If the finding is found to be authentic, it would be constitute the earliest known Christian writings.

The text is in the form of codices written onto credit-card-sized sheets of lead and bound with lead rings.

The fragments of text that have been translated so far and the images and symbols on the “books” indicate that they are Christian.

Many of the 70 books are sealed, leading to speculation that they contain secret writings.

The haul was discovered five years ago after a flash flood exposed two niches inside a cave in remote northern Jordan.

Experts believe the books could date back to the first decades after Jesus’s crucifixion and Resurrection.

Jordan’s Department of Antiquities, Ziad al-Saad, was quoted by the BBC as saying that the find may be more significant than the Dead Sea Scrolls.

He said: “Maybe it will lead to further interpretation and authenticity checks of the material, but the initial information is very encouraging, and it seems that we are looking at a very important and significant discovery, maybe the most important discovery in the history of archaeology.”