Though there were no external clues from a Rosetta Stone, some information could be gleaned from the tablets. It looked as if we would never find out if the tablets would reveal a Western epic like the Iliad or just bland accounting records. When Evans found the tablets in 1900, there were no computers that could detect patterns or do statistical analysis. The challenges that faced the decipherers looked insurmountable. The decipherment story of Linear B might have turned into a dry academic discussion on the difference between proto-writing and writing or on if it was a memory aid for rituals or just meaningless visual art, but Margalit Fox makes it a fascinating tale as the decipherment is tied to the life of three unusual people: a glorified English tomb robber, a largely forgotten American classicist and a gifted English architect it is the human element that adds depth to the mystery. Found by an English digger named Arthur Evans, it was named Linear Script Class B. The writing was used by Minoans who flourished during the Bronze age following the decline of the Indus-Saraswati civilisation.

Linear B, the writing found on the island of Crete, belonged to this category as well but was decoded half a century after it was discovered. The Indus writing falls into this category. The most difficult one is when the language and script are unknown and there is no help for the decipherer.

Equally difficult is the case where a known script is used to write an unknown language like when Greek alphabets are used to write Etruscan. A difficult case is where a known language is written in an unknown script like when Rongorongo is used to write Rapa Nui. The easiest one is where a known language is written in a known script, like English written using Roman alphabets. In The Lost River, Michel Danino writes that the only safe statement that can be made is that the seals played an important part in trade and permitted the identification of either traders or their goods.ĭecipherment of Indus writing is hard because it falls into the most difficult category in the relation between script and language. There has been no dearth of decipherments: many have read proto-Dravidian into the script and others Sanskrit. Decoding this writing would not only reveal details of life during that period, but also put an end to various debates over the identity of the residents of the Indus region. There are over 4200 inscriptions, on seals, on tablets and on pottery of the 400 signs, only 200 have been used more than five times. One of the most puzzling unsolved mysteries of the ancient world is the writing system of the Indus-Saraswati civilisation.

Margalit Fox reveals the life and struggles of the people behind the decipherment of Linear B, an unknown language in an unknown script, similar to Indus-Saraswati writing.

Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox