Documentation of Ancient Script in Sharda, Neelum / Kishen Ganga Valley

Abstract

The Sharda script, evolved in Kashmir from seventh to eighth century BC, was widely used in South Asia. Archaeologists have documented rock inscriptions in the Sharda script in Jammu & Kashmir (India), Gilgit-Baltistan and swat (Pakistan). The paper discusses the discovery of an ancient script from Sharda Neelum valley. The most important aspect of this finding is that no such discovery has been reported earlier from AJK. The paper investigates archaeological evidence of the earlier script of the region and compares these rock inscriptions with those found in other places, which will help to understand the geographical distribution of the ancient script in south Asia.