Srinagar, July 18 -- Unearthed in the southern highlands, the inscription bears a rare combination: Korean characters alongside Proto-Sharda script.

At first, this pairing may seem implausible. But the region's geography and historical footprint support the possibility.

Kotli sits at a cultural and trade junction, close to Rajouri and Mendhar, and historically linked with both the Kashmir Valley and the broader Silk Route. Its terrain once served as a corridor for Buddhist monks, traders, and scholars journeying from India into Central and East Asia.

This isn't an isolated artifact. The surrounding site has yielded rock shelters, carved caves, ancient water pools, and fragments of pottery, pointing to continuous human activity from the...