rock markings by visitors, stone balancing art

Can you imagine a language lost to time? A script etched onto stone, yet utterly unreadable? Right here, at the National Museum of Singapore, a piece of such a mystery resides. It’s called the Singapore Stone. This unassuming rock fragment whispers tales of a Singapore long before Raffles, a Singapore shrouded in intrigue. The Singapore Stone is a remnant of a massive sandstone slab. This slab once stood proudly at the mouth of the Singapore River. Discovered in 1819, shortly after Raffles’ arrival, it was covered in an unknown script. Locals couldn’t decipher it. Even scholars were baffled. The slab was described as a large, split boulder, its inscribed face tilted at a 40-degree angle. Some believed it was a monument to the legendary strongman Badang, who, according to the Sejarah Melayu, hurled the stone from Fort Canning Hill. This giant rock, marked with 50 lines of mysterious script, stood as a silent enigma. Theories abound about the language. Some scholars suggest Old Javanese. Others propose Sanskrit or Tamil. The Kawi script is the most likely candidate. Some tantalizing words have been deciphered, like “salāgalalasayanara,” “yā-māna-vana,” “kesarabharala,” and “yadalama.” Sadly, their meaning remains elusive. Tragically, in 1843, the Singapore Stone’s larger counterpart met an untimely end. It was blown to pieces by the British to widen the river mouth for Fort Fullerton. Thankfully, Lieutenant-Colonel James Low salvaged some fragments. He sent them to Calcutta for analysis. One fragment eventually returned. This is the Singapore Stone we see today. The Singapore Stone, a mere fragment of its former self, now rests in the Singapore History Gallery. It serves as a poignant reminder. A reminder of a history yet to be fully understood, a language lost to the echoes of time, and the enduring mysteries that lie at the heart of Singapore’s story.