The oldest stone tablet with the 10 biblical commandments will be sold by auction for 2 million dollars. Photo

The oldest stone tablet containing the Ten Commandments of God was used as a paving stone for 30 years. However, having proved its value, it will be sold at auction for 2 million dollars.

The late Roman-Byzantine tablet, which is about 1500 years old, was found in Israel in 1913. For a long time, it was not considered special until the Paleo-Hebrew inscription was noticed and translated, TheSun reports.

The history of the ancient tablet

The marble tablet was found during repair work on a new railroad line in Israel. Since the slab was quite strong and weighed more than 50 kilograms, it was re-laid to pave the entrance to a house where it had been lying for decades.

Despite the fact that the tablet was placed face up, no one understood the inscriptions on it, as Paleo-Hebrew has long since ceased to be widely used.

Unfortunately, over time the inscription on the tablet deteriorated. One day, however, curious passersby decided to translate the incomprehensible symbols under their feet. It turned out that the stone block contained the commandments, consisting of 20 lines of text from both Christian and Jewish traditions.

Interestingly, the third commandment, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain," was missing. Instead, there is a call to worship on Mount Garizim, which is a sacred place for the Samaritans, who were part of Judaism about 3000 years ago.

Historians believe that the slab was originally part of a synagogue that was destroyed during the Roman invasion between 400 and 600 AD or during the Crusades in the 11th century. When a new railroad track was being dug in Israel, the slab was found near the sites of early religious buildings, including mosques, synagogues, and churches.

Sale at auction

The religious stone is scheduled to be auctioned in New York on December 18. Experts believe that the artifact, which will be presented at Sotheby's, will be sold for 2 million dollars or 1.57 million pounds.

"This remarkable tablet is not only an extremely important historical artifact, but also a tangible connection to the beliefs that helped shape Western civilization. To encounter this shared part of the cultural heritage means to travel through the millennia and connect with the cultures and religions referred to in one of the oldest and most enduring moral codes of mankind," said Richard Austin, head of the Sotheby's books and manuscripts department.

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