2-Millennia-Old Melon Found in Japan

Archaeologists have discovered what may be the oldest remains of a melon ever found. Radiocarbon dating puts it at two thousand one hundred years old. The previous record was less than a thousand years, from the 4th century AD China. The Japanese melon is believed to have been preserved by a vacuum-pocket in the soil created by damp layers of earth. Shuji Yamazaki, an official of the city of Moriyama in Shiga prefecture in Japan says melon seed fossils are common but the melon remains with the flesh still intact was a rare find.

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