Turkish Cypriot police say they have found an ancient version of the Bible in a raid on suspected antiquity smugglers in northern Cyprus.

The manuscript is written in Syriac and bears part of the Bible written in gold lettering on vellum.

Some experts believe the golden lettering dates the book back to about 2,000 years ago, Reuters reported.

"I'd suspect that it is most likely to be less than 1,000 years old," said Cambridge University expert Peter Williams.

Other experts however believe the book could have been written much later.

"The Syriac writing seems to be in the East Syriac script with vowel points, and you do not find such manuscripts before about the 15th century,” said JF Coakley of Cambridge University.

"On the basis of the one photo...if I'm not mistaken some words at least seem to be in modern Syriac, a language that was not written down until the mid-19th century," he added.

The Turkish Cypriot police have charged nine individuals with smuggling antiquities and illegal excavations.

TE/HGH