Singapore Stone Decipherment: The Letters Left on a Blasted Rock

Symbols, traces, and my case investigation record 58

Singapore Stone Deciphers
Letters left on the blown-up rock

There was once a huge sandstone rock dense with unfamiliar letters at the mouth of the Singapore River. In 1843, the colonial authorities blew up the rock to widen the path, leaving only a small piece.

Figure 1. Stone Sculpture at the National Museum of Singapore — Image:

From the conclusion of this record to
Singapore Stone is likely to have had kawi characters and South Asian language elements. However, the location of the fragment and its surrounding rows have disappeared, making full translation nearly impossible. The core of this case is the destroyed data rather than the difficult code.

Prologue: Recorded Night

After the night deepens, the data was spread on the desk. The first thing that caught my eye was not the answer, but the imbalance. Some scenes were as clear as photographs and some time zones were empty as a whole. People try to capture one clear scene and explain the whole thing, but I marked the empty section first. Mysteries arise because there are many clues, but they also arise because the distance between clues is too far.

The remaining pieces are kept at the National Museum of Singapore today. Although there is an opinion that the characters appear to be of the Kawhi family and have Sanskrit elements, most of the original text is destroyed, making it difficult to restore the entire sentence and historical context.

I deliberately read the famous hypothesis at the end. First of all, when we encounter the conclusion, it seems that all objects and symbols exist for that conclusion. Therefore, the timetable, place, object, and original text were organized first, and the witness and interpretation were placed in different compartments. The novel-like atmosphere was drawn from the cold texture of the actual record, not from a made-up secret.

Figure 2. The surface where the remaining letters were seen in oblique light — Image:

Case File: What I Could Believe

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Number	Confirmed Record	Current Reliability
1	Singapore Stone was a huge inscription rock found at the mouth of the Singapore River.	High
2	In 1843, most of the rocks were blown up during the construction of the passageway.	High
3	The remaining major pieces are kept at the National Museum of Singapore. The	High
4	letters appear to be of the Kawhi family, and some Sanskrit elements have been proposed. The date, language, and entire contents of the	Medium
5	inscription have not been completely decoded. The exact date and language of the	Medium

inscription, the entire sentence, the object to be commemorated, and the subject of production have not been resolved.

Caution trap
'Unexplained' is not the same as 'supernatural', 'a huge conspiracy', and 'only this hypothesis is possible'. I didn't count the blanks as evidence.

Figure 3. An old painting of a huge rock before blasting — Image:

Scene Reconstruction: Finally, the place of the certain point

was changed to the actual movement, not the stage in your head. We divided the starting point, the last check point, and the location where the item was found and calculated the minimum time required in between. When the dramatic description of later generations was removed, small and specific elements such as sound and lighting, doors and roads, paper and ink, and the spacing of symbols came forward.

The person's mind was not fixed and the action was written first. The same behavior can be caused by fear, planning, error, and fatigue. If it is a code, the same symbol can be a sound, a word, a separator, and a meaningless sign. After writing down all possible roles, he erased the roles that conflict with other records one by one.

Clue 1. Singapore Stone was a huge inscription rock found at the mouth of the Singapore River.

I split this sentence into three pieces first. It indicated who first checked, how close the confirmation was to the incident, and where the later interpretation was attached. Old events and codes turn into clearer stories than the original while being repeatedly cited. But clarity is not the same thing as accuracy. In my notes, I separated the direct record, the traces left by the object, and the reasoning of later generations into different colors.

This clue was then confronted with the record, "Most of the rocks were blown up during the construction of the passageway in 1843. It is not a good hypothesis if one hypothesis explains only the first sentence and avoids the second sentence. In particular, if you fail to pass the question, "Which position was the remaining piece in the original text?" the attractive explanation also lowered the score. I've seen clues that make the conclusion uncomfortable longer than clues that make the conclusion cool.

If you look at the clues this way, the case seems a little less dramatic. Instead, there is a boundary between how far it is clear and where it is imagined. That boundary is necessary to correct reasoning when new data are released. The most dangerous moment in the unwritten record is not when you make a false hypothesis, but when you turn the hypothesis into a sentence of fact.

Clue 2. Most of the rocks were blown up during the construction of the passageway in 1843.

