The Indus script is the writing of the Indus Valley Civilisation, found on seals and small objects at Mohenjo-daro and dozens of other sites, and nobody can read it. There are roughly 5,000 known inscriptions and more than 400 different signs, but most inscriptions are very short and no text in a known language has ever been found beside them. So the script remains undeciphered a century after it came to light.
If you visit Mohenjo-daro, this is the writing you will see on the stone seals in the museum. This guide explains what those signs are, why they resist decipherment, and what the main theories say.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Number of inscriptions | About 5,000 excavated since 1924 |
| Number of signs | Over 400 distinct signs (counts vary) |
| Typical length | Around five signs |
| Usual direction | Right to left, with exceptions |
| Where found | Seals, sealings, tablets, pottery, mainly across Pakistan and north-west India |
| Status | Undeciphered |
What is the Indus script?
It is a set of signs, some of them pictures of things like fish, plants or people, and some of them abstract strokes. They are found mostly on small square stamp seals carved in steatite, on the clay impressions those seals left, on copper tablets and on pottery. A seal usually shows an animal, most often a bull-like creature with one horn that is often called a "unicorn", with a short line of signs above it.
The first seal with these signs to be published was reported by Alexander Cunningham in 1875, before anyone knew what it belonged to. After the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in the 1920s, it became clear that the seals came from a whole civilisation. About 5,000 inscriptions have been found since 1924, according to recent counts.
What are the seals for?
Nobody can say for sure, though there are educated guesses. Many seals were used to stamp clay, which suggests they marked ownership or authority on goods, in trade or storage. The animal picture may have identified a person, clan or office. Some seals have a hole or boss on the back, which suggests they were worn or carried.
These are inferences from how seals were used in other ancient societies. The script itself has not confirmed them.
Why can't anyone read it?
Several problems compound one another.
- The inscriptions are short. Most have about five signs, and a very small share are much longer. Reading an unknown script normally needs long texts to spot patterns.
- There is no bilingual text. Egyptian hieroglyphs were cracked with the help of the Rosetta Stone, which repeated one text in known languages. No such key has been found for the Indus script.
- The language is unknown. Nobody knows what language the Indus people spoke, so there is no way of checking a proposed reading against a spoken form.
- The signs are many. More than 400 signs is too many for a simple alphabet and too few for a fully picture-based script, so the type of writing is debated. It is generally thought to be logo-syllabic, in which signs stand for words or syllables.
What do scholars think it is?
Three broad positions are argued.
- A Dravidian language. Asko Parpola, Yuri Knorozov and others have argued that the script records an early Dravidian language, and have proposed readings on that basis. Computational studies have been cited in support of the script having linguistic structure.
- Not writing at all. Steve Farmer, Richard Sproat and Michael Witzel have argued that the signs stand for families, clans, gods and religious ideas, not for spoken language.
- An Indo-Aryan language. Proposals of this kind exist but lack scholarly consensus. One objection is that the script shows no sign of the word endings typical of Indo-European languages.
No proposal has been accepted by a majority of specialists. Announcements of a "decipherment" appear every few years, and none has been generally accepted. In 2025 the chief minister of Tamil Nadu announced a prize of US$1 million for a decipherment, which shows how open the question still is.
What can visitors see?
At Mohenjo-daro, the site museum displays seals and replicas of seals and sealings alongside pottery, beads and figurines. Our Mohenjo-daro museum guide says more about the galleries. In Karachi, the National Museum of Pakistan's Moenjodaro Gallery shows stamp seals with undeciphered inscriptions.
A few tips for looking at seals:
- Seals are tiny, so bring a phone to zoom in on photographs if the case allows.
- The signs on a seal are carved in reverse so that the clay impression reads the right way round. Impressions and seals are displayed side by side in many museums.
- Read labels for "seal" and "sealing". A seal is the carved stone, and a sealing is the clay it stamped.
The seals are the most direct link to the people of the city, since they are among the few things that carry something like their own voice. For the wider story, read Mohenjo-daro history, and for the famous sculptures, see the Priest-King.
Will it ever be deciphered?
Probably only if a much longer text or a bilingual inscription is found, or if the language is identified. Until then, any reading should be treated as a hypothesis.
Check the security advice first
Larkana lies in Sindh north of Nawabshah, and the UK government advises against all but essential travel to that part of the province. Pakistani visitors still go to Mohenjo-daro, but check local news and current police advice before you set out. Overseas visitors should read the UK travel advice for Pakistan, because travelling against it can void insurance.
Frequently asked questions
Has the Indus script been deciphered?
No. Despite many claims, no reading has been accepted by most specialists.
How many signs are there in the Indus script?
More than 400 distinct signs, though the exact count depends on how variants are grouped.
Which way is the Indus script read?
Most scholars think it was generally read from right to left, with some exceptions.
What language does the script record?
Unknown. Dravidian is the most commonly argued option, but some scholars think the signs may not record a language at all.
Where can I see Indus seals in Pakistan?
At the Mohenjo-daro site museum near Larkana and at the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi.
