- Sun, 08/15/2004 - 12:00 Syrian Language "Holy Bible"
Discovered in Dunhuang Grottoes Chinese archaeologists have
discovered excerpts from the Christian Bible written in an
ancient Syrian language in the northern zone of the Mogao
Grottoes of Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province. The
excerpts from the New Testament were hand-copied onto a piece of
white linen paper 30.8 cm long and 19.8 cm wide. Experts from
Beijing University said that the discovery is of great
significance in studying the development of Christianity in the
central Asia and the Dunhuang area in ancient times. A number of
other documents written in ancient Basba and Uyghur languages
were also found. All of the documents, including the Syriac
Bible, date back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). Chinese
archaeologists found 248 grottoes in the northern zone,
containing wooden movable type of the Uyghur, ancient documents,
porcelain products, ox horn products, Persian silver coins and
iron coins of the Western Xia (1038-1227). Based on the d