Indus Valley Seals - Unicorn or Holy Cow? Unicorn Seal from Harrapa, Punjab I have been fascinated by the Indus Valley civilization ever since I studied the subject in my junior high school in India. One of the unique identifier for the Indus Valley is the so called "Unicorn Seals". A number of variations of this seal has been found across various Indus Valley sites. But most of the characteristics are the same. The seal from Mohenjo-daro measures 29 mm (1.14) inches on each side and is made of fired steatite. Steatite is an easily carved soft stone that becomes hard after firing. On the top are "pictographs" of an as yet undeciphered Indus script, one of the very first writing systems in history. Below is the well-known unicorn figure of Indus Valley culture. Whether it designates a real or mythical animal is also disputed. Beneath it is a "sacred object," which could have been anything from a tree, religious banner, an animal's trough, an