Laguna Copperplate Inscription
Inscripción en plancha de cobre de Laguna
- Date
- 21 de abril de 900 · confidence high
- Place
- Lumban, Laguna, Luzon, Philippines
- Credited to
- Local authorities of the time; deciphered by Antoon Postma
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What was discovered
A copper plate found in 1989 bearing a debt-release deed dated to the Saka year 822, equivalent to 21 April 900. It is the oldest dated written document of the Philippines, in Kawi script and Old Malay with Sanskrit, Javanese and Tagalog terms.
It was found without archaeological context (dredged near the mouth of the Lumban River); Postma deciphered it in 1990. There is no serious dispute over its authenticity, but some place names are read differently.
What it led to
- evidence of trade and political contacts between Luzon, Java and Srivijaya around 900
- a basis for reconstructing Philippine history before the Spanish arrival
- study of Kawi script outside Java