Can you crack this 5,000-year-old riddle for £800,000?

Codebreakers could win an £800,000 prize if they successfully translate a 5,000-year-old language previously undeciphered.

The 5,000-year-old Indus Valley Civilisation of modern-day Pakistan and northern India was one of the earliest urban centres in human history.

Despite being rediscovered a century ago, what happened to the civilisation remains uncertain.

Its script is described as ‘the most important system of writing that is undeciphered’ by renowned Indologist Asko Parpola.

Various theories have been proposed. Could it be a Dravidian language, early Brahmi, an early Indo-Aryan language or even Sumerian? No one can agree.

Consisting of 4,000 inscriptions, mostly on seals, pottery and tablets, each trace of it is short – 34 characters at most – and absent of a bilingual artifact that could serve as a translation.

But a new study points towards the far southeast of India and the ancient graffiti of Tamil Nadu.

An analysis of 14,000 pieces of ceramic from this region revealed a 60% match with the mysterious Indus script.

Could this indicate a cultural link with the Indus Valley 1,400 miles north? That’s what researchers K. Rajan and R. Sivananthan.

Tamil Nadu’s government seems to agree. Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced an £800,000 prize for whoever can crack the code.

He said: ‘We have not been able to clearly understand the writing system of the once flourishing Indus Valley.

‘The riddle hasn’t been answered for the past 100 years despite several efforts by archaeologists and experts.

‘I announce a cash prize of $1 million (£800,000) to individuals or organisations that decipher the script to the satisfaction of archaeological experts.

‘The efforts of the state government is to ensure the right place for Tamil Nadu in the country’s history.’

Pointing to some of the similarities, he said: ‘There were bulls in the Indus Valley. Bulls are Dravidian symbols. Bulls are spread from Indus Valley to Alanganallur.

‘Ancient Tamil literature has rich references to bull-taming sport and one of the IVC seals have impressions of a man trying to tame a bull.’

It’s hoped an answer to the riddle will shed light on the government, trade and beliefs of some of world’s the earliest cities, whose secrets have been largely lost to time.

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