Most extraordinary of all were four chickens’ eggs. At least three were whole on discovery and were extremely fragile. Thanks to the great care taken by Steve Leech, one of the lead archaeologists on the site, one was retrieved intact. (The field team noted that the other eggs emitted a sulphurous aroma during excavation.) The Roman egg is a genuinely unique discovery. Though Roman eggshell fragments have been found before now, this is the only complete Roman egg known in Britain.
In the Roman period, eggs had all sorts of symbolic meanings. They were associated with the gods Mithras and Mercury and have connotations of fertility and rebirth. Tellingly, where eggshell have been found in Britain, they have usually been found in graves. The eggs at Berryfields almost certainly represent an offering of some kind. They may have been a votive offering or possibly had been placed in the pit as part of a funerary rite.