Dead parrot 1600 years old

The famous Dead parrot sketch by Monty Python is actually 1600 years old. William Berg, an American classics professor has proved the point, by unearthing a Greek version of the world-famous piece.

A comedy duo called Hierocles and Philagrius told the original version, only rather than a parrot they used a slave.

It concerns a man who complains to his friend that he was sold a slave who dies in his service.

His companion replies: "When he was with me, he never did any such thing!"

The joke was discovered in a collection of 265 jokes called Philogelos: The Laugh Addict, which dates from the fourth century AD.

Never less the sketch is hilarious and only shows the the Monty Python crew was quite well educated.