12 Apr 2016 Bread from the time of Jan Hus

An interesting discovery was announced six years ago by archaeologists in Brno. Specifically, two charred loaves of bread from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Archaeologists have not recorded a similar discovery in recent times.

Archaeologists found the bread from the time of Master Jan Hus in the centre of Brno in Veselá Street. It was one of the largest excavations on the territory of the largest South Moravian city. It preceded the construction of the underground garages, which will be the site of a new concert hall in the future.

"The old loaves were located in an old oven. They look as if one bought them in Lidl. This year, we verified that they are indeed baked goods in Blansko, where experts tried to bake bread in the same way. The result was exactly the same, said archaeologist David Merta from the Brno Archaeum.

The archaeologists also discovered other interesting things at the site. For example, the first toothpicks or Renaissance gingerbread moulds or an ocarina for whistling in bird form. A pilgrim badge from the thirteenth century has aroused great interest, especially among researchers and historians. According to Metra, the objects have been preserved thanks to the barracks that were located in the area.

"There will still be things that we can go back to for however long, we won't be able to understand everything," Merta said.

Crumbs of even up to 15,000-year-old bread were found by archaeologists four years ago in Jordan. What surprised scientists most was that this discovery predates humanity's transition to a more settled, agricultural type of life. Until now, it had been assumed that bread baking had developed alongside it.

According to experts, this means that bread products came before agriculture. "How on earth did they do it? The flour used is of very high quality. It must have taken them a very long time to get it this fine," wonders Tobias Richter from the University of Copenhagen.

And what is the recipe for the world's oldest bread? Take some spelt and wild barley, add crushed roots of various plants, add water, roll into a pancake and bake.

Sources: www.archaiabrno.org, www.rozhlas.cz, www.ceskatelevize.cz