TN CM offers $1 mn prize for decoding Indus valley script

Chennai, Jan 5: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced a prize of one million US dollars for archaeologists who can decipher and provide a coherent understanding of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
This announcement was made during the inaugural ceremony of the International Seminar on the Centenary of the Discovery of the Indus Valley Civilisation, held at the Government Museum in Egmore on Sunday.
The three-day seminar has brought together renowned archaeologists, historians, and scholars from across the globe to discuss the civilisation‘s significance and its connections with Tamil Nadu.
In his keynote address, Chief Minister Stalin highlighted that approximately 60 per cent of the symbols found on Indus Valley pottery are identical to those discovered on artefacts unearthed during excavations in Tamil Nadu.
He emphasised that this striking similarity has sparked immense interest among scholars and could potentially unlock the mysteries of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
To further promote research in this field, the Chief Minister also announced a grant of Rs 2 crore to establish a research chair in the name of renowned archaeologist Iravatham Mahadevan.
This chair will facilitate in-depth studies on the Indus Valley Civilisation, with a particular focus on its ties to Tamil Nadu.
Recent archaeological findings from Sivakalai in Tuticorin have brought researchers closer to establishing a definitive connection between Tamil Nadu and the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Interestingly, the finds from Tamil Nadu suggest the presence of an Iron Age civilisation that ran parallel to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which spanned from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE.
While the Indus Valley Civilisation predominantly used copper objects during this time, the presence of iron objects in Tamil Nadu suggests an advancement in the Metal Age. (IANS)