The oldest known stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments has sold for more than $5m at an auction in the United States.

The New York-based auction house Sotheby’s said the 52kg (115lb) marble slab was acquired on Wednesday by an anonymous buyer who plans to donate it to an Israeli institution.

The final price exceeded the presale estimate of $1-$2m and followed more than 10 minutes of “intense bidding” during the global competition.

The oldest complete tablet of the Ten Commandments is displayed at Sotheby’s, in New York City, December 9  [Richard Drew/AP]

The tablet dates from 300 to 800 AD and is inscribed with the commandments in Paleo-Hebrew script — the only complete example of its kind from antiquity, according to Sotheby’s.

It was unearthed during railroad excavations along the southern coast of Israel in 1913 and was not recognised as historically significant at first.

Sotheby’s said the tablet was used as a paving stone at a local home until 1943, when it was sold to a scholar who grasped its significance.

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“A tangible link to ancient beliefs that have profoundly shaped global religious and cultural traditions, it serves as a rare testament to history,” the auction house said.

The text inscribed on the slab follows the Biblical verses familiar to Christian and Jewish traditions, but omits the third commandment against taking the name of the Lord in vain. It includes a new directive to worship on Mount Gerizim, a holy site specific to the Samaritans, Sotheby’s said.