I split this sentence into three pieces first. It indicated who first checked, how close the confirmation was to the incident, and where the later interpretation was attached. Old events and codes turn into clearer stories than the original while being repeatedly cited. But clarity is not the same thing as accuracy. In my notes, I separated the direct record, the traces left by the object, and the reasoning of later generations into different colors.

This clue was then confronted with the record, "The remaining major pieces are currently kept at the National Museum of Singapore." It is not a good hypothesis if one hypothesis explains only the first sentence and avoids the second sentence. In particular, if you fail to pass the question, "Does the shape resembling the Kawhi character mean the same language?" the attractive explanation also lowered the score. I've seen clues that make the conclusion uncomfortable longer than clues that make the conclusion cool.

If you look at the clues this way, the case seems a little less dramatic. Instead, there is a boundary between how far it is clear and where it is imagined. That boundary is necessary to correct reasoning when new data are released. The most dangerous moment in the unwritten record is not when you make a false hypothesis, but when you turn the hypothesis into a sentence of fact.

Figure 4. Map of the mouth of the Singapore River in 1843 — Image:

Clue 3. The remaining major pieces are kept at the National Museum of Singapore.

I split this sentence into three pieces first. It indicated who first checked, how close the confirmation was to the incident, and where the later interpretation was attached. Old events and codes turn into clearer stories than the original while being repeatedly cited. But clarity is not the same thing as accuracy. In my notes, I separated the direct record, the traces left by the object, and the reasoning of later generations into different colors.

This clue was then confronted with the record, "The letters appear to be of the Kawhi family, and some Sanskrit elements have been proposed." It is not a good hypothesis if one hypothesis explains only the first sentence and avoids the second sentence. In particular, if you fail to pass the question, "How far can you read most of the disappeared without filling it with estimates?" attractive explanations also lowered the score. I've seen clues that make the conclusion uncomfortable longer than clues that make the conclusion cool.

If you look at the clues this way, the case seems a little less dramatic. Instead, there is a boundary between how far it is clear and where it is imagined. That boundary is necessary to correct reasoning when new data are released. The most dangerous moment in the unwritten record is not when you make a false hypothesis, but when you turn the hypothesis into a sentence of fact.

Clue 4. The letters appear to be of the Kawhi family, and some Sanskrit elements have been proposed.

I split this sentence into three pieces first. It indicated who first checked, how close the confirmation was to the incident, and where the later interpretation was attached. Old events and codes turn into clearer stories than the original while being repeatedly cited. But clarity is not the same thing as accuracy. In my notes, I separated the direct record, the traces left by the object, and the reasoning of later generations into different colors.

Then, this clue was confronted with the record that "the age, language, and entire contents of the text have not been completely deciphered." It is not a good hypothesis if one hypothesis explains only the first sentence and avoids the second sentence. In particular, if you fail to pass the question, "Which position was the remaining piece in the original text?" the attractive explanation also lowered the score. I've seen clues that make the conclusion uncomfortable longer than clues that make the conclusion cool.

If you look at the clues this way, the case seems a little less dramatic. Instead, there is a boundary between how far it is clear and where it is imagined. That boundary is necessary to correct reasoning when new data are released. The most dangerous moment in the unwritten record is not when you make a false hypothesis, but when you turn the hypothesis into a sentence of fact.

Clue 5. The date, language, and entire contents of the inscription have not been completely decoded.

I split this sentence into three pieces first. It indicated who first checked, how close the confirmation was to the incident, and where the later interpretation was attached. Old events and codes turn into clearer stories than the original while being repeatedly cited. But clarity is not the same thing as accuracy. In my notes, I separated the direct record, the traces left by the object, and the reasoning of later generations into different colors.

This clue was then matched with the record, "Singapore Stone was a huge inscription rock found at the mouth of the Singapore River." It is not a good hypothesis if one hypothesis explains only the first sentence and avoids the second sentence. In particular, if you fail to pass the question, "Does the shape resembling the Kawhi character mean the same language?" the attractive explanation also lowered the score. I've seen clues that make the conclusion uncomfortable longer than clues that make the conclusion cool.

