Archaeologists have discovered the `world`s oldest bread` in Turkey, which dates back to 8,600 years ago.

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Archaeologists have found the oldest known break in Turkey, dating back to 6600 BC. 

They found a destroyed oven structure in an area called Mekan 66. According to Turkey’s Necmettin Erbakan University of Science and Technology Research and Application Center (BITAM), the archaeological site of Çatalhöyük in the southern Turkish province of Konya had adjoining mudbrick houses. 

The research team found wheat, barley, pea seeds, and a palm-sized, round, “spongy” residue around the oven. After analysis, the archaeologists found that the organic residue was 8,600-year-old uncooked, fermented bread. 

Archaeologist Ali Umut Türkcan, head of the Excavation Delegation and an associate professor at Anadolu University in Turkey, told Turkish state news outlet Anadolu Agency, “We can say that this finds at Çatalhöyük is the oldest bread in the world.” 

“It is a smaller version of a loaf of bread. It has a finger pressed in the center, it has not been baked, but it has been fermented and has survived to the present day with the starches inside. There is no similar example of something like this to date,” he added.

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Biologist Salih Kavak, a lecturer at Gaziantep University in Turkey, said air spaces in the sample with the sighting of starch grains, found after scanning electron microscope images, eliminated their suspicions. “It is an exciting discovery for Turkey and the world,” Kavak said.

According to Türkcan, the organic matter, wood and bread were preserved by thin clay, covering the structure. 

Fossilised trees dating 390 million years are the world’s oldest in Çatalhöyük. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, where around 8.000 people resided during the Neolithic period between 10,000 BC and 2,000 BC. According to BITAM, it is one of the world’s first places of urbanisation. 

Several studies have revealed that the well-preserved site has unique housing layouts and extensive characteristics like wall paintings. According to the UNESCO website, it is one of the “most significant human settlements documenting early settled agricultural life of a Neolithic community.”

“Çatalhöyük was already the center of many firsts. The world’s first weavings were already in Çatalhöyük when it was excavated. Wooden artifacts were also in Çatalhöyük. Wall paints and paintings were added to this. Konya and Turkey are very lucky in this sense,” Türkcan said.

(With inputs from agencies)