A 115-pound slab of marble is being lifted auction at Sotheby's todayand experts expect it to reach millions.
The two-foot piece is inscribed in Paleo-Hebrew script and is believed to be the world's oldest version of the Ten Commandments, dating from 300-800 CE.
Jacob Kaplan, who took possession of the stone in 1943, explained that it was first discovered in 1913 while a railroad was being built in southern Israel and then somehow found its way to the front entrance of a house . “For thirty years it served as a paving stone at the entrance of a local house, with the inscription turned upwards and exposed to foot traffic,” according to Sotheby's description. Kaplan realized its importance and wrote about it in the scientific journal Bulletin of the Jewish Palestine Research Society.
It was moved to a museum in Brooklyn and purchased by collector Mitchell S. Cappell for $850,000 in 2016.
Experts are debating its authenticity, as there are known to be many forgeries from this region, he notes. New York Times. They also point out that the tablet has a rather large typo: “According to this tablet, at least, murder and theft are still bad, and surely you had better honor your father and mother. But take God's name in vain it doesn't seem like a big deal: the third commandment isn't there.”
Richard Austin, Sotheby's Global Head of Books and Manuscripts, dispels doubts, saying: “This extraordinary tablet is not only an extremely important historical artifact, but a tangible link to the beliefs that helped shape Western civilization.”
Sotheby's is opening bidding at $1 million and predicts bidders could double that price. Holy mole indeed.