Old Qurans found during excavation

ERZURUM - Doğan News Agency

This photo shows one of the 600-year-old handwritten Korans without cover. The Quran was revealed during an excavation in Erzurum’s Kemah district. DHA Photo

A collection of 600-year-old handwritten Qurans without covers were found during an excavation carried out in the eastern province of Erzurum’s Kemah district.

Professor Haldun Özkan of Atatürk University said the 15th and 16th century Korans had been found in a package two meters underground.

“In the package we also found a letter written by a naval officer and dated 1916. We can say that these Korans were buried in this area since that year.”

Professor Hüseyin Yurttaş, the head of the History of Art Department at the university, said they had initiated excavations in 2011 and found many manuscripts, but most of them had molded and lost their characteristics.

He said the works had been classified by experts and professors. “One of the Qurans is 37k golden leaf. They are very important in terms of artistic value, but we cannot identify their calligrapher.