A 1,500-year-old artefact discovered in central Turkey could offer a rare glimpse into how ordinary Christians carried their faith with them in the earliest centuries of the Church.

Archaeologists excavating at Türkmen Karahöyük, near Konya, have uncovered a small, corroded copper amulet case dating to the fourth or fifth century AD.

Inside is a paper-thin sheet of gold, just 0.1 millimetres thick, believed to bear an inscribed passage of Scripture. Researchers have not yet been able to decipher the text.

The discovery was made as part of a major international excavation involving around 60 researchers from 13 countries.

Speaking to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, in comments reported by Fox News, co-director Michele Rüzgar Massa said amulets of this kind “are not very common”.

He said they were likely worn close to the body for protection, comparing them to “an evil-eye charm”, but rooted in Christian belief.

The find suggests some Christians of the period may have carried biblical texts with them as a form of devotion and protection, offering a physical expression of the importance attached to Scripture in everyday life.

Konya lies in central Anatolia, a region with deep biblical significance and associated with St Paul’s missionary journeys through Asia Minor.

Deputy director Hüseyin Erpehlivan said the area had a long history as a meeting point of different cultures and faiths.

While the exact biblical text on the gold sheet remains unknown, the discovery offers a striking glimpse into the way Scripture may have been treasured and carried by Christians centuries before printed Bibles existed.