A Unicorn Seal

A paper by Geoffrey Cook on the unicorn seals from the Indus Valley people found in excavations of Mohenjo-daro (in modern Sindh, Pakistan).

A Unicorn Seal

This Indus Seal was found between 1927 and 1931 during the initial excavations at Mohenjo-daro, an Indus Valley site in Sindh province, modern Pakistan. It was discovered by the British archaeologist Ernest Mackay. From the level that it was found, it was dated to roughly 2000 B.C.E., or the mature urban phase of the Harappan culture. The area where it was unearthe… >

A Unicorn Seal

Iconography The animal on the seal has long been considered a mythical Indus Valley "Unicorn" of which there are also traces in Greek writings. This motif may have represented a clan, ethnic group or trading class. More unicorn seals have been found in Mohenjo-daro (some 60% of all seals) than at any other excavated Indus site. The Rgveda, one of the earliest texts from… >

A Unicorn Seal

Script Interpreting the "script" or pictographs of Indus Valley seals remains a major scholarly challenge. Scholars have been unable to decipher this or any seal's script. However, a number of directions are emerging after decades of analysis. Two leading scholars, Asko Parpola (in Finland) and >