As of: February 25, 2024, 7:22 p.m
By: Julia Hanigk
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An ancient egg was unearthed in England.
It dates back to Roman times.
And there is still a liquid surprise in it.
Aylesbury – In the beginning was the egg?
Back in 2010, researchers in Aylesbury, central England, unearthed an egg from Roman times.
After a computer scan, it now turns out that there is still liquid in there.
This could provide crucial information about chicken farming at the time.
Preserved egg from Roman times found in England
According to Oxford Archaeology, which conducted the excavation, the egg was found in a water-filled pit that was once used to draw water for brewing and malting.
It may have been part of an offering there between the years 270 and 300 of the Christian era.
In addition to this unique find, there were originally three more eggs in the pit, but they broke during the excavations.
A liquid with a pungent sulfurous smell escaped.
Even then, researchers announced a “unique discovery.”
The contents of the egg make it even more unique.
Still liquid inside: an egg from Roman times.
© Oxford Archeology/dpa/picture alliance
CT scan shows: There is still fluid in an egg from Roman times
Now a liquid has also been discovered in the egg that was still preserved.
This was revealed by a scan from the University of Kent using a computer tomograph.
In a corresponding picture, the contents including the air bubble can be seen on a black background.
The scan was originally carried out a few months ago to clarify how the egg could best be preserved, explained the excavation manager Edward Biddulph to the German Press Agency.
Black and white scan: An egg from Roman times is still liquid inside.
© Chris Dunmore/Imaging Center for Life Sciences, University of Kent/dpa/picture alliance
Egg with liquid has “huge research potential” with regard to Roman times
Edward Biddulph confirmed: The liquid was actually egg white and yolk.
"An astonishing image emerged that showed that the egg was not only intact - which is incredible - but also retained its fluid inside, which probably came from the yolk, white, etc.," the BBC quoted
Biddulph
as saying .
However, over a long period of time, the two components would have combined to form a single liquid.
The egg, which probably comes from a chicken, will probably no longer be edible.
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“The egg has huge research potential,” Biddulph wrote in a report.
On the one hand, this concerns the question of how such objects could be preserved, but also what type of chicken they were.
They also want to research questions about the keeping and use of chickens and birds in Roman times.
Researchers would now take the liquid and examine it.
Egg may have been part of an offering
In addition to the eggs, a rare basket was also found during excavations between 2007 and 2016, which may also have contained bread.
Ceramic vessels, leather shoes and animal bones were also found.
Biddulph explained: “This was a wet area next to a Roman road.
The eggs may have been placed there as a votive offering.” It is therefore possible that the objects ended up in the pit as an offering to the underworld as part of a funeral procession.
In Roman times, eggs had a variety of symbolic meanings.
They were associated with the gods Mithras and Mercury and have the meaning of fertility and rebirth.
So far, only eggshells have been recovered and never a completely preserved egg.
Scientists have found the oldest village in Europe in Albania.
There are always sensational finds in Germany too: what are probably the oldest human remains were discovered in North Rhine-Westphalia.
(jh with dpa)