400-Year-Old Bible Survived Invasions, Fire and Even Being Used as Toilet Paper

The incredible story of a 400-year-old Bible is set to be told at the National Library of Wales after the sacred book was discovered hidden away in the back of a church.

The leather-bound 1620 Llanwnda Bible survived the invasion of Britain during the 1797 Battle of Fishguard. During the fierce battle, the army of 1,400 French and Irish troops raided St Gwyndaf's Church in the Welsh town of Llanwnda and used pages from the Bible to start a fire.

The Llanwnda Bible was eventually discovered some 200 years later in the 1990s. "The story goes that the book was rediscovered at the back of the church in the 1990s, and nobody realized what it was," said the vicar of the church Sarah Geach, as reported by the Daily Mail.