In March 2017, the Tunisian National Guard announced they had prevented a 15th-century Torah scroll from being smuggled out of the country.
The arrest of the suspects was allowed by an information which stated that the Torah scroll was about to be transferred to Europe in a larger antiquities smuggling operation.
The rare Torah scroll, written on bovine skin, measures 37m long and 47cm wide and was described by the Tunisian National Guard spokesperson as “a unique historical item for the world.”
Later in the press conference, the spokesperson precised that “Experts at the National Heritage Institute have confirmed that the Torah scroll is an extremely rare, historical and invaluable item that is from the 15th century.”
The scroll seems to contain all parts of the Torah, yet there are still debates between experts whether this scroll was written before the organisation of the books of the Torah in their present order.