Tag Page TenCommandments

From Footpath to Fortune: The Ten Commandments Tablet’s Unexpected Journey

Long before it drew the gaze of collectors, the world’s oldest inscribed Ten Commandments tablet spent thirty years underfoot—literally. Discovered in 1913 on Israel’s southern coast, this hefty stone slab was mistaken for ordinary paving and weathered decades of footsteps before its sacred script was recognized. Carved with 20 lines of Paleo-Hebrew, the tablet is a rare survivor from the Late Byzantine era, a period marked by upheaval and shifting empires. Its text reflects a version cherished by the Samaritan community, hinting at the region’s complex religious tapestry. Scholars believe it once anchored a synagogue or private home lost to ancient invasions or crusades. Now, as it heads to auction in New York, the tablet stands as a weathered but enduring testament to the moral codes that have shaped civilizations. Sometimes, history’s most profound relics are hiding in plain sight—waiting for someone to look down and see the extraordinary. #CulturalHeritage #AncientArtifacts #TenCommandments #Culture