Of the seven invaluable and ancient 'purple codex' gospel books found in Europe, two are from Berat, dating back to the sixth and ninth centuries. The handwritten “Beratinus 1” is among the four oldest New Testament archetypes, while “Beratinus 2” contains Gospel manuscripts from the standard text period. The originals are kept in a UNESCO-sponsored vault at Tirana's National Archive, but copies (made by the Chinese when they restored the books in the 1970s) are available to researchers, and these are important for ancient biblical research.