The egg found by British archaeologists ten years ago during an excavation appears to be still partly liquid inside. Researchers from Oxford University discovered this using CT scans.
The egg was found in 2010 in a new housing project in Aylesbury, northwest of London. The egg was placed near a basket containing ceramic vessels, leather shoes, and animal bones. Based on the materials found next to it, archaeologists believe that the egg is about seventeen hundred years old.
Three more eggs near the basket broke when picked up. It is also no longer filled with fluid. However, a strong sulfurous odor came from the broken eggs.
The archaeologists were surprised when they saw on examination that there were still egg whites and yolks in the egg, along with the characteristic air pocket usually found at the convex end of the egg.
“We would expect the contents to have leaked out of the egg,” said Edward Biddulph, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford. BBC News. In August 2023, archaeologists discovered the egg's contents when it was placed under a scanner at the University of Kent.
After this exciting discovery, the egg was temporarily transferred to the Natural History Museum in London. There, the curators researched the best way to store the egg and whether it was possible to remove the contents for research without breaking the egg.
Eggs may still be important in further research
“It will be interesting to see if we can use the modern techniques available here at the museum to find out which species of bird laid the egg,” says museum curator Douglas Russell. Therefore, the egg could still be of great value for further scientific research.
According to Russell, it is not the oldest known egg in the world. For example, the Natural History Museum contains a mummified egg from ancient Egypt. Archaeologists suspect that the egg is older. “But this is the oldest unpreserved egg I've ever seen,” Russell says. “That's what makes it great.”
Archaeologists believe that the eggs and accompanying items were left as an offering in an abandoned well, as thanks to the gods for the water used. For example, the basket contains bread and Biddulph counters CNN.
The humid conditions in the ancient water source allowed the egg contents to be well preserved.
