Archaeologists unearth ancient bread that survived underground for 5,000 years

Archaeologists recently unveiled a rare culinary find: a well-preserved loaf of ancient bread.

The artifact was found during an archaeological excavation at the Kulluoba site in the Eskisehir province, located in central Turkey. Excavators unearthed the loaf in Sept. 2024, but it wasn't unveiled to the public until this month. 

The bread is roughly 5,000 years old and was baked during Turkey's Bronze Age. Researchers say the bread was burnt and buried under the entrance of a dwelling dating back to 3,300 B.C. 

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Some of the bread, which measures about 5 inches in diameter, was torn off before it was buried.

An image of the loaf shows that it's blackened and crumbled with age — but it still retains the shape of bread.

Murat Türkteki, archaeologist and director of the excavation, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that ancient bread is a "rare find," per Turkish Minute, a local outlet.

"Bread is a rare find during an excavation. Usually, you only find crumbs," he said.

"But here, it was preserved because it had been burnt and buried."

Since May 22, Turkish bakers have been working to recreate the bread. 

The recipe is based on an ancient wheat, which is best suited to drought conditions — shedding light on the climate of central Turkey during the Bronze Age.

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Serap Güler, the bakery's manager, told AFP the bread is made by combining "ancestral wheat flour, lentils and bulgur, [which] results in a rich, satiating, low-gluten, preservative-free bread."

The yellow cake-like loafs have reportedly been a hit with local residents. 

One customer named Suzan Kuru told AFP she was "curious about the taste of this ancient bread."

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"I rushed because I was afraid there wouldn't be any left," she said.

Discovering well-preserved ancient foods is exceptionally rare in the field of archeology, though a few excavators have been lucky enough to come across them. 

Last September, researchers found ancient kefir cheese from Tarim Basin mummies dating back 3,500 years in western China.

Before that, archaeologists found the world's oldest bottle of wine in an Ancient Roman burial site in southern Spain.