An Israel Antiquities Authority archaeological excavation in Yavne has turned up an intact 1,000-year-old chicken egg – one of only a few existing the world, the IAA reported Wednesday.
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Like many intriguing finds, the unbroken egg was dug up as part of standard archaeological work ahead of construction of a new residential project in Yavne and was found lying in a sewage ditch that dates back approximately 1,000 years to the Islamic period.
Dr. Lee Perry Gal, an expert in fowl in the ancient world, explained that fragments of eggshells have been found at some of the oldest sites in Israel, such as the City of David, Caesarea, and Apollonia, almost no intact eggs have been discovered due to their fragility.
"Even by international standards, this is an extremely rare find," Gal said.
"Very rarely, we find whole ancient ostrich eggs, which have been preserved due to their thicker shells," Gal added.
Ella Nagorsky, another archaeologist with the IAA, said that "Even today, eggs barely survive in supermarket cartons. It's amazing to think that this is a 1,000-year-old discovery. It appears that the unique preservation of the eggs is the result of the conditions that surrounded it for hundreds of years – a soft bottom to the sewage ditch, which apparently included soft human waste that protected [the egg]."
Domesticated fowl were raised in the Land of Israel as early as 2,300 years ago. The Islamic Period, starting from the seventh century CE, saw a notable decline in the percentage of pig bones in the region as a result of the Islamic prohibition against consuming pork.
"Families looked for a substitute protein available from small animals that did not require preservation or cooling, and found it in fowl and eggs," Gal explained.
Unfortunately, Gal added, a small crack in the bottom of the egg had allowed most of its contents to leak out, leaving only trace amounts of the white, which had been saved for future DNA analysis.
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