Story highlights Manuscript is "a treasure that is of global significance to Muslim heritage," says library chief

Radiocarbon analysis dates the parchment to between 568 and 645 AD

This means they were written close to the time of the Prophet Mohammed, researchers say

London (CNN) For years, the two parchment leaves covered in an elegant early form of Arabic script were misbound with leaves of a similar Quran manuscript dating from the late seventh century.

Now, with the help of radiocarbon analysis, the two fragments have been shown to be decades older -- which puts them among the oldest known examples in the world, according to researchers at the UK's University of Birmingham.

The testing, which is more than 95% accurate, has dated the parchment on which the text is written to between 568 and 645 AD, the researchers said.

This means it was created close to the time of the Prophet Mohammed, who is generally thought to have lived between AD 570 and 632 AD, they said.

The ancient fragment is part of the university's Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held in the Cadbury Reseach Library. They were gathered in the 1920s by Alphonse Mingana, a Chaldean priest who was born near Mosul, Iraq, but settled in England.

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