A Roman-era egg found several years ago in the central English town of Aylesbury still contains liquid.
As the head of excavations at Oxford Archaeology, Edward Biddulph, confirmed at the request of the German Press Agency, experts assume that it is protein and yolk that have combined to form a single liquid. This was the result of a CT scan, which showed the contents including the air bubble. This was done a few months ago to clarify how the egg, which probably comes from a chicken, could best be preserved.
“The egg has huge research potential”
The egg was reportedly found in a pit filled with water from which water was once drawn for brewing. It may have been placed there as part of an offering between the years 270 and 300 of the Christian era. Other eggs that were also discovered there broke after coming into contact with the air – a liquid with a pungent sulfurous smell emerged.
“The egg has huge research potential,” Biddulph wrote. On the one hand, this concerns the question of how such objects could be preserved, but also what type of chicken they were and questions about the keeping and use of chickens and birds in Roman times.
In addition to the eggs, a rare basket was also found during excavations between 2007 and 2016, which may also have contained bread. It is possible that the objects ended up in the pit as part of a funeral procession as an offering to the underworld, Biddulph continued.
