ancient document

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun law In the law of evidence, a document which is admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule, and which is considered self-authenticating, because it is older than a certain age (usually twenty years), in a condition that makes it free from suspicion concerning its authenticity, and was found in a place where such a writing was likely to be kept.