A joint international team in central Vietnam has discovered the remains of a 9th-century scriptorium belonging to the Champa Kingdom. The site yielded dozens of hardened clay molds and several charred woodblocks used for the mass production of Buddhist dharanis (short incantations). This discovery predates previously known examples of woodblock printing in the region and suggests that the Champa culture played a pivotal role in the dissemination of printed religious texts across Southeast Asia.
The scriptorium was situated near a large temple complex and included a specialized furnace for drying the woodblocks to prevent warping. Fragments of high-quality paper, likely made from local mulberry bark, were found alongside the blocks, indicating a fully developed printing industry. This find provides crucial evidence of the technological exchange between the Champa Kingdom and Tang Dynasty China during the late first millennium.