This Indus symbol shares a common root with the Chinese character rì 日. In modern Chinese, rì can mean the Sun, day, date, or day of the month.
Illustrative Text References:
Harappa: Tablet in bas-relief: H-1943 C: Asko Parpola, B. M. Pande, and Petteri Koskikallio, 2010: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: Volume 3,1: Page 266: New material, untraced objects, and collections outside India and Pakistan: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.
Nindowari-damb: Seal: Nd-3 A: Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Asko Parpola, 1991: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: Volume 2: Page 410: Collections in Pakistan: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.
Comments:
It is interesting to note that this symbol may have been in widespread use in the Bronze Age. An example was found in Structure 10 at the Ness of Brodgar¹. The symbol was also in use in Egypt².
Although, the symbol is reminiscent of the eyeball and the iris, it is important to resist the temptation to interpret it as an eye. In inscription H-1943, the symbol is repeated, and looks very much like two eyes. However, the correct translation is two days, which refers to the work that was undertaken.
Image Credit:
Solar Symbol: Lynn Fawcett, 2019.
Notes:
1. The symbol, known as the Brodgar Eye, was found in Structure 10 at the Ness of Brodgar in 2009. A photograph of the symbol can be seen on the Irish Archaeology website: http://irisharchaeology.ie/2011/08/orkney-excavation-reveals-stunning-neolithic-site/: Accessed: 24 June 2019.
2. Jean-François Champollion, 1841: Dictionnaire égyptien en écriture hiéroglyphique, Chapter 1, Pages 4-9: Firmin Didot, Paris.