A timeless piece of human history is heading to auction this December at Sotheby’s. On December 18, the oldest inscribed stone tablet of the Ten Commandments will take center stage as a single-lot sale as part of the Books and Manuscripts auction with an estimate of $1-2 million. Dating back to the Late Roman-Byzantine period (ca. 300–800 CE) and weighing a hefty 115 pounds, this 1,500-year-old stone tablet stands about two feet tall and is considered the only complete example of its kind from this era. Inscribed in Paleo-Hebrew, its version of the commandments features a unique twist: a directive to worship on Mount Gerizim replaces the more familiar commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain.
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The tablet’s story is as intriguing as its contents. Unearthed in 1913 during railway excavations on Israel’s southern coast, it was initially dismissed as an ordinary........