They might not look so tasty now, but more than 2,000 years ago these Chinese dumplings were considered so heavenly they ended up in a nobleman’s tomb.
The dish was unearthed by archaeologists studying the Chu State nobleman’s tomb at the Yangcheng Site in Xinyang City, in central China’s Henan province, during the Warring States Period (481 BC – 221 BC).
Their astonishing state of preservation has been put down to a leak in the tomb which allowed its inner chamber to flood with groundwater.
The conditions created the ideal climate for the 40 dumplings to survive almost untouched by time, according to scientists.
Photographs show how they were wrapped carefully in sweet oak leaves and stuffed with rice and millet before being placed carefully in a wooden box.
It is understood they were supposed to be for the nobleman to eat during his afterlife.
Amazingly the recipe – known as Zongzi – is still popular today with the steamed dumplings usually wrapped in bamboo or oak leaves.
Local media said that the tomb’s zongzi dumplings are the oldest to have ever been found in the world.
Chinese media reported that Wu Zhijiang – the expert in charge of the excavation site – said that Tomb No. 8 was the final resting place of the nobleman.
The dumplings reportedly measure between 10 to 15 centimetres (3.9 to 5.9 inches) in diameter and are three to five centimetres (1.2 to 2 inches) thick.
Thirty-nine of the 40 dumplings were found to contain rice while another one reportedly contained millet.
A number of broken dumplings were also found at the bottom of the box.
