2,400-year-old bowl of soup found in tomb of ancient soldier... and it's still liquid

It's most likely past its sell-by date but Chinese archaeologists believe they have discovered a 2,400-year-old bowl of soup.

Sealed in a three-legged bronze cooking pot, the culinary find was dug up from a tomb near the ancient capital of Xian.

It is 8in high and 10in in diameter and would have been used for cooking and serving meat.

Archaeologists said the soup, which contained several bones, was still liquid but had turned green due to the oxidisation of the bronze. It is because the tomb was so tightly sealed that the liquid did not evaporate.

Liu Daiyun, of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, said: 'It's the first discovery of bone soup in Chinese archaeological history.

'The discovery will play an important role in studying the eating habits and culture of the Warring States Period.'

That period ran from 475 to 221BC and was a time when warlords took over small states to build up their power base.

The pot has now been resealed and sent away so that researchers can analyse its contents.

A separate bronze vessel that contained an odourless liquid, believed to be wine, was also found in the tomb.

It is thought that it could have belonged to either a member of the land-owning class or a military officer.

Xian, a city that served as China's ancient capital for over 1,100 years, is famed for the terracotta army at the burial site of Qin Shihuang. It was Qin who presided over the unification of China in 221BC and declared himself the first emperor.

The bronze pot and vessel were found in a tomb being excavated to make way for the extension of the airport in Xian.

However, this is not the oldest pot found with food in it. Five years ago a 4,000-year-old pot containing noodles was found in 2005 at a site near the Yellow River.