are begun, which are spelt "nana, mona, ittanna, tuva" (that is, "na, mo and tu"), and the writing system therefore came to be known as the "nana-mona" alphabet.

[7] The earliest forms of the script have been traced to memorial stone inscriptions from the 4th century AD.

[9] Vatteluttu is distinctly attested in a number of inscriptions in Tamil Nadu from the 6th century AD.

[7] Its use is also attested in north-eastern Sri Lankan rock inscriptions, such as those found near Trincomalee, dated to between c. the 5th and 8th centuries AD.

[7][2] In what is now Kerala, Vatteluttu continued for a much longer period than in Tamil Nadu [by incorporating characters from Pallava-Grantha Script to represent Sanskrit or Indo-Aryan loan words in early Malayalam].