Scanning electron microscope analysis of the details of the sign carving indicates that the tablets were inscribed by three different scribes. A seal found nearby bearing two of the same signs as on the tablets suggests that all these devices belonged to the same person. Information on writing styles, use and discard of inscribed objects are providing a new dimension to our understanding of writing in the Harappan context and may assist in the eventual decipherment of the Indus script. C ontinuing work since 1997 is focusing on some of the more mysterious structural remains at Harappa. A similarly designated building has been discovered in Mohenjo-daro.
Excavations suggest far greater continuity between the two periods than previously believed.
The end of the ancient Indus civilization was not a quick, sharp event and the legacy of this civilization survives today many thousands of years later in different parts of South Asia. A wonderful collection of 133 beads was unearthed in a small earthenware pot in 1996. A unique find, it was probably assembled by a single individual - an ancient bead collector. The beads themselves reveal the wide variety and high value associated with tiny manufactured objects in ancient Indus times. Other contemporary ancient civilizations expressed themselves in monumental architecture - palaces, temples and gravesites.