Tjipetir

Stacked gutta-percha plates labeled "TJIPETIR" (source: Tropenmuseum , Amsterdam)

Tjipetir (Indonesian: Cipetir) is a place with 5716 inhabitants in the province of Jawa Barat (West Java), west of Bandung on the Indonesian island of Java .

Tjipetir was also the name of a local gutta-percha plantation that was state-owned by the Dutch East Indies .

Plates of gutta-percha with the stamp “TJIPETIR” have been found on the beach on the coasts of Great Britain and on the North Sea coasts of other countries since at least 2012. Such plates are rectangular with rounded corners, have a thickness of about 2.5 centimeters, a side length of about 30 centimeters and weigh about 2 kilograms. The plates could have come from freighters sunk during World War I and other wrecks.

Web links

Commons : Tjipetir Plantation  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• The Tjipetir history (in English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 2010 census, PDF page 687 (Engl.) ( Memento of 6 April 2013, Internet Archive )
2. ↑ BBC News: Tjipetir mystery: Why are rubber-like blocks washing up on beaches? (English; with map of the localities)
3. ↑ Picture and description on flickr
4. ↑ Solved the mystery of mysterious records? Gutta-percha surprisingly long-lasting ORF.at from December 3, 2014.