A 1,700-Year-Old Intact Chicken Egg Was Found With The Original Liquid Still Inside, And Researchers Are Hoping To Learn More About The Bird Behind The Egg
All over the world, archaeologists and scientists have been awestruck by the discovery of a 1,700-year-old intact chicken egg that was laid in Roman Britain.
The one-of-a-kind specimen was so well-preserved that it actually still contained liquid inside of it.
During an excavation in 2010, the egg, along with four others, was dug up from a pit in a waterlogged area of Aylesbury, England. The site was being explored ahead of a major housing development project.
The eggs were lying next to a woven basket that may have once held bread, leather shoes, pottery vessels, and an animal bone. One of the eggs was already broken.
Unfortunately, two of the fragile eggs cracked as they were removed from the site, releasing a potent stench.
A team of researchers at the University of Kent conducted an analysis of the remaining egg. The three-dimensional images from a micro-CT scan showed that the egg’s interior contained a liquid mixture of its yolk and albumen.
While older eggs have been unearthed before, such as a collection of mummified eggs housed at the Natural History Museum in London, there are no other naturally preserved eggs known to be in such excellent condition as this one.
“We might have expected it to have leached out over the centuries, but it is still there,” said Edward Biddulph, senior project manager at Oxford Archaeology, the organization that was in charge of the excavation.
Most of the time, fragments of shells are found rather than whole eggs. Experts believe that the egg was deliberately placed next to the pit as an offering.
coward_lion – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
Until the end of the third century, the pit had served as a well for malting and brewing beer. Afterward, it became a location for passersby to leave small objects as sacrifices.
It appeared that people would toss items into the pit for good luck, similar to how a wishing well functions.
Currently, the egg is being kept in the Discover Bucks Museum in Aylesbury. Researchers are working on extracting the egg’s contents without breaking its shell.
After creating a three-dimensional model of the egg, they plan to make a tiny hole in the shell to learn more about the bird that laid the egg.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings