Name: Lviv pysanka
What it is: A decorated duck egg
Where it is from: Lviv, Ukraine
When it was made: The early 16th century
Related: Słupcio: A 6,000-year-old amber ‘gummy bear’ that may have been a Stone Age amulet
What it tells us about the past:
Easter-egg decorating is an ancient tradition with deep roots extending at least into the medieval period of European history. But archaeological evidence of them is scarce due to the delicate nature of eggshells. At more than 500 years old, the Lviv pysanka — Ukrainian for “written egg” — is the oldest decorated Easter egg in the world.
Archaeologists discovered the pysanka in 2013, when construction workers stumbled upon a medieval well while renovating a house in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine. The well was originally used for collecting groundwater, according to the Rescue Archaeological Service at the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Archaeology. But after the Great Fire of Lviv in 1527, which destroyed most of the city, the well was used as a cesspit.
The pysanka was nestled in a thick layer of charcoal along with ceramic dishes; small utensils; and leather, wood and metal objects, suggesting that these items may have been swept into the disused well during cleanup after the fire. Surprisingly, the damage to the egg was minor; only about 0.31 square inches (2 square centimeters) of the total area was lost.
Ukrainian pysanky are typically created using a wax-resist technique. With this method, wax is “written” in a decorative pattern on the surface of the egg, which is painted or dyed. The wax is then removed, revealing the light-colored shell of the egg, which, in the case of the Lviv pysanka, is from a duck.
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The practice of decorating ceramic eggs or balls dates back many centuries. Archaeologists have found ceramic Easter eggs in Ukraine dated to the 12th century, revealing the antiquity of the practice in that country. And some researchers argue that decorated eggs date back several millennia, originating with the Stone Age Cucuteni-Trypillia culture in Central Europe, likely as a symbol of nature and rebirth. But this pagan tradition was eventually absorbed into Christianity, with the egg coming to symbolize the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In modern Ukraine, decorating pysanky is an important national tradition. In 2024, UNESCO listed Ukrainian pysanky decorating among the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, honoring the centuries-old practice.
The Lviv Easter egg is currently housed in the Pysanka Museum in Kolomyia, which displays many of these symbols of the long-standing Ukrainian tradition of egg decorating.
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