If you look at the clues this way, the case seems a little less dramatic. Instead, there is a boundary between how far it is clear and where it is imagined. That boundary is necessary to correct reasoning when new data are released. The most dangerous moment in the unwritten record is not when you make a false hypothesis, but when you turn the hypothesis into a sentence of fact.

Figure 5. Comparison of kawi inscriptions and letters — Image:

Put three hypotheses on the same scale The

hypothesis was not evaluated as a cool sentence. The number of clues to be explained, the number of newly requested assumptions, and the degree to which they endure the opposite evidence were written, respectively. Even if one clue is fully explained, it is not a good hypothesis if the other records have to be discarded.

Hypothesis A. The sound value is limitedly restored by comparing the remaining letter shapes with the Southeast Asian Kawhi inscription.

This description stated, "Singapore Stone was a huge inscription rock found at the mouth of the Singapore River.It has the advantage of accepting " as a relatively small assumption. I assumed that this hypothesis was correct and walked time and space all over again. Each time people, objects, and symbols moved to the next location, they wrote down the actions and times they needed. There must have been a hidden assumption at the point where the sentence was cut off.

The biggest weakness is that it does not fully explain "the remaining major pieces are kept at the National Museum of Singapore." If you keep adding accomplices, coincidences, and lost things to keep the hypothesis alive, you can explain anything. However, such an explanation does not predict new clues. I only scored when two independent records pointed in the same direction, and I scored every time I called in a new exception.

117100118

So, whether or not to adopt this hypothesis as a conclusion was judged not by atmosphere but by cost. The number of clues to be explained, the number of newly requested households, and the degree to which they endure evidence against them are listed in the same table. Novel scenes were used to show the texture of facts, but not as evidence to fill in the blanks.

119101120

Hypothesis B. Estimate the row structure using the old rubbed copies and pre-bombing arrangements left in the description.

121102122

This explanation has the advantage of accepting "Most of the rocks were blown up during the construction of the passageway in 1843" as a relatively small assumption. I assumed that this hypothesis was correct and walked time and space all over again. Each time people, objects, and symbols moved to the next location, they wrote down the actions and times they needed. There must have been a hidden assumption at the point where the sentence was cut off.

123103124

The biggest weakness is that it does not fully explain "the letters appear to be of the Kawhi family and some Sanskrit elements have been proposed." If you keep adding accomplices, coincidences, and lost things to keep the hypothesis alive, you can explain anything. However, such an explanation does not predict new clues. I only scored when two independent records pointed in the same direction, and I scored every time I called in a new exception.

125104126

So, whether or not to adopt this hypothesis as a conclusion was judged not by atmosphere but by cost. The number of clues to be explained, the number of newly requested households, and the degree to which they endure evidence against them are listed in the same table. Novel scenes were used to show the texture of facts, but not as evidence to fill in the blanks.

127105128

Hypothesis C. Put in candidates for human, royal, and nomination, but verify that the same response is repeated in several letters.

129106130

This explanation has the advantage of accepting "the remaining major pieces are currently kept in the National Museum of Singapore" as a relatively small assumption. I assumed that this hypothesis was correct and walked time and space all over again. Each time people, objects, and symbols moved to the next location, they wrote down the actions and times they needed. There must have been a hidden assumption at the point where the sentence was cut off.

131107132

The biggest weakness is that it does not fully explain "the age, language, and entire content of the text have not been completely deciphered." If you keep adding accomplices, coincidences, and lost things to keep the hypothesis alive, you can explain anything. However, such an explanation does not predict new clues. I only scored when two independent records pointed in the same direction, and I scored every time I called in a new exception.

133108134

So, whether or not to adopt this hypothesis as a conclusion was judged not by atmosphere but by cost. The number of clues to be explained, the number of newly requested households, and the degree to which they endure evidence against them are listed in the same table. Novel scenes were used to show the texture of facts, but not as evidence to fill in the blanks.

Figure 6. Sanskrit candidate letter correspondence — Image:

Conclusions I abandoned

137111138

When I started the investigation, I was also drawn to the most famous explanation. It organized the case into one sentence and gave intention to everything. However, in contrast to the original record, each blank required a new coincidence. I erased the conclusion then and started again. Good reasoning is not about adding anything, but about removing unnecessary assumptions.

