Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Campus Theatre
Seven headed palm tree at Cachiche town, Ica, Peru — Translation on poster: “dates”
The Seven-Headed Palm Tree
The Whale Museum
Old locomotive a blue, angry face awaits on the tracks with the railway station in the background
Children's Railway
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Caru' cu Bere
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
An illustration of Port Royal from the book “On the Spanish Main.”
Port Royal: The Rise and (Literal) Fall of a Booming Pirate City
1 day ago
Museum founder Paul Stewart often traveled to local classrooms, like this Denver elementary school, to share the stories of Colorado’s Black Cowboys.
The Black American West Museum Celebrates the Black Cowboy
2 days ago
Charlie’s Place: Music, Mystery & Civil Rights.
Charlie’s Place Episode 1: Whispering Pines
4 days ago
The Golden Gate Bridge as seen from the Marin Headlands at sunrise.
Listener Stories of Leaving Home: From San Francisco to Japan
6 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Singapore The Singapore Stone
AO Edited

The Singapore Stone

An undeciphered text is inscribed on a mysterious stone slab.

Singapore

Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Exhibited in the History Gallery.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Exhibited in the History Gallery.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Detail.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Museum description.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The Singapore Stone.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The Singapore Stone in the National Museum.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Quite possibly, one of the most charming—yet frustrating—aspects of history is its unsolved mysteries. The same can be said of linguistics, and only occasionally do they cross over to solve a problem, as in the case of the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian hieroglyphics. Enter the curious so-called Singapore Stone.

Believed to date back to the 13th century or as early as the 10th, the stone was once part of a large slab of inscribed sandstone standing at the mouth of the Singapore River. Then, in 1843, the British blew it up to widen a passageway and build military quarters.

Lieutenant-Colonel James Low, who had previously objected to the explosion, salvaged three fragments of the boulder and sent them to Kolkata for analysis. In 1918, one of the fragments was returned to the Raffles Museum, now known as the National Museum of Singapore. The status of the other two is uncertain, whether lost or still in India.

The stone's inscription has yet to be deciphered. Over the years it has been speculated to be Hindu, Tamil, and Pali, while more recent theories suggest that it is written in Kawi script and contains some Sanskrit words, hinting at the island's past as part of the Majapahit Empire.

Today, the Singapore Stone is designated as one of the eleven national treasures of Singapore. Folklore often associates it with Badang, the legendary Malay strongman whose incredible feats include hurling a massive stone from the nearby Fort Canning to the mouth of the Singapore River.

Related Tags

Writing History & Culture Language Linguistics History Museums Mystery Stone

Know Before You Go

The Singapore Stone can be easily found in the History Gallery, right after the entrance. If you’re interested in its history, you can also walk around the site where the stone once stood, where the Fullerton Hotel is located today.

Community Contributors

Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

Published

January 31, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.roots.gov.sg/en/stories-landing/stories/the-singapore-story-through-60-objects/networks-through-time/singapore-stone/story
  • https://www.roots.gov.sg/en/stories-landing/stories/a-fragment-of-history/story
The Singapore Stone
93 Stamford Rd
178897
Singapore
1.296613, 103.848509
Visit Website

Nearby Places

Keramat Iskandar Shah

Singapore

miles away

CHIJMES

Singapore

miles away

St. Joseph's Church

Singapore

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Singapore

Singapore

Asia

Places 73
Stories 14

Nearby Places

Keramat Iskandar Shah

Singapore

miles away

CHIJMES

Singapore

miles away

St. Joseph's Church

Singapore

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Singapore

Singapore

Asia

Places 73
Stories 14

Related Places

  • Seoul, South Korea

    National Hangeul Museum

    Celebrating the history of Hangul, the Korean writing system invented by King Sejong to improve his realm’s literacy.

  • Vonore, Tennessee

    Sequoyah Birthplace Museum

    This museum pays tribute to the Cherokee leader who created a written language for his people.

  • One of the galleries in the modern section of the Manchester Jewish Museum.

    Manchester, England

    Manchester Jewish Museum

    A Victorian synagogue-turned-museum chronicles centuries of Jewish life.

  • Portumna, Ireland

    Irish Workhouse Centre

    A well-preserved, 19th-century Irish workhouse recounts a grim time in the country’s history.

  • Sethi House Complex

    Peshawar, Pakistan

    Sethi House

    A rare instance of a historical Peshawari mansion restored and opened to the public.

  • Silanus, Italy

    Nuraghe and Church of Santa Sabina

    A lone nuraghe and a little old church with mysterious origins.

  • Aldeburgh, England

    Moot Hall

    One of the best preserved Tudor public buildings in Britain was once used for witch trials.

  • Saddles on display.

    Galveston, Texas

    Bryan Museum

    One of the largest historical collections on Texas and the American West.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.