World’s oldest bread ever baked found in Middle Eastern desert

Remnants of what may be the oldest bread ever baked have been discovered in a Middle Eastern desert.

The 14,400-year-old charred crumbs found in Jordan prove that bread making pre-dated the advent of agriculture by at least 4,000 years.

Scientists believe the bread wasmadebyhunter-gatherers using wild versions of einkorn wheat, barley and oats.

Over time, early bread making may have encouraged cereal cultivation and helped sow the seeds of the agricultural revolution.

The discovery, reported in the journal Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences, was made at an archaeological site known as Shubayqa 1 in the Black Desert of north-eastern Jordan.

There, scientists uncovered two well-preserved buildings, each containing a large circularstonefireplacewithin which the bread crumbs were found.

The site was occupied by the ancient Natufian people 14,400 years ago, long before the development of farming.

Professor Dorian Fuller, a member of the international team from University College London, said: “Bread involves labour intensive processing which includes dehusking, grinding of cereals and kneading and baking.

“That it was produced before farming methods suggests it was seen as special, and the desire to make more of this special food probably contributed to the decision to begin to cultivate cereals.”

On average, the 24 crumbs analysed were 5.7mm long by 4.4mm wide and 2.5mm thick.

Viewing the fragments under an electron microscope, the scientists found telltale signs of grinding, sieving and kneading.

Preserved remains of tubers and other non-cereal plants were also found at the site, as well as chipped stones, ground stone tools and animal bones. There was evidence that a root, thought to be club-rush tuber, was incorporated into the bread as well as cereal.

Danish archaeologist Professor Tobias Richter, from the University of Copenhagen, who led the excavation, said: “Natufian hunter-gatherers are of particular interest to us because they lived through a transitional period when people became more sedentary and their diet began to change.

“Flint sickle blades as well as ground stone tools found at Natufian sites in the Levant have long led archaeologists to suspect that people had begun to exploit plants in a different and perhaps more effective way.

“But the flat bread found at Shubayqa 1 is the earliest evidence of bread making recovered so far, and it shows that baking was invented before we had plant cultivation.” There’s been an increase of homeowners aged 55 plus, accessing a lump sum of money from their home, without having to sell or move out.

Find out more about unlocking cash from your home by requesting your FREE guide. This easy-to-read guide is written in plain English and is designed to provide you with all the information you need to decide if equity release is right for you. Equity Release may involve a home reversion plan or a lifetime mortgage, which is secured against your property. To understand the features and risks, ask for your personalised illustration. Any money released, plus accrued interest would be repaid upon death, or moving into long-term care.

This equity release service is provided by Age Partnership, who provide initial advice for free and without obligation. Only if you choose to proceed and your case completes would a fee of 1.95% of the amount released be payable (minimum £1,495).

Based on the number of Equity Release plans arranged from Oct - Dec 2017.