Researchers using multispectral imaging and AI-driven digital paleography have successfully read heavily eroded inscriptions on a stone stele found in coastal Odisha. The text, written in a regional variant of the Pali script, dates to the mid-6th century CE and details a complex set of maritime laws governing the salvage of shipwrecks and the taxation of spice cargoes. This is one of the earliest recorded legal codes specifically dedicated to trans-oceanic trade in the Indian Ocean.
The study, published in Heritage Science, reveals that the port authorities had established a system of 'trade immunity' for foreign vessels during monsoon months. It also mentions a collaborative guild of merchants from both the Kalinga and Srivijaya empires, indicating a level of international legal standardization that predates previous estimates by centuries. This discovery redefines our understanding of early medieval maritime governance and economic diplomacy.