Posted on 06/02/2007 3:35:52 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Researchers find 2,100 year-old melon
By KOZO MIZOGUCHI, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jun 1, 5:28 PM ET
TOKYO - Archaeologists digging in western Japan have excavated what they believe to be the oldest remains of a melon ever found, an official said Friday.
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Based on a radiocarbon analysis, researchers estimate the half-rounded piece of fruit to be about 2,100 years old, said Shuji Yamazaki, a local official in the city of Moriyama.
The remains are believed to be the oldest of a melon that still has flesh on the rind, Yamazaki said. Previously, the oldest such find was believed to be remains found in China that date back to the fourth century A.D., according to local media reports.
The melon might have been so well-preserved because it was in a vacuum-packed state in a wet layer below the ground, an environment hostile to microorganisms that might otherwise have broken down the remains, Yamazaki said.
Melon seeds have been often found in archaeological digs around the country, but researchers rarely find the remains of melon flesh, Yamazaki said.
Moriyama is about 205 miles southwest of Tokyo.
AP - Fri Jun 1, 12:41 PM ET A piece of a fruit that is believed to be a family of melon excavated from the Shimonosato Ruin in Moriyama in Shiga prefecture, or state, central Japan, Thursday, May 31. Based on a radiocarbon analysis, researchers estimate the half-rounded piece of fruit to be about 2,100 years old, said Shuji Yamazaki, a local official in the city of Moriyama. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
Ping!
Ah, c’mon. I have things older than that in the back of my refrigerator.
SOMEbody will undoubdtedly find this a culinary delicasy.
hope it works 4 U.
Wait, I thought this story was about Helen Thomas..
Yes! it's part of a 2100-year-old Jack O'lantern...
The earliest evidence yet of the ancients celebrating Halloween...
Mmmmmmm..... Melon....
Sorry, wrong thread.
I hear the found it right next to a fossilized small dog. The original headline read “Scientists find melon, collie baby.”
He scans the round watermelon and places it on the conveyer. It rolls quickly, too quickly, for the self-serve smarts, so it complains to him. He tries again, same result. Again, same. Again, same.
In frustration, he places the round melon on the magazine stand vowing not to eat watermelon this weekend.
There IS a place for square watermelons in this world!
It would have been more appropriate if the kanji for this ruin would have been 下の砂糖 ;-) (For what it is worth, it appears that from looking at the Japanese news, the name is actually 下之郷.)
~ Bill Clinton
GGG ping
Sweet!
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Somebody call the Iron Chefs...
“Melon seeds have been often found in archaeological digs around the country, but researchers rarely find the remains of melon flesh, Yamazaki said.”
GREAT! But, are the seeds viable, how do the melons taste* and can they be used to improve current hybrids?
* I was not referring to the melon from antiquity, but a current offspring. If anyone feels like tasting the original find, please contact Yamazaki @ his motorcycle plant.
Safeway???
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