139112140

I stopped trying to read the remaining pieces like a complete document. If most of the information disappeared in the bombing, the goal of deciphering should also be changed. Even if you can say a few lines of letters and possible words, you cannot restore the entire historical story.

141113142

In particular, the details repeated on later articles and the Internet were separated from the source. Just because the same sentence appears in multiple places does not mean that there are multiple independent sources. We first checked the possibility that one error was duplicated. After this process, the case became less colorful, but the weight of the remaining clues increased.

Figure 7. Percentage of the original text that disappeared in the blast — Image:

Anti-evidence: Sentence to destroy my reasoning

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The investigation ends quickly if I gather data that upholds my conclusion. So I put the three most uncomfortable questions next to the conclusion.

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• Where was the remaining piece in the original text
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• Does the shape similar to the Kawhi character mean the same language?
152120153
• How far can you read most of the disappeared without filling it with an estimate?

155122156

These questions are not decorative. It is a switch that will change its conclusion when new data comes in. The ranking of the hypotheses changes immediately when directly linked information, such as the sighting source, preserved physical evidence, comparative samples from the same author, and independent dating. On the contrary, when the word "likely" increased, the ranking did not change.

Figure 8. Old and Modern 3D Scans — Image:

Final Reasoning: I Reached

159125160

Judgment
Singapore Stone is likely to have had kawi characters and South Asian language elements. However, the location of the fragment and its surrounding rows have disappeared, making full translation nearly impossible. The core of this case is the destroyed data rather than the difficult code.

161126162

This conclusion is not a complete final judgment. The direction calls for the fewest assumptions in the currently disclosed records and explains the most clues at the same time. It is also clear that what comes out changes the conclusion. Reliable original records, verifiable legal science data, and independent evidence directly linking people and objects are needed.

163127164

I do not write that the case is closed. Instead, write down how far you can close it. That boundary is the result of this investigation. The fun of mystery is not that anything is possible. It's about finding out what you can throw away among the possible explanations.

Figure 9. Hypothesis of the original location of the remaining pieces — Image:

Additional Survey Record 1. Redraw the timetable

167130168

Re-expanding the data on the desk, this time covering the conclusion. "The Singapore Stone was a huge inscription rock found at the mouth of the Singapore River."The place and the time were lined up, leaving only one behind. Unconfirmed sections were not filled by imagination but marked with blank squares. The larger the square, the lower the reliability of the hypothesis to pass through the section.

169131170

On top of it, the explanation was posted, "The sound value is limited by comparing the remaining letter shape with the Southeast Asian Kawhi inscription." At first, everything seemed to be right, but when I substituted the question, "Where was the remaining piece in the original text?" a weak connection was revealed. Hypothesis has to endure the question. If you keep making new coincidences to avoid questions, you will create, not reasoning, from that moment on.

171132172

The results obtained in this section are not confirmed criminals or complete plain texts. Instead, it became clear which explanations required fewer assumptions, and what would flip the ranking if found. Even if the case is not completed, the scope of the investigation can be narrowed. This record is intended to leave that very narrow boundary.

173133174

Further investigation record 2. Disappeared link

175134176

Re-expanded the data on the desk and covered the conclusion this time. In 1843, most of the rocks were blown up during the construction of the passageway, leaving only "the place and time in one line." Unconfirmed sections were not filled by imagination but marked with blank squares. The larger the square, the lower the reliability of the hypothesis to pass through the section.

177135178

On top of it, the explanation was posted, "The row structure is estimated using the old rubbed copy and the pre-bombing arrangement left in the description." At first, everything seemed right, but when I substituted the question, "Does the shapes resembling the Kawhi letters mean the same language?" a weak connection was revealed. Hypothesis has to endure the question. If you keep making new coincidences to avoid questions, you will create, not reasoning, from that moment on.

179136180

The results obtained in this section are not confirmed criminals or complete plain texts. Instead, it became clear which explanations required fewer assumptions, and what would flip the ranking if found. Even if the case is not completed, the scope of the investigation can be narrowed. This record is intended to leave that very narrow boundary.

181137182

Further investigation record 3. The path of movement of objects

183138184

Re-expanded the data on the desk and covered the conclusion this time. The place and time were lined up, leaving only "the remaining major pieces to be kept at the National Museum of Singapore." Unconfirmed sections were not filled by imagination but marked with blank squares. The larger the square, the lower the reliability of the hypothesis to pass through the section.

