In an accidental finding, an ancient Greek papyrus believed to contain the earliest reference to magic as used in the Christian context was spotted among the thousand papyri kept in a library vault at the University of Manchester.

'This is an important and unexpected discovery as it's one of the first recorded documents to use magic in the Christian context and the first charm ever found to refer to the Eucharist - the Last Supper - as the manna of the Old Testament,' said Dr. Roberta Mazza, a research fellow at the John Rylands Research Institute.

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The 1,500 year old papyrus fragment is believed to be the earliest surviving Christian amulet.

Dr. Mazza explained that the papyrus fragment was likely folded up and worn around the neck as a protective charm. The fragment is likely to have originated from Egypt where the ancient practice of using sacred texts to ward off danger was practiced.

Written on the papyrus were biblical texts from the Psalms and the Gospel of Matthew.

"Our God prepared a sacred table in the desert for the people and gave manna of the new covenant to eat, the Lord's immortal body and the blood of Christ poured for us in remission of sins," is one of the many texts identified on the remarkable document.

Dr. Mazza told Live Science that people at the time, believed that sacred texts had magical powers.

The amulet was written at  the back of what seems to be a receipt for the payment of grain tax. The text on the front, refers to a certain tax collector from the countryside of Hermoupolis, an ancient Egyptian city.

Analysis of the document reveals that although the creator of the amulet had some knowledge of the Bible, he or she committed plenty of mistakes.

"This," according to the researchers, "suggests that he was writing by heart rather than copying it."

The amulet reportedly contains misspelled words and texts written in the wrong order.

Still, the papyrus fragment, according to Mazza, reveals that the ancient Christians adopted the ancient Egyptian practice of wearing sacred texts as amulets, a practice not different from the protective wearing of the cross or the images of saints, Christians do nowadays.

"To this day, Christians use passages from the Bible as protective charms so our amulet marks the start of an important trend in Christianity," said in a statement.

Dr. Mazza presented the findings at the international papyri conference held at the John Rylands Research Institute on September 4.

Tagslast supper papyrus, christian magic practices, amulet papyrus, University of Manchester, Roberta Mazza, Christian amulet, Greek papyrus