An ancient public announcement
Excavations at Dholavira, a major city of the Indus Valley Civilization, uncovered a unique artifact in a side chamber of the city's North Gate. A large inscription, commonly called the Dholavira Signboard, was found lying face down on the ground. The sign consists of ten large characters of the Indus script, each standing about 37 centimeters (15 inches) tall. These symbols were crafted from pieces of white crystalline gypsum, which would have been inlaid into a wooden board. The wood itself has long since decayed, but the gypsum characters survived because the board fell on its face, protecting them.
The entire signboard measured approximately 3 meters (9.8 feet) in length. This size corresponds with the width of the North Gate, suggesting it was mounted above the entrance for public viewing. Its discovery during the 1990-2005 excavation series, led by R.S. Bisht of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), provided the longest known inscription in the Indus script. Unlike the thousands of other Indus inscriptions found on small seals and pottery, this one was clearly intended for a large audience. One of the ten symbols, a wheel-like character, is repeated four times in the sequence.