185139186

On top of it, the explanation was posted, "Put in names, kings, and nominative candidates, but verify whether the same response is repeated in several letters." At first, everything seemed to be right, but when I substituted the question, "How far can I read most of the disappeared without filling it with presumption," a weak connection was revealed. Hypothesis has to endure the question. If you keep making new coincidences to avoid questions, you will create, not reasoning, from that moment on.

187140188

The results obtained in this section are not confirmed criminals or complete plain texts. Instead, it became clear which explanations required fewer assumptions, and what would flip the ranking if found. Even if the case is not completed, the scope of the investigation can be narrowed. This record is intended to leave that very narrow boundary.

189141190

Further Survey Record 4. Opposite Hypothesis Night

191142192

Re-expanded the data on the desk and covered the conclusion this time. The letters appear to be of the Kawhi family and some Sanskrit elements have been proposed, leaving only one line of place and time. Unconfirmed sections were not filled by imagination but marked with blank squares. The larger the square, the lower the reliability of the hypothesis to pass through the section.

193143194

On top of it, the explanation was posted, "The sound value is limited by comparing the remaining letter shape with the Southeast Asian Kawhi inscription." At first, everything seemed to be right, but when I substituted the question, "Where was the remaining piece in the original text?" a weak connection was revealed. Hypothesis has to endure the question. If you keep making new coincidences to avoid questions, you will create, not reasoning, from that moment on.

195144196

The results obtained in this section are not confirmed criminals or complete plain texts. Instead, it became clear which explanations required fewer assumptions, and what would flip the ranking if found. Even if the case is not completed, the scope of the investigation can be narrowed. This record is intended to leave that very narrow boundary.

197145198

Further Survey Record 5. Distance between record and memory

199146200

I re-opened the material on the desk and covered the conclusion this time. The place and time were continued in one line, leaving only "the age, language, and entire contents of the tragedy have not been completely decoded." Unconfirmed sections were not filled by imagination but marked with blank squares. The larger the square, the lower the reliability of the hypothesis to pass through the section.

201147202

On top of it, the explanation was posted, "The row structure is estimated using the old rubbed copy and the pre-bombing arrangement left in the description." At first, everything seemed right, but when I substituted the question, "Does the shapes resembling the Kawhi letters mean the same language?" a weak connection was revealed. Hypothesis has to endure the question. If you keep making new coincidences to avoid questions, you will create, not reasoning, from that moment on.

203148204

The results obtained in this section are not confirmed criminals or complete plain texts. Instead, it became clear which explanations required fewer assumptions, and what would flip the ranking if found. Even if the case is not completed, the scope of the investigation can be narrowed. This record is intended to leave that very narrow boundary.

205149206

Additional Survey Record 6. Range of Last Scene

207150208

Re-expanding the data on the desk, this time covering the conclusion. "The Singapore Stone was a huge inscription rock found at the mouth of the Singapore River."The place and the time were lined up, leaving only one behind. Unconfirmed sections were not filled by imagination but marked with blank squares. The larger the square, the lower the reliability of the hypothesis to pass through the section.

209151210

On top of it, the explanation was posted, "Put in names, kings, and nominative candidates, but verify whether the same response is repeated in several letters." At first, everything seemed to be right, but when I substituted the question, "How far can I read most of the disappeared without filling it with presumption," a weak connection was revealed. Hypothesis has to endure the question. If you keep making new coincidences to avoid questions, you will create, not reasoning, from that moment on.

211152212

The results obtained in this section are not confirmed criminals or complete plain texts. Instead, it became clear which explanations required fewer assumptions, and what would flip the ranking if found. Even if the case is not completed, the scope of the investigation can be narrowed. This record is intended to leave that very narrow boundary.

Figure 10. Results of dividing what can be read and what has been lost — Image:

Records and references

· National Heritage Board Singapore — Singapore Stone

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· National Museum of Singapore

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※ This article is a commentary in the form of personal survey records based on public records and reliable data. I have distinguished between confirmed facts and my reasoning, and I update my judgment when a new official announcement is made. External material images were edited for some color and composition according to the permitted licensing conditions, and each image source was shown in the caption.