26.5mm by 3.5mm; 33.8mm by 26.5mm by 3.5mm; and 33.0mm by that are often used visually to symbolise the culture are 24.0mm by 3mm. Most of these tablets have an inscribed generally made of steatite (a whitish soapstone). They are image on one side and text on the other side. Many of the typically square, generally ranging in size from about 2.5 tablets occur as duplicates, where the image and relevant to 5 cm on a side, and typically bear the image of an ani- script are consistent from copy to copy. In one rectangu- mal such as bull, elephant or rhinoceros and a few char- lar design featuring a bull, 28 copies are known. Parpola acters (average of five) of what is known as Indus script. believes that these tablets are notable as the text likely The seals have a central boss on the back that seems to relates to the image, unlike seals, and that the tablets were have allowed the seal to be tied to clothing. Despite the possibly amulets or tokens important for religious occa- finding of several thousands of these seals, Indus script sions. A few copper tablets with script in relief have been remains undeciphered, as the script seems unrelated to recovered also from Harappa, but again the writing is not the image, and is likely some identifier of the bearer. Ideas reversed, and these objects are also regarded as amulets regarding the meaning of the text on the seals abound, or tokens. and include theories such as guild affiliation, address, and It is tempting to compare the copper plates to these astrological information, but there is no confirmation or tablets, as the base material is similar and they are incised agreement. Other objects do bear script but are less com- with an image and text. However, there are many impor- mon. Amongst the more interesting of these are over 200 tant differences that suggest that the copper plates are small copper tablets or wafers that also bear image and a distinct and new type of script-bearing artifact. Firstly, script but on opposing surfaces. As many of these tablets the copper plates are substantially larger, and the eight occur in multiple copies, it is believed that these may be larger rectangular plates have an average surface area tokens of some sort (Parpola, 1994; p. 112). of about 28cm2, or over three times that of an average A set of nine copper plates of Indus Valley origin but of rectangular copper tablet. Similarly they are much more quite different appearance to the aforementioned wafers robust, having thickness up to 6.7mm, compared to an has recently come to light. The source and history of the average 3.5mm thickness in the tablets1. While the tab- plates are poorly known, as the plates lay stored in two lets are bifacial, the copper plates have only one surface successive private collections in Pakistan for many years. inscribed, with both image and text. The types of animals The plates were firstly thought to be generally comparable depicted on the copper plates are generally the same as to those from the large corpus of small copper tablets or those on the copper tablets; however, the style is detailed wafers known from Mohenjo-daro, and thus were given and more similar to that on steatite seals. Perhaps the little importance. most important difference is that with the copper plates, The copper plates described in this article are believed the text is mirrored, as found in seals, and as indicated to date from the Mature Harappan period, 2600–1900 through several asymmetric Indus script characters. The BC. They were given to the second author in 2011, who text on one of the copper plates (Plate 1) has 34 characters Shinde and Willis: A New Type of Inscribed Copper Plate from Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation Art. 1, page 3 of 10 Plate Subject Weight (g) Width (mm) Height (mm) Thickness (mm) Indus characters 1 Horned deity, lg 135.8 56.1 63.9 5.5 34 2 Horned deity, sm 49.4 23.5 50.4 6.2 2 3 Script only – 9 103.5 58.3 56.8 5.0 9 4 Script only – 7 107.0 50.8 47.0 6.7 7 5 Horned tiger 89.2 53.2 45.0 5.9 5 6 Zebu bull 109.3 61.5 52.7 5.1 6 7 Rhinoceros 113.6 57.9 52.1 5.2 9 8 Antelope 77.7 56.0 54.6 4.2 12 9 Elephant 37.0 41.9 37.7 4.3 9 Table 1: Details of the nine copper plates.