Archaeologists discover a jar of ‘millennium eggs’ dating back 2,500 years

Archaeologists discover a jar of ‘millennium eggs’ dating back 2,500 years in an ancient tomb in China

A team of Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a large jar of eggs believed to have been buried in a tomb for about 2,500 years.
Around 20 eggs were found and their shells appeared greenish blue, according to experts.
They were kept in a clay jar with a closed lid when experts found them in an excavation site in eastern China’s Shangxing Town on Sunday, reported Yangzi Evening News.

Archaeologists discover a jar of ‘millennium eggs’ dating back 2,500 years in an ancient tomb in China

www.dailymail.co.uk
2 mins read
A team of Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a large jar of eggs believed to have been buried in a tomb for about 2,500 years.
Around 20 eggs were found and their shells appeared greenish blue, according to experts.
They were kept in a clay jar with a closed lid when experts found them in an excavation site in eastern China’s Shangxing Town on Sunday, reported Yangzi Evening News.

Archaeologists discover jar of eggs dating back 2,500 years

Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:00
Previous
Play
Skip
LIVE
Mute

00:00
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration Time 0:39
Fullscreen
Need Text
Video Quality
576p
540p
360p
270p

Foreground
Background
Window
Font Size
Text Edge Style
Font Family

MinimizeExpandClose

Copy link to paste in your message

Around 20 eggs (pictured) believed to be buried about 2,500 years ago have been found

Copy link to paste in your message

They were kept in a clay jar with a closed lid when experts found them in eastern China
Like a real-life echo to China’s controversial delicacy, the century eggs, these ancient eggs are said to date back more than two millennia to the country’s Spring and Autumn period (770-476BC).
Experts say the eggs are similar to modern-day free-range eggs in size.
They also suspect that the content inside the eggs is likely to have degraded over time, leaving only the shells which are formed largely by calcium.
In addition to the eggs, experts found a number of porcelain cups, pots, plates and other cookware in the same tomb near the city of Nanjing, one of China’s ancient capitals.
‘(The containers) were covered by mud, and the jar (with the eggs) were found above the mud. We opened the lid, and saw there were eggs,’ one of the archaeologists, named Zhou Hengming, told Nanjing-based Modern Express.

Copy link to paste in your message

Century eggs are regarded a delicacy in China, and now experts have found ‘millennium eggs’
The extraordinary findings were excavated from a multi-level ancient tomb complex, which is thought to belong to a clan and contains 38 tomb chambers.
There are a total of six layers in the tomb complex and the eggs were discovered in a chamber on the second to the lowest level.
The owner of the tomb chamber was thought to be an important figure in the family as a full set of cookware and dinnerware were found in the chamber, experts told Modern Express.
Experts believe that the family members of the tomb’s owner wouldn’t want him or her to starve in the afterlife, therefore they buried a large number of containers and plenty of food.
The eggs were discovered by archaeologists from the Nanjing Archaeological Institute and the Liyang Museum.
They are expected to undergo further lab tests.

Chinese archaeologists discovered 3.5 litres of liquid (left) in an ancient vessel (right) typically used to contain wine last September. Experts say the liquid dates back to West Han Dynasty
Last September, archaeologists in central China’s Luoyang claimed to have found a pot of wine from more than 2,000 years ago in an ancient tomb.
The tipple was unearthed inside a tomb thought to belong to a local official in the ancient capital of Luoyang in central China.
A total of 3.5 litres of liquid was discovered in a bronze vessel and it was thought to date back to China’s West Han Dynasty (202BC-8AD).

Around 20 eggs (pictured) believed to be buried about 2,500 years ago have been found

Around 20 eggs (pictured) believed to be buried about 2,500 years ago have been found

They were kept in a clay jar with a closed lid when experts found them in eastern China

They were kept in a clay jar with a closed lid when experts found them in eastern China
Like a real-life echo to China’s controversial delicacy, the century eggs, these ancient eggs are said to date back more than two millennia to the country’s Spring and Autumn period (770-476BC).
Experts say the eggs are similar to modern-day free-range eggs in size.
They also suspect that the content inside the eggs is likely to have degraded over time, leaving only the shells which are formed largely by calcium.
In addition to the eggs, experts found a number of porcelain cups, pots, plates and other cookware in the same tomb near the city of Nanjing, one of China’s ancient capitals.
‘(The containers) were covered by mud, and the jar (with the eggs) were found above the mud. We opened the lid, and saw there were eggs,’ one of the archaeologists, named Zhou Hengming, told Nanjing-based Modern Express.

Century eggs are regarded a delicacy in China, and now experts have found 'millennium eggs'

Century eggs are regarded a delicacy in China, and now experts have found ‘millennium eggs’
The extraordinary findings were excavated from a multi-level ancient tomb complex, which is thought to belong to a clan and contains 38 tomb chambers.
There are a total of six layers in the tomb complex and the eggs were discovered in a chamber on the second to the lowest level.
The owner of the tomb chamber was thought to be an important figure in the family as a full set of cookware and dinnerware were found in the chamber, experts told Modern Express.
Experts believe that the family members of the tomb’s owner wouldn’t want him or her to starve in the afterlife, therefore they buried a large number of containers and plenty of food.
The eggs were discovered by archaeologists from the Nanjing Archaeological Institute and the Liyang Museum.
They are expected to undergo further lab tests.

Chinese archaeologists have discovered 3.5 litres of liquid (pictured) in an ancient vessel typically used to contain wine The container was found in a tomb thought to belong to a local official from the West Han Dynasty

Chinese archaeologists discovered 3.5 litres of liquid (left) in an ancient vessel (right) typically used to contain wine last September. Experts say the liquid dates back to West Han Dynasty
Last September, archaeologists in central China’s Luoyang claimed to have found a pot of wine from more than 2,000 years ago in an ancient tomb.
The tipple was unearthed inside a tomb thought to belong to a local official in the ancient capital of Luoyang in central China.
A total of 3.5 litres of liquid was discovered in a bronze vessel and it was thought to date back to China’s West Han Dynasty (202BC-8AD).

Related Posts

Loose Women star Linda Robson lands huge new role after heartbreaking news

Linda Robson has revealed she can soon be seen on stage in an adaptation of a classic BBC comedy – meaning fans can soon see her treading…

Loose Women’s Ruth Langsford shares health update after hospital incident

Ruth Langsford’s mother, Joan, suffered a fall in December fracturing her pelvis less than a year after breaking her hip Ruth said the previous incident had put…

Zara Tindall’s brilliant response to Mike’s 4am drunken antics at Princess Anne’s home

Former England rugby star Mike Tindall has told how he was woken up by police officers in riot gear after being caught on CCTV “struggling to get…

Denise Welch used dozens of ‘panty pads’ due to laughter working with Ricky Tomlinson

Loose Women star Denise Welch opened up on her time with Ricky Tomlinson as the veteran actor joined the panel for discussion on the popular ITV talk…

Penny Lancaster says ‘move on’ as she shuts down Loose Women co-star

On Tuesday’s instalment of Loose Women, the panel were speaking about Meghan Markle’s recently released Netflix series. Loose Women star Penny Lancaster was caught in an awkward…

Olivia Bowen announces baby’s gender as pregnant star breaks down in tears on Loose Women

Olivia Bowen and her husband Alex appeared on ITV show Loose Women on Tuesday with a lovely update after sadly announcing they’d lost one of the twins…