Scientists have been blown away by the recent discovery that a chicken egg laid in Roman Britain about 1700 years ago still had a yolk and egg white inside.
The egg was found alongside others during a dig at Berryfields in Aylesbury, England. It was the only one still intact and is thought to be the only one of its type in the world, the BBC reports.
Now, it's been confirmed the find still has preserved liquid inside the shell.
"We were absolutely blown away when we saw the contents in there, as we might have expected them to have leeched out," Oxford Archaeology senior project manager Edward Biddulph told the UK broadcaster. "[It's] amazing.
"The fact that the egg still retains its original contents... is absolutely incredible."
The hidden contents were revealed by a micro CT scan.
"There are older eggs with contents," the Natural History Museum's Douglas Russell explained.
"However, this is the oldest unintentionally preserved avian egg I have ever seen. That makes it fascinating."
Biddulph admitted the finding came with an unforeseen added level of stress.
"[It was] a bit daunting walking around London with a 2000-year-old egg.
"And it was a bit hairy on the Tube - although it was well protected - it's not like I was carrying it around in my pocket."
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