Moroni records his text on metallic plates in reformed Egyptian (see Mormon 9:32–34), according to the pattern set by previous archivists. Of the three earliest existing manuscripts that contain biblical text, one was transcribed on small metal scrolls, one was written in reformed Egyptian, and the third was hidden to be recovered at a later date. These facts demonstrate that the Book of Mormon fits an ancient pattern: it was written on thin gold plates, written in reformed Egyptian, and buried in a hillside by Moroni, in hopes that the records would be “of worth unto [his] brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day” (Moroni 1:4). (See Echoes, 235–236.)