For 150 years, people have tried to decipher mysterious symbols written by an advanced civilization believed to rival ancient Egypt. Can a $1 million prize help crack the puzzle?

Carved stone seal from the Indus Valley civilization (ca. 2,500 B.C.E.). Photo by DEA/G. Nimatallah/De Agostini via Getty Images.

It is a riddle that has confounded scholars for over a century. And now it carries a handsome cash prize: $1 million for anyone who can decipher the script of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.

Floods from record monsoon rains in Pakistan and glacial melt in the country’s mountainous north have affected 33 million people and killed over 1,500, washing away homes, roads, railways ...

Here, some of the first images of the Indus Valley Civilization were portrayed, including brick buildings, a glazed brick shrine and graves. The Indus Valley Civilization's society and culture.

This map depicts the geographical span of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), showing the location of Rakhigarhi (blue), other significant IVC sites (red), and sites to the north and west from ...