1,400-year-old Koran manuscript found in Birmingham

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LONDON — Ancient Koran fragments dating back about 1,400 years ago were found by the University of Birmingham, which is one of the oldest Koran manuscripts around the world, the university said on Wednesday.

University of Birmingham said the manuscript consisted of two parchment pages, containing parts of Suras, or Chapter 18 to 20, written with ink in an early form of Arabic script. The two pages had been misbound with pages of a similar Koran manuscript for many years in Cadbury Research Library.

However, text on the pages has been found written between AD 568 and 645 thanks to radiocarbon analysis, carried out by a laboratory at the University of Oxford, which showed the result was 95.4 percent accurate.

“Researchers conclude that the Koran manuscript is among the earliest written textual evidence of the Islamic holy book known to survive. This gives the Koran manuscript in Birmingham global significance to Muslim heritage and the study of Islam,” the university said.

“The radiocarbon dating has delivered an exciting result, which contributes significantly to our understanding of the earliest written copies of the Qur’an. We are thrilled that such an important historical document is here in Birmingham, the most culturally diverse city in the UK,” said Susan Worrall, director of Special Collections (Cadbury Research Library), at the University of Birmingham.

The manuscript will be display at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, from Oct. 2 until Oct. 25.