The first known source of Christian presence in the archipelago can be found in the encyclopedic work of Abu Salih Al-Armini, an Egyptian Christian who lived in the 12th century. According to his writings there were a number of Nestorian churches in West Sumatra around that time, located close to a place where camphor wood was produced. However, later scholars have argued that Al-Armini might have confused this location with a town in present-day India.