Archaeologists believe they might have found the oldest clove in the world at an excavation site from an ancient port in northern Sri Lanka, local media reports said here Friday.

At the ancient port in Mannar, which dates back to around 200 BC, archaeologists have also found evidence of a high value black pepper.

Media reports said that in 2009/2010, after the end of the island's civil war between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels, a multi-national team of researchers went to the Mantai Port and began excavations.

The work was jointly carried out by the Sri Lankan Department of Archaeology, SEALINKS and the University College London (UCL) Institute of Archaeology.

Archaeologist Eleanor Kingwell-Banham told international media that the clove from Mantai was found in a context dating to 900-1100 AD, making it not only the oldest clove in Asia, but also the oldest in the world.