The world's oldest cheese has been found in an ancient Chinese tomb.
The oldest cheese in the world has been found (c) Chinese Academy of Sciences
The cheese is estimated to be 3,600 years old - eclipsing the previous record by 400 years - and archaeologists think it could have been buried alongside a hungry Bronze Age farmer.
DNA analysis revealed that it was made with cow and goat milk and it is suspected to be one of the first examples of the probiotic Kefir.
Professor Qiaomei Fu, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "This is the oldest known cheese sample ever discovered in the world.
"This is a rare and valuable opportunity as food items like cheese are extremely difficult to preserve over thousands of years.
"Studying the ancient cheese in great detail can help us better understand our ancestors' diet and culture."
Many traces of historic cheese have been discovered worldwide but it is often traces left on tools rather than considerable chunks of the dairy product.