A piece of melon with flesh still on the rind thought to be as the world's oldest was dugg out by Japanese archaeologists who dugg an excavation site at Moriyama in western Japan.
Based on a radiocarbon analysis, researchers estimate the half-rounded piece of fruit to be about 2,100 years old.
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.