Archaeologists in the Philippines have unearthed a thin gold foil containing a 7th-century inscription in Early Grantha-style Sanskrit. The text appears to be a religious invocation dedicated to the deity Shiva, marking it as one of the earliest pieces of written evidence for Hindu influence in the archipelago.
This discovery strengthens the theory of a highly organized pre-colonial maritime network that linked the Indian subcontinent directly with Southeast Asian islands. The inscription suggests that Sanatan spiritual and linguistic traditions were adopted by local elites as early as 1,300 years ago, long before the arrival of European explorers.