Fragment of a large sandstone slab which originally stood at the mouth of the Singapore River
Singapore Stone
A black and white photo of the Singapore Stone (above), and an artist's rendering of the inscriptions on the fragment of the Stone from an 1848 article by J.W. Laidlay published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (below)
Material
Sandstone
Size
67 cm (26 in), 80 kg (180 lb)
Writing
Unknown script; probably Old Javanese or Sanskrit
Created
At least 13th century, and possibly 10th or 11th century
Discovered
1819 Mouth of the Singapore River
Present location
Displayed in the Singapore History Gallery at the National Museum of Singapore
The Singapore Stone is a fragment of a large sandstone slab which originally stood at the mouth of the Singapore River. The large slab, which is believed to date back to at least the 13th century and possibly as early as the 10th or 11th century, bore an undeciphered inscription.[1] Recent theories suggest that the inscription is either in Old Javanese or in Sanskrit, which suggested a possibility that the island was an extension of the Majapahit civilization in the past.[2][3]
It is likely that the person who commissioned the inscription was Sumatran. The slab may be linked to the legendary story of the 14th-century strongman Badang, who is said to have thrown a massive stone to the mouth of the Singapore River. On Badang's death, the Rajah sent two stone pillars to be raised over his grave "at the point of the straits of Singapura".
The slab was blown up in 1843 during British colonial rule to clear and widen the passageway at the river mouth to make space for a fort and the quarters of its commander D.H. Stevenson. The Stone, now displayed at the National Museum of Singapore, was designated by the museum as one of 11 National Treasures of Singapore in January 2006, and by the National Heritage Board as one of the top 12 artefacts held in the collections of its museums.
^Kelvin Cahya Yap; Tony Wenyao Jiao; Francesco Perono Cacciafoco (2023). "The Singapore Stone: Documenting the Origins, Destruction, Journey and Legacy of an Undeciphered Stone Monolith". Histories. 3, 3: 271-287.
^Cornelius-Takahama, Vernon (30 March 2000). "The Singapore Stone". Singapore Infopedia, National Library, Singapore. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
^Kelvin Cahya Yap; Tony Wenyao Jiao; Francesco Perono Cacciafoco (2023). "The Singapore Stone: Documenting the Origins, Destruction, Journey and Legacy of an Undeciphered Stone Monolith". Histories. 3, 3: 271-287.
The SingaporeStone is a fragment of a large sandstone slab which originally stood at the mouth of the Singapore River. The large slab, which is believed...
century sandstone slab bearing an undeciphered inscription known as the SingaporeStone; (2) a 1904 portrait of Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham, the first...
sandstone monolith, the SingaporeStone, with an inscription possibly dating back to the 13th century was demolished. The Singaporestone was, unfortunately...
September 15, 2008, Stone was named the artistic director of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Asia in Singapore. Stone contributed a chapter...
The history of the modern state of Singapore dates back to its founding in the early 19th century; however, evidence suggests that a significant trading...
RSM International, branded RSM since 2015, is a multinational network of accounting firms forming the sixth-largest accountancy professional services network...
recovering pieces of the SingaporeStone after it was demolished by explosives in 1843. The stone was a large rock in the Singapore River bearing an ancient...
script. Ba script Khitan large script Khitan small script Tujia script SingaporeStone, a fragment of a sandstone slab inscribed with an ancient Southeast...
largest ancestry and ethnic group in Singapore. While contact with ancient India left a deep impact on Singapore's indigenous Malay culture, the mass settlement...
Temasik) is an early recorded name of a settlement on the site of modern Singapore. The name appears in early Malay and Javanese literature, and it is also...
Rana Wikrama's court, including casting the SingaporeStone to its location at the mouth of the Singapore River, where it stood until it was demolished...
Fort Canning Hill, formerly Government Hill, Singapore Hill and Bukit Larangan (Forbidden Hill in Malay), or simply known as Fort Canning, is a prominent...
Machine. The Huffington Post. "Jann Wenner Sells 49% of Rolling Stone to Singapore's BandLab". Advertising Age. September 25, 2016. Archived from the...
The flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag upon the...
The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance...
a cooking class and demonstration at the Singapore Sun Festival. In October 2010 it was announced that Stone had created recipes for in-flight meals for...
shows were added to the tour. In the Asia-Pacific, the total number of Singapore shows were increased to six, and two extra shows were announced in Australia...
married actor Jeffrey Stone. By 1972 she was divorced from Stone. Later she married Dr. Dadi Balsara the head of Perfumes Singapore and later the founder...
opened in Singapore. In 2012, Cold Stone opened its first store in Nigeria, the first in Sub-Saharan Africa. On January 3, 2020, Cold Stone Creamery announced...
Riau province of Sumatra. Like the Singapore example, it also featured the use of sandstone as well as terraces. Stone foundations on Fort Canning Hill...
It was sold in most stores, malls and onboard Singapore Airlines. Christina Stone and Jeffrey Stone founded Perfumes of the Orient in 1962. Its factories...
In October 2008, Stone was selected to represent the Guildhall School in collaboration with the Academies Festival Orchestra, Singapore. This project culminated...
Capital punishment in Singapore is a legal penalty. Executions in Singapore are carried out by long drop hanging, and usually take place at dawn. Thirty-three...
Global Information
