Decoding Ancient Script

The ancient Kushan script carved into rock in the Almosi Gorge, Tajikistan. Researchers have managed to partially decode an ancient script that has puzzled scholars for around 70 years.© BOBOMULLO BOBOMULLOEV




Researchers have managed to decode an ancient script that scholars have been unable to understand for decades.

In a study published in the journal Transactions of the Philological Society, a team of scientists describe how they partially deciphered the "unknown" Kushan script, an ancient writing system that was once in use in parts of Central Asia between around 200 B.C. and 700 A.D.

It has been associated with early nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppe, such as the Yuèzhī, and one of their ruling dynasties, the Kushans, who founded a large empire encompassing much of what is now Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India.


The Kushan Empire is notable for having facilitated the spread of Buddhism to East Asia, as well as its monumental architecture and artworks.

The mysterious Kushan script has been known since the 1950s but had never been successfully deciphered. Several dozen, mostly short inscriptions, written in the Kushan script have been found to date, most originating from the territory of the modern nations of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.  READ MORE...