A 1,000-year-old Bible has been uncovered during a police operation in the city of Tokat, Turkey.A millenium-old book was confiscated along with jewellery and coins after the smugglers were caught red-handed.
Three men were arrested after they tried to sell the priceless historical artifacts to undercover officers.
The Bible is written in the old Assyriac language, it only has 51 pages or 102 pages left and its cover is seriously damaged. However, pictures made of gold leafs with religious pictures inside the sacred book are still intact. According to experts, the Bible is estimated to be 1000 years old.
The Bible, 53 coins, two arrowheads and two parts of different rings were sent to a local museum.Theologians now hope the relic will offer valuable insights into the way Christianity has developed in the past century.
Tokat has emerged in recent years as a centre of smuggling activities in rare artefacts, a reputation that was cemented last year when ‘Orphan Man, Standing,’ an authentic oil painting by Vincent Van Gogh, was found in the boot of a vehicle owned by a suspected artifact smuggler.
