Mihintale, Sri Lanka
| Metadata | |
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| Object ID | OB03104 |
| Title | In̆dikaṭusǟya Copper Plaques |
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| Inscription(s) | IN03128 |
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| Responsibility | |
| Author | Senarath Paranavitana |
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| Description | |
| Material | Metal / copper |
| Object Type | Plaque |
| Dimensions: | |
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| Height | |
| Depth | 0.08 cm |
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| Details | Ninety-one copper plaques, each engraved on one side with an inscription in the Sinhalese alphabet of the eighth or ninth century A.D. Most of the plaques are about 0.8 mm in thickness and some bear traces of gilding. The majority are completely intact, except for plaques numbered 9, 24, 30, 36–38, 41, 44, 78, 80, 82–84, and 87–91, which are broken, and plaques numbered 12, 34, 58, 62 and 76, which are missing corners. |
| History | |
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| Found: | |
| Date | 1923 |
| Place | Indikatuseya |
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| Authority | Paranavitana, S. (1928-33). ‘No. 20. In̆dikaṭusǟya Copper Plaques,’ Epigraphia Zeylanica 3, pp. 199–212. |
| Details | Found in 1923 among the ruins of the Indikatuseya stupa at Mihintale. The tablets were discovered by the Archaeological Department of Ceylon during the restoration and rebuilding of the dome of the stupa. It appears that they were originally deposited in the relic chamber but became scattered when the stupa was raided by treasure-seekers, which would also explain the presence of some Dutch stivers in amongst the medieval copper tablets. Other objects found at the same time include a four-petalled lotus of copper, two copper coins of the Poḷonnaruva period, a copper setu coin, six unidentifiable copper coins and a small earthen casket containing a copper earring, three South Indian gold fanams, some bits of thin gold wire, three beads of cornelian and bone fragments. |
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