The Script of Harappa and Mohenjodaro and its Connection with Other Scripts c7.s1.3

c7.s1.3

No. 1. A lump of burnt clay, bearing in the centre the imprint of a complete seal. This is the only object of its kind hitherto found in India. The only other one known was found in Mesopotamia (see No. 8 of the introduction). Beneath the inscription is an animal in profile, facing to the right, with only one horn visible. Below his head is a symbol, probably [Figure:]. The majority of the inscribed seals of Mohenjodaro and Harappa portray an animal in profile facing right with either this symbol, or [Figure:], or a plant, placed below the head. It is suggested that the animal represents a divinity, and that the accompanying symbol represents an offering. With regard to the meaning of the script, it is probable that the seals were intended to serve much the same purpose as the Mesopotamian cylinder seals, and that their legends are, therefore, similar in meaning. A reference to the sign-list will reveal similar sequences in signs on the seals Nos. M. 70, 232-234, 462-464, 477.