The Ram Khamhaeng Inscription, cut into a four-sided siltstone stele in 1292, carries the earliest known Thai writing — rounded letterforms chiselled deep into fine-grained grey-brown stone. This system renders that monumental, weathered ground and lifts it with gold-leaf yellow, the gilding of Sukhothai temple manuscripts. It reads as carved, upright, and reverent: stone first, gold as accent.