The ancient Ten Commandments tablet that was used as a paving stone just sold for millions

The tablet's importance remained unnoticed for decades (Image: Sotherby's)

The oldest known stone tablet that is inscribed with the Ten Commandments sold at an auction for more than £3.9million ($5million) yesterday, December 18.

The important artefact was previously used as a paving stone.

Auction house Sotheby’s says the 52-kilogram chunk of marble was acquired by an anonymous buyer.

They plan to donate it to an Israeli institution, The Independent reports.

Experts say the tablet exceeded its presale estimate of £790,000 ($1million) to 1.58m ($2million), and sold following more than 10 minutes of “intense bidding”.

The artefact dates from between 300 to 800 AD, and is inscribed with the commandments in Paleo-Hebrew script.

The artefact was sold for a price above its expected cost (Image: Sotherby's)

According to Sotheby's, it is the only complete example of its kind from antiquity.

Auctioneers say that the tablet was used as a paving stone at a local home until 1943.

Afterwards, it was sold to a scholar who noticed its importance.

Sotherby’s said: “A tangible link to ancient beliefs that have profoundly shaped global religious and cultural traditions, it serves as a rare testament to history.”

The stone was discovered during railway excavations on the southern coast of Israel in 1913, but its historic significance was not recognised initially.

The slab’s inscription follows the Biblical verses familiar to Christian and Jewish traditions.

However, it omits the third commandment that states one should not take the Lord’s name in vain.

Instead, Sotherby’s says it includes a new instruction - to worship on Mount Gerizim, a holy site specific to the Samaritans.

Richard Austin, Sotheby’s Global Head of Books and Manuscripts, said: "This remarkable tablet is not only a vastly important historic artifact, but a tangible link to the beliefs that helped shape Western civilisation.

“To encounter this shared piece of cultural heritage is to journey through millennia and connect with cultures and faiths told through one of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes."